Hey there loyal readers. As you probably figured out from the closing of my Day 6 entry, things were winding down quickly for my trip to Beijing, but that doesn’t mean that I enjoyed my time any less. One of the best things about this trip has been that I have been able to spend a nice amount of time with Melody, Alex and Robin. For Robin, I am just some weird guy that his parents know from before, but Melody, Alex and I still have many fond memories of when we worked together at UWC Costa Rica, and we are slowly but surely starting to build non-UWC memories which I hope will keep us as friends for the rest of our lives.
One thing that really lets you know that someone is a good friend, is if you can see them again after many years, but there is no awkward reconnecting despite everything which has happened over the years. Of course, in the case of Melody, Alex and Robin, it may just be that they are amazing hosts, but I certainly count them as excellent friends. While my last two days were great for me, they might not be as interesting for you, so I will limit my comments to things which might be of interest to the casual visitor to Beijing.
Most of the day on November 2nd we just spent hanging around the house, and either today or the next day another friend of theirs came by to visit. She also seemed like a really good person, but with the months I am ashamed to admit that I have forgotten her name. That’s bad on me, as I had thought it might be nice to hang out with her sometime next year if I make a visit to Hong Kong.
While this may seem a bit odd to comment on, at 5:41 PM in the evening we were at Oasis International Hospital. Don’t worry, one of them just had a routine checkup. I was struck by how beautiful it was from the outside, and also the care taken to make it a welcoming place inside.
Then after finishing at the hospital, we arrived to Jingzun Peking Duck. This was a very exciting even for me, since I had never actually had Peking Duck before . . . and to be having it in PEKING! I was also a bit giddy about actually using the lazy Susan thing on the table to get access to the food. I have no idea about the cost, since Melody and Alex invited me for this amazing feast, but it really was a special experience. I was interested in the fried milk but found that it was not as tasty as the fried yogurt had been from a couple of days ago. The duck though, really was divine.
The next day was again just hanging out and visiting, which was actually perfect for me. I wondered a couple of times if I might be getting on their nerves after so many days, but if I were, they definitely did a good job of hiding it. In the evening, I had a fun little adventure with Melody when we both bicycled to a couple of nearby grocery stores, and she helped me buy tons of Chinese snack to fill the empty suitcase I had brought specifically for this purpose. I didn’t think to take any pictures while shopping, but I bought SO MANY delicious goodies to take home with me! Throughout the entire thing, Melody patiently acted as my translator for all the food items and also gave me a couple of tips on where I might get nearby similar items for less money. I was able to buy a bit more than otherwise would have been possible, since the fancier grocer where we went accepted my international credit card, something which tends to not be extremely common in China. Afterwards we met up with Alex and Robin for a farewell dinner at a local Hong Kong style diner.
From there, we headed back to their house where I repacked my luggage two times, not sure of the best way to put everything in the bag, and at 8:47 PM Alex once again graciously helped me arrange a Didi to the airport, where I arrived just twenty minutes later . . . a definite advantage of staying in Shunyi rather than closer to the city center. The entire check-in, security check and immigration processes were incredibly smooth.
At 10:14 PM when I was then in the main part of the airport departures area, I was a bit surprised at how calm and relatively deserted the airport was at this hour. Almost all the shops were also closed. Also noticing that it was almost impossible to find charging points, I was tempted to use my Priority Pass lounge access, but I decided against it since I had already had a wonderful meal with Melody, Alex and Robin. Furthermore, it would only be an hour of further wait time before boarding.
My Singapore airlines flight, including the connection, were pleasant and uneventful, allowing me to allow rested and happy to back to Bengaluru at 10:41 AM the next day. I also had good luck at the BLR airport, where it only took me fifty minutes to finish all customs and immigrations procedures before being out the door at 11:20 AM, headed straight to the BluSmart line where I arrived at 11:25 AM. I was a bit annoyed to see that there is no longer any benefit to prebooking, so I had to wait in a line until 11:38 AM. In hindsight, that really was not much of a wait, but what’s the point of prebooking if anyone can just walk up and get in the line? So, it seems that BluSmart may no longer be quite as comfortable of an option as it used to be, but I will probably continue to use them, since I still like them more than the service I would previously get from Uber or Ola.
And on that anticlimactic note, my trip to Beijing and back was over. It was nice however to see some of the Diwali Rangolis that were still around as I arrived at my apartment. So, two months late, I finally finished reporting on my trip to Beijing. What did you think? Is it someplace you now think you might visit? What stood out for you the most? Once again, thanks for reading along, and don’t hesitate to leave your questions and comments in the section indicated below.
Travels with Jay 