Traveling is
hard. Traveling with 2 kids and a
husband is harder. Traveling with all of
those people relying on my plans in a country where I don't speak the language
is sometimes even temporarily impossible.
Even in our daily lives, simple tasks like getting something copied or
getting a bike repair can be cumbersome.
Thankfully, many of my daily tasks are made easier by the fact that all
of our students take English classes and at least 90% are functional English
speakers.
Our arrival in
Beijing was not so comforting. I
researched and weighed options vs. needs, hotels vs. hostels for a full 12-hr
day on the computer before making reservations.
In America, I always attempted to achieve a balance between quality and
price when we traveled. Unfortunately in
China, that balance doesn't always result in the circumstances I imagine or
prefer.
After a late flight
arrival, we lugged our luggage onto the subway in an attempt to get ourselves
closer to the area of the hotel in order to save some taxi fees. After more than 2 hours since our landing,
having waited on baggage, made it to the subway, and moved ourselves across
town, we thought we were close. We
started showing our hotel address (in Chinese) to the taxi drivers. No one knew where it was! We nervously stood on the side of the road, flagging down taxi after taxi to be
told they didn’t know where to go. When we finally found a driver who knew where
to go, we were appalled at his 80 yuan taxi fare, but hey, it was late and were
ready to be done for the day! (More on taxi rides in a future post)
Driving down more
and more twisty side roads, I was nervous about our destination. When we reached the hotel, it had some
variation of the name I had on my reservation form. Jason didn't want to get out. I did.
I didn't really care what this place was, I was just ready for bed! We argued with the driver a bit, me in broken
Chinese and the driver in broken English, trying to ensure we were in the right
place. Ultimately, we had found the
right place, but the evening's obstacles weren't quite over. At the desk, no one spoke English. Now, I realize I am the foreigner here, and I
don't expect...OK fine, maybe I'm a bit of a snob and have some expectation of
English speakers especially in hotels.
It took more than 20 minutes for them to register our passports,
obviously struggling with their layout and where to enter what
information. I mean, I have plans to see
The Great Wall and the Forbidden City...If my hotel can't help fulfill my
English requests, how in the world will we see Beijing? Man, that all-inclusive
tour (with English guide) is taunting me in the back of my mind right now! Ugh, reaching our room was a relief. It was nice.
Big beds as promised, clean bathroom, hot shower. Finally.
Upon beginning our
explorations the next morning, I came to realize just how "off" I had
been in my choice of reservations. Did I
even LOOK at a map before booking this?!
We were in the heart of Chinese residence district in Beijing. Small restaurants with only Chinese menus,
small hometown grocers on each block where everyone stared upon our entering,
high-rise apartments, and community recess areas on each corner. Don't get me wrong, the area was
beautiful. Neat and clean, sidewalks,
parks, trees - not like the parts of China I have seen so far. But, I came to be a tourist, not a Chinese
local. After a breakfast of packaged
bread and fresh fruit from the local grocery store, I sat down to study the map
and try to make some plans. We decided
to make the best of our location but wanted to take the kids for a special
afternoon at a Children's Emporium that my Frommer's listed as a family
must-see. We ventured back to the subway
and made it across town, uneventfully, and found our way to our
destination.
Upon turning the
corner onto Wanfujing Street, a famous pedestrian shopping street, I realized
we'd found the heart of tourist China.
Restaurants galore - many with familiar names, information centers, and
tour guides touting their services - in English! Ahhhh. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon
shopping, researching tour options, having a familiar lunch at Subway. At the end of this awesome street, we rounded
a corner where I noticed the Novotel hotel.
Dang it! That was my SECOND
choice in hotels, but decided to go with "nice but affordable"
instead of just "nice!". Guess
the premium was for location, location, location.
Well, this little
English-speaking venturer was smart about one thing: I didn't pay the other
hotel in advance! SO, we spent a second
night in China-ville, then packed our bags and booked it right on over to the
Novotel! After a rough two days getting
oriented in Beijing, we spent the next three days in bliss! We could see the Forbidden City from our 18th
floor room, we saw The Great Wall on a spectacular day tour where we actually
enjoyed blue skies - apparently a rarity, and were surrounded by English
speakers everywhere, ready to serve our whims!
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