| China Arrived Beijing China 11th April, very very tired! Flight out of Singapore wasn't until 1am. All the babies needed their mama at same time on way so was fairly tough, had to strap Tippe to my front, carry Malieka and push Chaska in the pushchair as all couldn't stay awake to walk on plane. The joys of being a single parent eh? Ha! You can imagine we had some strange looks. Arrived about 7am wearing shorts and t shirts...bad move, it was flippin freezing!
Remind me not to try saving money on hotels, the one we had was a throw back from the 60's and our room had only enough space for our two jammed together single beds and a torture chamber looking contraption they passed for a cot. Sleep time was very stressful as it was so low, Tippe just got up and out when she was bored..not good.
The biggest hurdle was the language barrier, no matter how loud I shouted things over and over, they didn't understand? Ha! Seriously though, nobody spoke English in our hotel, not even the receptionists.
Beijing is a beautiful city, so much to see and experience, so much history there too. Some funny sights such as badly spelled signs in shops and menu's, where they have converted a sentence literally but it doesn't read correctly....says the worst speller in the world.
Tea is the drink of choice in Beijing and it needs to be drunk as often as possible, no matter where you are or what you might be doing. You see most people carrying a fairly ugly looking cross between a mug, a thermos flask, and an empty instant coffee jar. It has to be transparent glass or plastic so you can show off exactly what kind of wicked tea you're brewing. Here's a tip for those who want to try... Chinese tea can be made from almost anything, at the moment I am drinking one made from tiny rose buds. Think I will be green and jasmine tea'd out by the time I leave.
One of the more amusing things to be seen in Beijing, at least for most western visitors, is to see Beijing residents happily sleeping whenever they get a chance. One of the more popular places if there is no bed available is at the lunch / dinner table / work desk! This habit is formed and encouraged in early school years where pupils are told to rest for an hour or so in their lunch break. However, Beijing residents as they got older seemed reluctant to let this habit go! As a result its now perfectly socially acceptable to sleep wherever you want! Got some great pics!
Another odd sight, if you're lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you look at it, you will notice some children wandering the streets of Beijing with a slit in the back of their trousers. These trousers with the built-in slit can be bought new from normal clothes shops. The reason is the age-old custom/practice of being able to stop at will and take a bathroom break, this practice is still going on but as the city is getting more modern the government is apparently asking the public to be ever more polite and civilized using advertising campaigns. Because nappys are easier to find now the practice of letting your child "go" wherever he/she wants is becoming frowned upon by a lot of Beijing, I experienced a boy squatting in the middle of a shopping mall! Bought some lovely art there, a huge oil painting of a Tibetian little girl, so beautiful. Shame I have to lug it around for the rest of the trip though. Made sure we did the sights, we visited the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the fabulous Summer Palace, the children were amazing climbing the great wall, it was so steep in parts you would be climbing the steps on all fours. You can imagine having a 2+ stone baby on your hip would make it a tad harder too, phew! I was getting patted on the back and people were clapping when I got to the look out point, so funny. Kids loved it surprisingly and didn't moan once! The tough part for the children is that wherever we went we became the point of attraction, not only for our coloring but for the fact there were 3 children, in Beijing they are only allowed to have one child! Apparently if you live out in the country there is a chance you could have 2. People were amazed, they would count out the children and point to my tummy, when I nodded they would all cheer and tell each other, pat me and congratulate me. Actually everywhere we have been people have been so pleased to see 3 children, it's refreshing for me to have positive comments about it, they really rejoice in it. The children had full days too at the amusement park and zoo, was strange though as the fair seemed closed, nobody waiting for rides and no real atmosphere, probably down to the fact that nobody has children here! Ciao for now
Love The Corrigans
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