1 - First Steps in China

Compared to Hong Kong Airport, Beijing International Airport, while not as impressive as HK, has a grandeur that's more governmental in character. Some very officious airport people walked about with serious and suspicious looks.

Walking staunchly towards the customs gate, I carried that look about me that said, “don’t even think of messing with me”. My 5 foot 2 inch stature may delude some people into thinking I’m a pushover, but the 'back off’ written on my forehead warned the undesirables that they’d be getting more than they bargained for by picking on me. At least, I hoped so. Walking confidently, I readied myself to explain (read debate) the necessity of bringing my western herbal medicine into the country. But all that worry for no purpose - nothing happened. Customs was closed, perhaps because it was too late, & I sailed right through the empty customs area to the taxi rank outside.

After being delegated a taxi by the taxi rank official, I showed the address details provided by my tour operator, neatly summarised in Chinese characters, to my driver. At the point where he frowned with an “I’m not quite sure where that is” look, I should have instantly asked the official guy for help. Instead, I used English to ask the Chinese speaking driver if he was absolutely positive how to get there. A few nods of the head & I jumped in - sleep deprevation had obviously got the better of me.

Soon we were racing down the highway in the overtaking lane &, realising fully operational seatbelts must only be a western thing, I held on for dear life to the back of the front seat, with visions of the car flipping over & me dying in a horrific accident on my first day of travel.
But, that’s not what happened. He began to slow down, while he was in the outside overtaking lane, & signalled in the international code of body language that he had no idea where he was going. Incredulous, I once again showed him the Chinese character directions, insisting that he must understand. A few shakes of the head from the driver & I dived into my daypack in search of my ipod mandarin phrasebook. Meanwhile, cars were streaming by us, horns beeping incessantly, as we continued to slow down to about 40 kms per hour in the overtaking lane on the highway. I flicked through the ipod, not sure what I wanted to find.

Then he asked, putting his hand to his ear, if I had a phone. Yes, I did. But I wasn’t about to let him have my phone. So I asked him for his phone - demanded is a more accurate description - in between muttering the word for police just as a warning. A few naughty swear words a slipped out around this time, until I remembered that the People’s Republic of China didn’t like you using swear words & I shut up in fear of being thrown into some ghastly prison & left to rot.

After lots of pointing & arguing, I finally got a hold of his phone and called the Harmony Hotel. After briefly explaining the situation, the receptionist asked to speak with the driver who finally got the clarification he required in order to deliver me safely. It was just after midnight (after 2pm in Sydney) and I was bloody exhausted. Following a quick check-in, I found my way to my room, grateful for having a place to rest on my own for the night. After cleaning myself up & gaining a very small sense of normality back into my world, I was ready to jump into bed for a long-awaiting snooze.

I then sat on the hardest bed I have ever sat on before. This was not possible, it’s a nice western type hotel, it must have soft comfy beds for weak westerners like me. I tried the other single bed - also rock hard - the carpeted floor would have been softer to sleep on. I wondered about the reasoning behind this. Perhaps the communists think the westerners are too soft and need to experience a part of the real hard life here in China. I was left wondering as I bounced into bed, finding the best possible position that wouldn’t leave my arms numb or neck sore. Hardly able to keep my eyes open, I was so ready for sleep, aching for it. But with all the turmoil & bed discomfort, I managed only a few sweet hours before the dawn welcomed me with open arms to China.