astradele

On the heels of a vacation in Hong Kong it may seem silly to visit China, but circumstances provided an unexpected opportunity to travel, and I had recently been hearing praises of China, so I figured… why not?

My chosen flight path was long, but not too convoluted: Toronto > New York > Beijing > Chengdu.  On the way into the country, I would stop at Beijing to sightsee, but on the way back I’d  follow the chain of flights, one after another.  I’d even get to fly Air China, a new airline experience!

As it turns out, the Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong is much more pleasant than the Air China NY-Beijing flight.  :(  I believe Air China is partnered with United Airlines, and they flew some old 747s.  Plenty of kids on the flight, given that it departed New York during daylight hours.  <sigh>  Let’s just leave it at that.  It wasn’t horrible, but it was hardly pleasant.  Also, my checked luggage got lost somewhere, but that seems to happen so often to me, it hardly feels notable anymore…

The Beijing airport is very, very large, and still looks very, very new.  A little sterile perhaps, but plenty of space for shops and restaurants… and high ceilings.

China recently completed a light rail line attaching the airport to the extensive Beijing subway.  There are plenty of English signs and maps to guide illiterate tourists like myself.  Given the massive downpour, I had some trepidation about getting to my hotel without an umbrella, but the Novotel Beijing is quite literally across the street from the Chongwen subway station.  I popped out of the appropriate subway exit and saw it right in front of me.

The hotel doesn’t have much character, but it’s certainly very comfortable, and the staff speak a reasonable amount of English.  The business centre and travel desk are more proficient than the front desk, though.  At 10pm with a downpour outside, my first meal was what the local hotel cafe could serve up before the kitchen closed.

After a satisfactorily warm, light, and overpriced meal,  it was off to bed in my comfortably appointed room.  I was particularly fascinated by the mechanism to activate the power in the room, a card holder for one’s room card.  A good idea to save power, although I nearly forgot my card a few times during my stay.  :P  I was pretty beat after my flight, but that didn’t stop me from verifying I had Internet connectivity first, before giving in to Mr. Sandman.  :)  The bed was harder than I’m used to (typical for Asia v. North America I hear), but still quite nice – I think I even grew to like the firmness.  Note in the picture that one tiny suitcase: the sole luggage I came into Beijing with, mostly filled with my electronic gear, with a couple shirts and undergarments in the crevices.  :p