Beijing over, off to Dubai!

Wow time flies when you’re having fun! Sorry for the lack of updates lately.

I’m sitting on the tiles (sound familiar??) next to the only power point I can find at Beijing Airport waiting for our flight to board to Dubai. We are going to be there for ten days. Ben was only guaranteed 5 days to spend with us, but for some reason he’s got the roster from heaven this month. He has the WHOLE ten days off that we’re there. AND! To top it off, he’s working on our flight from Dubai to New York so we get special treatment. He has a 52 HOUR LAYOVER in New York too, which means that Steph and I get two nights staying in the Sheraton in Times Square for free. The best bit though is that we have 12 days with Benj now, instead of the 5 we were banking on. Awesome!

Beijing. Was. Awesome. It was really cool seeing the family again too. The hockey boys didn’t do as well as they deserved to – coming 7th out of 12 – but they had a few games that just didn’t go their way. Suppose that’s how sport goes though.

The atmosphere at the games was awesome. My favourites would have to be the mens semifinal where the game between Germany and Holland was so close that it went down to a sudden death penalty shootout, and the womens final between China and Holland – they have the most passionate loudest supporters ever.

Taxi drivers in Beijing are MAD. They must all go to the same driving school, where they’re taught to pulse the accelerator. Onnn off. Onnnnn off. Almost get whiplash going along the motorway. They don’t change gear at the right time either. We’ve had both extremes – starting in third gear, and staying in second gear for faaaar too long. All drivers here just toot when they’re approaching other people, and dodge bikes/other cars/buses/trucks/pedestrians with pushchairs – you name it. It’s every man for himself here. The give way rule doesn’t apply. You just go when you want, and you push your way through.

We discovered that people in China move slowly, unless they’re on a hockey pitch or in a queue. There were 9 of us that travelled around together, and we mastered the art of forming our own Great Wall. This stopped people from pushing in front of us when we were getting on buses. Worked a treat. They push everywhere though. This morning I was in the queue at the supermarket, and an elderly woman gave me a shove with her elbow as she walked past. Don’t worry – I gave her one back. Used to playing these games now. ☺

Mum bought a Dunce Cap at the markets (more on the markets soon) which was given to the person who did the dumbest thing of the day. Abby started it off on day one. We got to the train station with the help of a local woman who could speak a little bit of English. We lined up and got our tickets, and then went through the electronic gates one by one. Abby’s turn. She swipes her card. The gate was open from the person before her, so didn’t open again, but it was open. She stood there. Looked at it. Looked up at us through on the other side. Looked at her ticket. Looked at the gate. It closed.
She tried her ticket again, but obviously was locked out. The girl who had shown us how to get to the train station then spoke to the person behind the counter, and Abby got let through a “special” gate.
I suppose I can’t talk though. I earnt the hat by thinking that the Lama Temple we were going to was a zoo. I was surprised when we turned up and were looking at Buddhas. Whoops.

The markets. They were insane. You walk through the door and get hounded. “Lady lady lady! Beautiful lady! You want scarf? You want shirt? Pyjamas? Bag? I have all! Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton. You want watch? Real diamonds! Best quality!”. You get good at bargaining with them though. We got some pretty good deals! Gotta be careful what you buy though. Some of the hockey team bought iphones. $100 each. Bargain! But they’re duds. Hahahahahahaha.

We did so much while we were here. Every day was busy. Every second day was filled with hockey, so we had half the time to spend doing other things. Went to the Beijing Zoo (which was very disappointing and sad – animals in concrete enclosures), Summer Palace (though it POURED with rain – not really “summer”!), lots of temples, Tiananmen Square, markets markets markets…

I was surprised with Beijing. For some reason I expected most people to speak/read/understand English. But I was wrong. We’re now pretty good at sign and body language! At times it’s been like living on another planet. Most people have been very friendly and helpful though.

The city itself is pretty cool. HUGE buildings, and lots of them are extraordinary. Rounded corners. Bits that stick out. SO much glass. The city is massive and just seems to goes on and on forever. Each building is separate though, with nice gardens. The city is much cleaner and greener than I had imagined.

I’m not sure what everyone was talking about regarding pollution. Noone noticed anything! Would have been great to see the city prior to the “cleanup” though to see what changes were made.

The weather was pretty good. It kind of followed a bit of a pattern – a few days of brilliant sunshine, a hazy humid day, and then a day of pouring rain. It’s great being over here where it’s hot and sunny – thinking of all you poor people in the cold wet Southern Hemisphere. ☺