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Imagine what it would be like if you were in Beijing

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Now imagine you have just arrived at the Beijing airport. You have started to walk off the airplane, what can you expect?

You first need to collect your baggage and complete the immigration process. I remember the first time I did this it was quite intimidating. These guys were not the most friendly I have come across, they are however business like and process your entry into China quickly.

Once you have made it through the airport if you are not on a group tour you need to find a taxi to take you to your hotel. I remember the first time I had to do this. I had the hotel name written in Chinese on a piece of paper. I then walked out to the taxi queue and lined up.

Not knowing what to expect as my turn arrived I hopped in the car and showed the taxi driver my address. Off we went. I have to point out my chinese is limited to “thank you”, “hello” and “I don’t know what you are saying”. I am now working on this by learning from cd’s.

As we drove along the airport freeway towards the city I was thinking what have I got myself into. There were so many people just starting to appear on all the streets.

As we got closer to the Landmark Hotel I was staying at there were so many people. Having come from a relatively small town this was an amazing site for me. It was chaos.

I got to the hotel ok and paid the taxi driver. The fare was around 100 rmb. I then checked in. The room was comfortable but not that large. The hotel is on the third ring road and was around 25km from the airport.

The Hard Rock cafe is in the hotel so I did not have far to go for a western meal. Next door to the Landmark hotel is the Great Wall Sheraton hotel on one side and a large department store on the other.

The part of Beijing I was staying in is near one of the embassy districts. You will find the Australian Embassy, Canadian Embassy and German Embassy about 15 minutes walk away.

About the same distance is the San Li Tun bar district. This at the time was a good place to go and enjoy a drink or two. It is some time since I went there but I will check it out again in August 2008.

Looking back on this visit to Beijing I remember that seeing so many people was the most amazing thing. I did all the tourist things like going to the great wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I also enjoyed the shopping.

Can you see yourself visiting this exciting city of Beijing? China will of course play host to the Olympics in August 2008.