My flight went smoothly. It was a light load going to KSA and going back to DXB. And then the next day I was so thrilled going to Beijing for the first time. I had a huge meal before the flight which turned out to be a great thing because apparently we encountered such delay from China.
Beijing.
Early morning flight is good and bad. Good since most of the passengers will be sleeping the whole time. Bad since the crew wants to sleep as well. During the boring hours before landing my mind just wanders. After going up and down the aircraft for the Nth time, having chitchat with a colleague still feels like eternity for me. Maybe, I'm just not used to being still. The art of doing nothing just doesn't work well for me. You can smell noodles and socks in the entire cabin. Snoring people in sync creating a melody, and crying babies in bassinets and big old men stretching and dancing near the lavatories became normal to me.
The airport is crowded but clean and massive like Dubai. Travelling time from airport to Radisson Blu took about twenty minutes. And I was lucky enough to find newbies like me who wanted to see the Great Wall. Right before the receptionist handed me my room key our plan was set for tomorrow's adventure.
Some people invited me to go for massage while others were nice enough to include me to their Fake-Goods shopping extravaganza. But I said no thanks to the invites since my sleep deprivation has taken its toll and my body just wanted to climb to the bed and eat and watch CNN.
The bed was comfortable and the pillows were the ones made of feathers. Only, everything in the room was written in Chinese characters even the remote control. Their bath products were indeed made in China. From the shampoo down to the shower gel I could tell that they were mostly made of water. No scent, no bubbles just plain liquid they managed to color.
I woke up at five just perfect for our early trip. I opened my drapes and saw a huge fog covering the entire city. Only later after opening my car window did I learn that they were in fact smog coming out from factories. It took us almost two hours to arrive in the Great Wall. Five crew, our Chinese driver and Kasha from Polish airlines that we met in the hotel.
Of course, around this great wonder, Chinese merchants are everywhere. I just did not enjoy buying stuff here and there since they were mostly rude and will try to fool you to buy stuff you have no idea of the actual cost. I went straight to climbing. Well, it was the most intense physical activity I had done in my entire life! A flight of vertical concrete stairs to reach the top of the mountain where the great wall was built. I could still feel my leg muscles shaking and my heartbeats driving wild inside my chest as I grasp for air. For you people who wants to see the Great Wall, just take the cable car for 125Yuan if you want your legs to have a longer shelf life. More or less an hour to reach the summit. A few people were already there. It was of course amazing. Like you're on top of the world. More tourists started pouring in when we decided to walk our way down. We were planning to see the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City but our lovely Chinese driver-slash-tour guide started to ask for additional payment that we never agreed before. Oh well that time, I don't mind going back to the hotel to eat and rest. But my colleagues were still on the game of buying more Fake stuff to add to their wardrobe. I was not really thrilled. Why fool others with your Louis Vuitton's and Prada's and Burberry when you know you just got them from The Silk Market in China? I just don't get it. I can pull off H&M and Forever 21 just fine like their from Diane Von Furstenburg or Chanel. I won't mind spending a few hundreds of Euros or Dollars for a great authentic piece from these Luxury shops since they are valuable and timeless. I am actually saving up for a Prada bag just in case I come back to Rome this year. At least they are the real deal. I am no fool.
I bought a CheongSam, the local Chinese dress for 120Yuan and fridge magnets for 150Yuan. Hoping I got a great deal. Who knows?
Flying back to Dubai took one hour longer and everyone seems to be having an eye infection or something. So I decided to wear my glasses during my Off days. I don't want to have a red eye when I get to KL.
One to go...and I will bid September goodbye.
So far so good.
Sydney-Auckland was great.
Paris is still on top of my list to See and Know by Heart.
I will get to see Beijing again next month.
And lots of Europe flights. Everything is just getting better.
:-)
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