12-16 April 2015
Ah, hello again Beijing! This time Partner In Crime is joining the trip. We stayed quite far from the city centre, i.e. at Haidian district, which is near to the Olympic stadium (but still not within walking distance).
We stayed at the Gloria Plaza Hotel Dongsheng, a neat hotel with a very artsy modern design (but somehow dark! - they don't like to switch on the lights, but have sensors) which is in the Dongsheng Science Park (explains the high tech switch mechanism in the rooms). The nearest Metro station is Yongtaizhuang at line 8, which is about 600m away, or about 15 mins walking.
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| standalone bathtub |
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| ipad provided |
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| comfy bed |
Our flight departure to Beijing was delayed 30 minutes due to late arrival of the plane, then further drama ensued high in the sky. Around 11pm while everyone was fast asleep, I felt like checking our flight progress on the screen display, and I was surprised to see that our flight was making loops. So I quickly asked the flight steward what was going on, he said that we have not received clearance from Beijing due to a a storm and there was a backlog of flights which made it impossible to land during the designated time. We were probably going to be diverted to Hong Kong or Shanghai until the backlogs were cleared. Not long after my enquiry, the Captain announced that we would be diverted to Hong Kong and land there to refuel and only depart for Beijing after receiving clearance. We were stranded on the Hong Kong airport tarmac (in the plane) for about 4 hours before finally making the clearance at around 3.30am and landing at Beijing at 6.30am - a 5 hour delay - 1 hour circling mid air and 4 hours on the tarmac. What a relief to be able to leave the plane!
From the airport to our hotel, there was a massive traffic jam, possibly due to the flight delay when hoards of passengers have just arrived around the same time. We had booked a cheap studio room at Cinderella apartment near to our hotel (CNY 112 ) to sleep for the night as we were expected to arrive at 1.30am, but ended up just taking our bath and made a quick meal as we only arrived at 9am! There was no way we could cancel this booking, so might as well just check in and have a short rest.
After a record check in and check out time (2 hours only!), we asked for help from the staff at the reception to book a return taxi to the Badaling Great Wall. She was not really good in English so she passed us to her supervisor who was really helpful. We paid CNY 600 for the taxi return trip from Cinderella Apartment to Badaling Great Wall, and return to Gloria Plaza hotel, which is not far away from Cinderella. We departed for the Great Wall at 11.30am and arrived about 1 hour later. Our taxi would be waiting for us while we went sightseeing. We set to meet back at 3pm.
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| you can also cook, there is an induction cooker |
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| simple furniture at Cinderella |
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| our taxi to Badaling |
From the pick up point of Badaling's main car park, we took the free 000 green coloured shuttle bus to the Great Wall entrance. We paid CNY 40 per person as entrance fee to the Great Wall, then hiked up a bit. We did not opt for the cable car ride, which had a different entrance and separate ticket. There were not many tourists today as it was very windy, gloomy and cold - there was light snow while we were up there. Though gloomy, the view was still magnificent, reminiscent of the glory old days of the Ming Dynasty. This section of the Great Wall was built in Ming Dynasty(1505) occupying a commanding and strategic position for
protecting the Juyongguan Pass
on its south, further protecting the city of Beijing. (from
Wikipedia)
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| shuttle bus pick up point |
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| hop on the free 000 green shuttle bus |
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| Magnificent view of the Badaling Great Wall |
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| we met a solo travelling Malaysian lady who took this picture of us |
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| end spring foliage |
We then walked a bit to the shuttle bus drop off point and took the same shuttle bus back to the main car park where our taxi driver was waiting. We paid the driver only after completing our trip, upon reaching our hotel. Our driver was honest, he waited for us and delivered his service as promised, although he didn't speak a word of English. The Cinderella apartment manager helped arrange everything and even called us when we reached Badaling just to make sure we had arrived and told us to get on the shuttle bus for free. We couldn't have figured it out on our own. Too bad I didn't get the manager's name, but I did email them back to thank for their help.
Finding our hotel Gloria Plaza was a bit tricky as it is located in a Science Park after all, as the hotel is not visible from the road and you would have to pass through security check (there are offices located in the Science Park as well). The park is surrounded by beautiful landscaping, emanating a peaceful zen like abode, with soothing Chinese classical music playing in the background.
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| dark Gloria Hotel reception |
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| Gloria Plaza hotel facade |
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| garden in Dongsheng Science Park |
We settled down at our marvellous hotel for a bit of rest and shower, then headed for dinner at Shichahai - I went
here last year, but didn't try the food at the Muslim restaurant there. According to Farah, a colleague also on this trip - the Muslim restaurant in Shichahai is the oldest in Beijing. To get to Shichahai, we took the Metro from Yongtaizhuang station, on the same Line 8. The Metro is now charged by distance, no more CNY2 flat rate. The one way ticket to Shichahai cost CNY 5
We picked the wrong restaurant at Shichahai (not the one recommended by Farah) - it should have been the most prominent one of the 3, a double storey building. The one that we chose was only so-so, perhaps our choice of menu was not the best on offer. We selected our dishes based on the pictures on the menu as the waitresses didn't speak English. Our dinner cost us around CNY 60. As it was really cold that night, we made a quick stroll around the lake and took some pictures before heading back to our hotel to rest for the night.
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| wrong restaurant |
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| right restaurant |
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| leek (daun bawang) |
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| fried rice |
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| noodle with eggs and tomato |
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| lamb, beef and chicken skewer |
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| lake just before dusk |
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| Shichahai revisited |
The next day we had a half day free after a short meeting at the office. Partner In Crime, being someone who loves animals, he had always wanted to see the panda, so we decided to go to the Beijing Zoo! Yes, it's rather peculiar to visit a zoo during a short trip, but since it was a Monday, the Forbidden City was closed. Summer Palace is a bit further away, and we didn't have enough time to make the trip. So Beijing Zoo it is!
But before going to the Zoo, we stopped for lunch at Farah's favourite haunt - a halal la mee (or pulled noodle) restaurant near the office (office is at Kerry Centre). The soup broth was tasty and it was a huge portion of a bowl! I couldn't finish mine, but everyone else wiped clean their dishes.
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| the la mee |
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| the halal noodle shop near Kerry centre |
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| other dishes we enjoyed there |
We then proceeded to the Beijing Zoo via the Metro from the Jintaixizhao station to the - yes you've guessed it right - Beijing Zoo station. On the way to the station, we stopped by to take pictures of the unique CCTV (China's state owned television network) building.
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| CCTV building |
The ticket entrance to the zoo is CNY 20 including the Panda House. Unfortunately for us, the Panda House was undergoing renovations, so only a section of it was opened and there was only 3 pandas. Although we need manage to see the 2 pandas frolicking while the lone panda in a separate enclosure was having lunch. Other animals available here are red pandas, polar bears, and snub nosed monkey, among others. The zoo is also surrounded by a beautiful lake and a canal runs through it where you can also take boat rides.
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| panda |
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| red panda |
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| zoo lake |
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| spring foliage |
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| canal at zoo |
We then called it a day and went back to the hotel via the Metro. Tomorrow Partner In Crime would be on his own visiting Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square next to it.
We went our separate ways on the third day as I had some business to do. According to Partner In Crime, there were so many tourists on that day at the Forbidden City (perhaps the build up of 2 days volume of tourists as it is closed every Monday). So he only took pictures from the outside. Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty.
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| Forbidden City from the outside |
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| moat surrounding the Forbidden City |
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| Potrait of Chairman Mao outside the Forbidden City |
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| Tiananmen Square, next to Forbidden City |
We then met back in the evening and proceeded to the Hutong (a narrow lane or alleyway in a traditional residential area of a Chinese city, especially Beijing) via the Nanluoguxiang Metro station on Line 8 (no need for us to change lines). This sure beats the disappointment of not visiting Forbidden City earlier. Farah told me that you could also take a tour of the Hutong by rickshaw, but since it was already evening we couldn't make the tour. The traditional houses are now converted into shops and cafes but still retain the facade of the past. It was a nice feeling being transported back to old Beijing. We bought some souvenirs here and stopped for dinner at one of the halal eateries there. Nice simple ala carte meal for tonight. Partner In Crime would be making his way back to KL tonight sob sob.
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| look out for this arch once you exit the Nanluoguxiang station |
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| one of the hutongs |
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| old architecture with modern signage and CCTV |
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| old and modern |
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| Starbucks housed in a traditional building |
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| tourists flocking the hutong |
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| we had dinner here at the hutong |
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| la mee with beef |
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| rice with beef |
On the final day we finished work early so we headed out for lunch at a halal hotpot restaurant nearby our hotel as suggested by Farah. I envy her with her fluency in Mandarin, talking like the locals. You go girl! I particulary liked the nut sauce that you dip into with the hotpot condiments. A huge portion of the hotpot (I surrendered again but the plucky Farah walloped everything!) cost CNY 150 for the 3 of us.
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| hotpot sichuan broth |
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| thinly sliced beef |
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| dumpling. after soaking it in the hotpot, it becomes juicy, love it! |
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| i absolutely love this yummy nut sauce |
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| this is a savoury pastry. no need to soak it :) |
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| all this for CNY150 |
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| the halal hotpot |
That evening there was a sandstorm in Beijing, perhaps the same one hitting the city on the day of our arrival. We couldn't see the sky, only dust of red. According to our local host, the sandstorm usually comes during spring and the sand originates from the inner desserts of China, perhaps from Mongolia. Luckily our flight back that night to KL was not affected and we safely made the journey back home, alhamdulillah. The queue at the immigration was also short so we were cleared rather quickly. From the Gloria Plaza hotel, it was only 30 minutes to the airport and taxi cost CNY100.
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| red dust |
Goodbye Beijing, may we be reunited again.
Labels: Travelogue
