April 12, 2017 Ottawa- Ron and I decide to use our standby pass on Porter to fly out of Ottawa for our trip. We will live to regret this decision later.
We have to fly to Toronto to meet up with Rémi, Paul, and others whom we have not met yet. Our tour begins here as the flight is direct to Beijing. We have a 3 pm flight which will land at 4 pm, a full day later. There is a 12 hour difference in time with Toronto and it's a 13 hour flight. Ouch....
The flight is ok. Ron and I watch 5 movies and doze on and off. Upon our arrival in China, we go through customs, pick up our luggage, and meet up with our guide, Jack, and the other travelers from our group. We will be know from now on as Jack's family on Bus 3. We are also divided in 3 tables for meals. Our table mates are Jean and Joe from Montreal, Dodie (Doreen) and Armand, from Vancouver, Butch (Ron) and Sharon, from Kamloops, and Rémi and Paul. It was a great group. A lot of the other people were connected. There were 3 sisters (Margaret, Debbie, and Barb) and their husbands; Bruce, Ralph, and Rick, then Richard and Wanda, from Winsor, NS, and their friends Peter and Marlene from Montreal, and Bev and George from the Montreal area. The last table had Rod and Joanne from Coquitlam, George and Maureen from BC, Bob and Carol from BC, and Jim and Beth from BC.
Jack Shen, our wonderful, funny guide.
It is now Thursday, April 13. It's after 5 pm by the time we leave the airport. We get to the hotel "Loong Palace" after 7 pm. We get checked in, change money, and get to our rooms. Very nice with slippers and robe available. We meet Rémi and Paul for a bite to eat in the hotel restaurant. Off to a shower and bed at 9:15 pm.
Our gang in our usual mode of transport.
Good Friday, April 14 Wake up call is 6:30, breakfast is at 7:00. It's a buffet style with many choices, Chinese and Western. We eat well and go up to prepare for our first full day. We are not the only Sinorama group here; there must be 8-10 other buses. Looks like it will be busy everywhere we go. We meet Jack at 8 am and board the bus. Our group has 30 people. Two men decided to opt out once they arrived here.
Our first stop is the Temple of Heaven where the Emperor at the time went to pray. We stay for about one hour.
The temple is being visited by many school children as well.
The many children with matching outfits.
In the park, the Chinese play cards.
The Chinese exercise in this park.
I had to give it a try.
They also play hacky sack. This is very popular with adults mostly.
Our second stop is to a tea factory. This is one of many factory tours. Not what we really want to do, but no option. The guide is very entertaining and we get to taste four different kinds of tea. The first is Jasmine, which should be drunk in the morning, the second is Oolong which you can have morning and afternoon, Red or Lychee tea, and finally Puer which does not have caffeine. The Chinese say "tein" because it is in tea, caffeine when in coffee. The guide explained the healthy qualities in each of the teas. Purchases can be made of the teas (any combination), mugs, etc. We buy one mug which comes with a tea infuser. It should also change colours when it has hot water in it.
It's now lunch time. All of the buses go to the same restaurants at the same time so it's busy but they serve the tables efficiently. It's on a big lazy susan which will have 10-12 dishes. Watermelon will become our dessert for the next 12 days, no other choices. They give us a choice for drinks, only one. We mostly choose beer. We get one small glass and pay for more. The same goes for water, pop, and hot beverages. We get to really meet our table mates. I think that we will have a great time together.
Our guide and the two servers.
Paul and Rémi enjoying a taste.
Our group.
Our next visit in Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. Our tour lasts two hours. It is so huge.
Tianamen as much as I could get of it.
Our group before going into the Forbidden City.
Entrance to the Forbidden City.
These "Temples" are everywhere in the Forbidden city.
Very serious soldiers.
Another long shot to try to see the vastness of this City.
Older gentleman with Mao type hat and jacket.
Mao's picture at the entrance.
Our group hanging together.
Our day is not done yet. The itinerary is jammed packed for sure. There's so much to see and do in Beijing and we only have two days. We head to the old part of Beijing called Hulong. The bus drops us off as this area is just very narrow alleyways. We have supper here as well as take a ride in a Rickshaw, all for show.
We eat in a family home so we are packed in a small area and fed the same way with a lazy susan divided up in three tables.
Narrow alleyways in Hutong
Makeshift shed.
Tight little dinning area.
Rickshaw peddler.
Ready for a ride.
Rémi and Paul were ahead of us.
At this point of the day everyone is ready to return to the hotel. It has been a very full first day. We are all dealing with a bit of jet lag.
We are back at the hotel by 7:30. Another early night.
