William and I have made it safely to China. The flight was ungodly long; it seemed like all we did was eat and sleep (whenever possible). We had to go through security in Tokyo, but I don't think I've had a quicker, more pleasant experience. William was tempted to visit Japan by that alone--and the adjustable, Western-style toilets they had in the airport. The Beijing airport was also a breeze, but everything looked closed up when we arrived at 9:30 pm, and it had a shabby feel to it, despite the banners and bus-sized posters announcing the Beijing Olympics (One World, One Dream). The checkpoint guards seemed more pleasant in both airports than the matter-of-factual officials we have in our American ones.
Our hotel is near the Beijing Zoo. After shorting out the circuit and losing power for a while, we found out that we don
't even need adapters for our electronics, provided they have the correct range (China uses 220V, 50 Hz). The room we have is actually apart from the hotel in the Expedia pictures--our only warning the tiny lettering on the website saying something to the effect of it's a villa (whatever that means). The bed is big and firm (thankfully, we sleep on a futon at home, so we're not miffed) and the bathroom is cool. The rest is shabby, not even shabby chic, and it smells like a freshly washed-out ashtray. (This photo is one taken in the Forbidden City.)We woke up at 6 am Beijing time, which Will tells me is 3 pm Seattle time (subtract 3 hours and change am to pm). Now we're puttering around, recharging our electronics and thinking about the day ahead. I suggested we hit the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Sqaure today. We'll try and arrange a visit to the Great Wall of China for the day after tomorrow, but we'll see. We still haven't planned that far out. As yet we only have these two nights reserved here at Xiyuan Hotel. We're thinking of getting a regular (i.e. non-villa) room.
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