Dear All,

first of all, apologies for the ridiculous list of addresses! But I promise any responses will receive individual answers (but don't all write back at once...). And if someone does not want to be on the list, let me know and I'll try not to forget about it.

Beijing, then. Wow. What a place. Different from what I expected, that much is sure. All I can say is that I obviously had a completely inaccurate view of what communism is all about. But that doesn't mean it isn't and wasn't fun!

The city is absolutely huge. Immense. Vast. What seems like a 5 minute walk turns into a 45 minute hike. And there are so many things to see - my feet have paid the price. Tienanmen and Forbidden City are perhaps the best-known (most notorious?) sites. Both are again vast: probably 2 by 2 miles each. Tienanmen is a vast square and that's it. Mao's tomb is there with his embalmed body - went to see it. They file you past with military accuracy and then you're back outside, where they sell medals pins badges watches (real Rolex - with a wavy Mao? yeah right!) etc. etc. Mao would turn in his grave. As it were.

The Forbidden City is equally huge and very impressive. But also strangely devoid of a real soul, at least I thought. The buildings are all very similar and, to be frank, after a while... it gets a bit tedious. I think this is mostly due to my own lack of knowledge of this culture: since the symbolisms are so different (colours animals orientation of buildings etc.) it is difficult to see any differences there may be. The most bizarre thing is that the signs to various exhibitions within the Forbidden City are ludicrously inaccurate, often pointing into walls or dead-end alleyways. Hm.
Finally, the Great Wall. I ended up seeing it at Badaling, a more touristy bit but still great! It's fantastic! The thing is huge (obviously) and so stupidly steep in places, walking up it is like climbing up a ladder! But the views are great and it's definitely worth the trip.

Other than the "real" tourist sites (there are plenty more than the three mentioned above) there are also just the streets to explore, in particular the so-called "hutongs", I guess the equivalent of a shanty-town. Many houses, closely spaced together, with communal loos (and they are horrid!!!!) and bath houses. And yet, the people are strangely well-dressed and apparently well-fed. Very interesting. And no, there was no problem with me being there or taking pictures. People seemed more surprised I even wanted to.

The best way to move about the city is not by foot. Bike is an option although it seems like a good alternative to suicide. Crossing a street with the traffic as it is here is murder, the first few times I crossed with someone because I just couldn't figure it out. Now after London that's saying something. Traffic lights don't count, and at least in London I was convinced people wouldn't hit me, steal my wallet and drive off. But back to transport. There is an underground system (Y3 per trip, that's about 25p) but it's an order of magnitude smaller than the city. Buses are plentiful, cheap (Y1 or 8p or so) usually packed (even sardines get better conditions by their union). I've more or less figured them out, with the help of a map with busroutes, but it's an adventure every time. And a triumph whenever I get where I hoped I would.

Shops - yes plenty. And many, many western places too, also in terms of food. And even some green tea drink is made by (or under license of) - yup Coca-Cola. People are shoppers, they like new clothes, no two people wear the same. There is a huge number of mobiles (in February something like 5 million!!! people got one in China), and all new tiny models. Mao just keeps on spinning in that grave of his.
People then. Very nice. Helpful (and believe me, the language confusion has been biblical in proportion - this is Babel-and-a-half!), good-humoured and interested. Okay, more than half want to sell you stuff but you suss them out reasonably quickly and then brush them off. The other half are really nice. I am in a clear minority and stick out, well, like a Westerner in Asia, but I never feel awkward or ill-at-ease. People stare at me, which was discomforting at first. And they ask me to shake their hands in their pictures. Sheesh. Restaurants are a treat too, most of the stuff I've eaten I wouldn't know what it was. Probably for the best. It was also interesting to dissect an entire (head tail and fins) fish with chopsticks - I thought knife and fork was hard enough! I must look like an absolute pig eating here, very embarassing.

The only thing I really dislike about the people is that they (1) pick their noses in public and (2) they spit! And not just quietly in a corner either! You can hear them a mile off, clearing their throats, and boy do you not want to be in the path of their projectiles! And yes, women are as good at it as men!!

Sense of dress - few jeans, few sports shoes, somewhat old-fashioned but nothing too aweful. Then again, since I know as much about fashion as I do about, say, the history of the common household stapler, that's unlikely to mean much.

Language is a problem, as I've said. But I'm starting to recognise characters (Bei-Jing for example) and some of them make sense. It's tedious (and sooooo geeky!) to explain so I shan't by e-mail, but there is some logic to it. For a next trip here though, I'd definitely want to learn some.

Speaking of language, I shall leave you with a few gems I've found either translated from Chinese into English or "english" names. These are genuine, no typo's on my part, and I have pictures of some of them.
* Chinese camera called "Peafowl"
* Chinese boyband called "Slopoverman"
* Other set of CD's: "Songs of English - The classical song of English"
* More CD sets: "World Eternity Piece Assembly" including such famous composers as John Starus and Cbopin.
* Further CD titles: "Population English Songs" and my favourite: "Paris in thick makeup"
* Sign near a Buddhist temple read something along the lines of "unless told so by a higher authority you are not allowed to park here due to sore reason"
* In the Summer Palace, on a railing surrounding a statue: "Please protect our cultural relics Please protect our railings"

Cheerio, the Flying Dutchman is signing off for now. More news after a few days of Mongolia and before the horseriding.

Mark

P.S. I saw a woman the other day who looked *exactly* like Sheena Radford - but Chinese. And I keep thinking I'm about to bump into Yuka. The mind boggles.

|\/|<

 Read further

Mark Krebs, England, 2002