Tianjin to Beijing Leg

Hello from Beijing!

Now everyone knows two indisputable facts about China:

1. About a bzillion people catch trains in China during Chinese New Year.
2. If the entire population of China jumped at the same time, Earth would spin out of its orbit and fly to the moon.

I can now confirm that at least one of these facts is true (I eagerly await proof of the second). We caught the train from Tianjin to Beijing two days ago. The station was heaving with people. The stares we were receiving were different to the ones we get in Korea. People were in awe of our height. Looking across the heads of all those people, we were, on average, a foot taller than anyone else. I don’t want to say people seemed scared of us, but some kids were crying and everyone moved out of the way as we passed.

We boarded the express train to Beijing. It only took an hour and was very comfortable. After we alighted at Beijing Main Station, we were accosted by watch sellers, tour guides, and men touting for taxis. We spotted the hotel across the road, so walking with a purpose, we headed there and checked into our home for the next five days.

The city is trying to reinvent itself for the Olympics. There is so much construction going on, that it’s hard to imagine what it will look like in the summer. Because of all the overtly capitalist development, our ‘hostel’ is now a ‘hotel’, which means that we have our own room, internet access, and a kettle. For fifteen quid a night, it’s really comfortable and nice.