whoever thinks Beijing is not a cool city should go there again!!

When thinking about how to start this post, I first wanted to write "Time passes so quickly..." but then realised, that I was recently writing this simple but true fact all the time - I should become more creative... BUT IT'S SO TRUE!!!

I am in China since not even two weeks now - but it feels as if I was here for months... Mongolia seems sooooo far away. Maybe also because the difference between the two countries is so huge! Just comparing the border stations you can see how modern China is in comparison to Mongolia...

 

Getting here was rather adventurous as we - another traveler I got to know in UB and me - were taking a train till the border, a jeep to cross the border and a bus after the border... And I find it ridiculous now having been surprised about plazkart in Russian trains, because the train in Mongolia topped it: the carriage was like plazkart but people are not having the whole bed for themselves but are sitting. So not only 6 people would fit in one of these open compartments, but 9 - making a total of official 81 persons in a carriage (instead of 54 in plackart, or 36 in kupé) - but who cares about the official number?!? There were far more people anyways...

After one day in Datong I am now in Beijing since 10 days. There is so much going on here, that I somehow regret to be leaving on Sunday already!!

Of course I was visiting quite a lot (luckily it was not smoggy for the first 3 days when I got here, so I do have original photos of sights in China with a blue sky!!), walking through the forbidden city...

...visiting the various parks and lakes in the city, checking all the nice little side streets and the numerous hutongs.

I am really lucky to live in a really fancy area with loads of hutongs: they are small alleys and sideways with bungalow-alike houses. All the people would be sitting on the street, playing cards or other games together, cooking or whatever...
What is more, it is really quiet in hutongs: you can't hear the noise of the mainstreets, and also the numerous bikes and motorbikes (all electro-driven) make harldy any noice neither - which sometimes is rather dangerous as they wouldn't switch on the light in the night...

Trish from Perth and me in the 798-Art-District

But the mainreason I enjoy being in Beijing is definiely the people I hang out with: I am really lucky to be hosted by two great couchsurfers, who were appart from me hosting 3 other people while I was there! It is like a small hostel at their place with the typical hostel-atmosphere: we're hanging out together, visiting sights during the daytime and eating (very important in China!!) and drinking (well, Chinese beer won't make it on my top-10-drinks-list) in the evenings.

And thanks to them I've even been to a punk-concert last week! A what?? Yes, me who is not a really big fan of punk has already been on two concerts since I'm away (one in Moscow, second one here) and both groups were into punk. However, the one in Moscow is not to be mentionned further as they were rather average (if not even less...) but the Subs were really cool - you gotta check them out! Knowing the drumer I was hanging out with the band drinking warm Chinese beer (how good does that sound??) afther the gig.

But I haven't only been hanging out with other couchsurfers: On the bus from Datong to Beijing I got to know a girl from Beijing with whom I met again a few days ago: she invited me to a great chinese restaurant. Eating in China is really a social thing: you would always order loads of different dishes, they'd be put in the middle of the table and everybody just picks out whatever he or she wants! You definitely won't lose weight in China...

SO I DEFINITELY DO HAVE A BLAST HERE!!

And last but not least I finally went to the Great Wall yesterday... it is absolutely fascinating and beautiful. I went to the part of the Wall at Mutianyu together with two Russian couchsurfers. It was a really brumous day, but we could still see how the Wall is climbing over the hills and peaks and is eventually disappearing in the fog...



We were lucky as there weren't so many tourists so I have loads of photos without even one soul on this great historical building!

Before coming here I didn't have any expectations whatsorever of China and people who had already been there often told me that the Chinese were not friendly or helping. What is more everybody used to tell me that Beijing is not a beautiful or interesting city...
This is why I am now positively surprised about this country, the friendliness of its people and its capital! So I do really like it here so far, and am looking forward to the other places I gonna visit - because I will definitely try to get the best out of the 60 days in China, that I can stay here according to my visa!