04/07/2010 Climbing the mountains

In Beijing, there are amazing many people. And all with umbrellas, to protect their selves of the sun. It was really hot. This in addition with the 15 million air-conditions and 10 million cars, it really heathen the city up. So, I was really happy to escape on the second day, to the Chinese mountains.
1h with the subway and than 2h with the bus and you reach a beautiful hiking area. To cross the bridge and enter the park, you have to buy a ticket.
But this seems to be not enough for the Chinese business people, so they blocked the bridge with a motor scooter and demand additional money to let the people cross. Here I learned that there is a free hotline number, where people can report these illegal activities. And here, I also learned that these numbers do not help you much, because they need a lot of background information before they act. But, we were lucky and a police car came and made the way free for us.

So we started our hiking journey with sunshine and new Korean friends, which we met in the bus.

Those Koreans, there were really fun. Always chatting, always making pictures and the best: in the middle of the mountains, they took their cookers out and start cooking noodles. :-)

We enjoyed every second, even, the mountain was high, and sometimes, the bamboo stairs seems to be endless. But we also get great benefits. I have never seen such beautiful butterflies. And some of them just came and sit down on our shoes.

Back down, we have had some food and refreshed ourselves in the nearby river.

Than we start waiting for the bus… 1h…2h.. than a bus arrived. It was sooo full, the people were pressed inside and the bus driver was not opening the door, because they would have fallen out. Here, I have only a picture from the second, not that filled bus… but for Germans, still too full. So, some when, I stopped a small van and he drove us for some money back to the city.

I was really tired, and the next day, I have to get up early, but I was also hungry, so I went to a street “full of clubs and bars”. The near street turned out to be half hour walking distance, and the “clubs and bars” where some souvenir shops and tourist cafes. Well, Chinese people, are not really so in outgoing. But the street was fun and I spent longer than planned by watching all the things and enjoying the colder temperatures. A great day!

03/07/2010 Going to Beijing

Taking the night train is absolutly comfortable. I left Dalian at 22:00 and arrived at 8:30 in Beijing. All together for 256 RMB, approx. 30 USD.
I have had a hard sleeper, which was not really hard. It was six beds together, always 3 over each others. I booked my tickert 10 days in advance (the earlies possibility) and even than, there were only the uppest beds available. I guess there are some agencies, reserving the lower beds (which means to be more luxurious) for them. But, it does not matter, when I sleep, I sleep. The only thing was, that the beds are very small and I could not lay my purse next to me. So i tried different positions, which were more or less comfortable for me and save for my belonings.
Finaly, It was not bad and I arrived relaxed and fresh in Beijing. The hostel people (from Sunrise hostel) sent someone for my pick up from the train station. This was great, otherwise, I would never ever have found the place. I am kind on dumb with Chinese names, as soon something start with X or Guo, I blank out...
After I stored my things (i travelled with a bag from a famous baju brand... you can say, a shopping back from a liquid company) I changed my clothes and went to the forbitten city.
I stand for a long time in the line and inside, the city was crowed by chinese people and their fancy umbrellas. They are using them to protect themselves from the sun. Ok, but they are using them and stepping in all my pictures, so I have tons of snaps from old houses with a hello kitty umbrella in front of it. somewhen, it was too much for me, and to be honest, after the 20th chinee house, the others look all the same. So, I tried to go back to the hostel, but I was completly lost in that forbitten city. All houses looks more or less the same, a lot of small streets and ways, I guess I crossed them all. I passed houses and halls with names like: the upper harmony, the agricultural hall, e.g. never heard of this before. Than, I reached a garden, which was really impressing. I decided to stay there for a while, have a cold coke anc than go on with the search for the exit. After 3 hours I found it and went back the 300 meters to my hostel.
In the afternoon, I met my friend Martin from Tchechien. We know each others from Samara in Russia, and last week, he gave me a call that he will come to Beijing! Great! We went together to the temple of heaven, shot funny pictures and spent the whole afternoon in the part, walking arouond and chatting. Live is so nice!