Getting Ready

This afternoon I started packing. I have some things to deliver to my host when I arrive. Those went in first, to make sure they were not forgotten. My goal is to have one bag as checked luggage and one carry-on bag. The airline allows 2 X 22kg bags to be checked and one 10kg bag as carry-on. The carry-on is supposed to meet specific size rules. In the two flights I have made so far this year I have not seen or heard anyone's carry-on bag being rejected. And I have seen some carry-on luggage on wheels that was the same size as the luggage I checked when I went to Orlando.

I will be carrying a smallish backpack. It has floppy waist band straps which I should be able to tie back or tuck in if they do not go through the x-ray machine. I think it is too big for what I need but I might need the space when I come back. The duty free allowance for returning Canadians is reasonably generous unless one intends to buy jewellery or art or other high cost items. So I want to bring back a number of gifts for others and for myself.

I had intended to start my trip planning today but that might have to wait until tomorrow. My hotel is on Da Zha Lan Xi Jie. It is a street in the old Chinese part of Beijing, I am told it is about ten minutes walk south of Tian An Men Square. I know next Friday I will be making a trip to somewhere on the Great Wall. Thursday I expect to get up for breakfast on the street and to spend the day partly getting familiar with the neighbourhood and partly recovering from the flight. I have been told it is not possible to "do" the Forbidden City in just one day so maybe I will give two or three days to that place. Wnagfujing Street is a little further away but it is apparently one of the best places in the city to get anything eatable.

There are some famous parks near the Forbidden City which I would like to visit: JIngshan, BeiHai, HouHai. Near my host's house are both a Lama Temple and a Confucius Temple as well as Drum and Bell Tower. There are some very famous universities I might want to visit. And there is lots of shopping, eating and people watching all over the city. I think I should get used to using the subway early in my visit. There may be days when I will be too tired to walk back to the hotel, or days when I will want to get out of the rain.

I have a friend in Nanjing and we may be able to meet in her city. That requires either a 90 minute flight or an eight-hour train ride. She says there is a new high speed train which takes much less time, perhaps four hours. Unfortunately neither one of us were able to find a schedule for it. We agreed I would do some research and make a decision about the trip once I get to Beijing. Perhaps the people in the hotel will be able to help me. I would love to travel on the high speed train, that sounds like a great new experience.

Many people have suggested I visit the Bird's Nest, the trademark site for the 2008 Olympics. It is a little further out than the historical places I have mentioned so far. It will be on my list but not one of my top priorities. I think between the historical sites and what I find in and around the hotel neighbourhood I will have more than enough to see and listen to and participate in and take pictures of.