First Post

Got up at 5am on Saturday (boo hoo) to go to the airport. Upon arriving I took my luggage (hand luggage only) and placed it in the overhead bin provided. My luggage consisted of a priceless 1906 Faberge egg "le papillon", a pencil, and 10 packs of Imodium. Soon my next door neighbour for the next 11 hours arrived, dragging a heavy sack of anvils, which he lofted with apparent ease into position, accompanied only by a soft crunch as my luggage became a lot flatter all at once.

 

The flight north was accompanied by no shortage of turbulence, compounded perhaps by an enthusiastic pilot who saw fit to dodge between patches of clear air and hit every storm between Sydney and my eventual distination, Beijing. I guess when you go budget with Kraschalotta Airlines, some fun is to be expected.

 

Arriving in Beijing after an interminable series of tear-jerker Korean films (SPOILER ALERT: The mum has cancer), I proceeded to navigate the subway system with considerable skill, and presently found the building of my couch surfing host. Unfortunately I chose the wrong entrance (this is at about 10pm), found myself in a darkened corridor littered with bikes. Even after I found the correct flat number, it all seemed rather quiet. Fortunately I realised my error and got out extremely quickly. 30m away the correct place, a somewhat renovated place came to light. I arrived to find 2 other couchsurfers already there, with two more on the way. The host had moved houses 4 days before and wanted to warm the place, I think.

 

Managed to find food, water, and a ticket to Ulaan Baatar, so now I have 3 days to spend in Beijing. My host and other CSers went to a section of the great wall to camp, so all I have to do is get the TV working and teach the fish to perform integral calculus.

 

No photos yet, maybe next time.

 

PS. Beijing is warm in summer.