“Welcome to Beijing” Beijing, 2018
こなばんは。How’s it going?
Well, we finally made it to China! After a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles, we arrived in Beijing at 2:15 pm local time. The weather is beautiful and it doesn’t seem too polluted.
The customs/security at the airport wasn’t too bad although I had a ton of trouble with the fingerprinting machines. They just couldn’t scan my fingers correctly and it took a long time to do. Eventually, one of the officers came by with a wet rag and cleaned the sensor window and it worked fine.
Soon after, we met up with our tour guide coordinator, then hopped into our shuttle (a Buick minivan) and after a short 20-minute drive we were at our hotel.
“From the Hotel” Beijing, 2018
The rest of our group of 23 arrived at the same time, so after a quick rest, we headed to the attached mall and found a nice restaurant for dinner. Of course, our first meal in China has to be Chinese food, so Tak Yong fit the bill nicely! We ordered spicy minced pork with buns, kung pao chicken (to see how it’s prepared in the motherland), and a spicy fish dish. I chose the fish partly because many other diners ordered it, and also because I wanted to see how it compared to the spicy fish dish that I love back in Austin.
I thought it was delicious! The broth was clear, but there was plenty of red pepper and peppercorns to give it some heat, and the fish filets were tender and flavorful. The other dishes were yummy as well, and the portions were large. Three dishes were perfect for the four of us. My only complaint would be that the service was kind of slow and they brought out our rice after all the other dishes, so we couldn’t enjoy it together. However, our waitress was patient and did her best to translate using her phone and another little electronic display to communicate.
“Dinner” Beijing, 2018
After dinner, it was still early evening so we strolled through the mall, then outside for a bit. The evening air was a nice temperature, but the city air has an unhealthy smell to it. Maybe because we are in the heart of the city and also it was the end of the day, but let’s see if the air is the same tomorrow morning. Will be interesting to find out.
“Late Commuters” Beijing, 2018
I hope you had a nice day!
またね～
Awesome that you’re in Beijing! Enjoy the city with its history and diverse food. Will you be going elsewhere in China?
We’ll be traveling to Xi’an, Chongqing, then on to a river cruise and end up in Shanghai. It should be fun!
Lovely! You’re hitting the major cities. Can’t wait to see more photos from your trip!