Beijing touchdown: July 12, 2007.

First impression: Construction, construction, and construction everywhere. Looks like the city is really getting prepped up for the Olympics next year. In fact there is a subway under construction right at the Beijing airport, and this is supposed to be finished in time for the Olympics.

In a word? Beijing is HUGE.

Huge, as in eight-lane freeways, tall skyscrapers, the spacious Tian’anmen square, the massive Forbidden City, and the sheer length and grandiosity of the Great Wall. Beijing is all that, and more.

And then there’s people. People – tourists and locals alike – they flock to Beijing like a swarm of bugs attracted by the scents and sights of the city. Thanks to my Chinese companions, I was able to experience some of the things that I would probably never have the heart to try alone. Here are some of them, plus a few of my observations:

• Riding the subway
  • Subways here are quite manageable, particularly if you’re already used to subway systems as in Japan.
  • Tickets are sold at the window, manned by persons. Apparently magnetic tickets have yet to make an appearance here. The tickets are also handed over to persons guarding the entrance gates. In my opinion, the subway in Seoul is more advanced in comparison. At least they had a vending machine for tickets there.
  • I couldn’t quite figure out how much the necessary fare was. I did not see any fare tables. But maybe I just missed them?
  • At the platform, there were no waiting lines of people. Everybody just sort of flocked to the door and squeezed into whatever space available.
  • There was a guard at the platform who made sure that everybody stayed behind the yellow line. He barked orders at anyone who dared to lean over too far. Feisty.

• Riding the bus
  • This appears to be the most convenient and cheapest form of transportation here. Imagine paying a minimum of 1 yuan!
  • Buses are crowded, anytime of the day. Hardly surprising, eh?
  • I got the biggest shock of my life when riding the bus. I was sitting, and there was this girl standing over me, holding onto a rail while the bus was moving. Nothing particularly unusual until my gaze caught her exposed hairy armpit in all its black glory. I have never, and I mean NEVER, seen a woman with hairy armpits before. And here I thought all Asian women shaved their armpits. Wrong! How’s that for culture shock?

• Eating
  
  • By now I’ve sampled quite a number of hitherto unknown dishes, and thanks to the sheer resiliency of my digestive system, I seem to be doing fine. 🙂 I’ve been properly warned about drinking water, so I stick to bottled mineral water only.
    
  • Peking duck – my sister calls this “rubber ducky” because of how shiny they look, and indeed how “rubbery” they taste – this is true at least for some of the Chinese restaurants in Japan where we tried it. Fortunately, I found out that it is not how a genuine Peking duck should be. The meat is rather soft, and the soup made from Peking duck is quite delectable. Quack! 🙂

A few other observations:

• Vehicles drive within their designated lanes. I think the traffic enforcers in Metro Manila would do wise to impose this traffic rule. If they can do it, why couldn’t we?
• All taxis and buses I’d ridden drove within reasonable speed. They seem quite disciplined when it comes to speeding.
• On the other hand, there are still traffic jams here – but not as bad as the ones I’d experienced in Metro Manila.
• I haven’t seen the sun entirely for the last two days that I’ve been here. Fog or smog, I couldn’t tell the difference. Heh.

I’m set to go to Hainan island tomorrow. My newfound friend says it’s cleaner there. Hainan is semi-tropical, and is famous for beach resorts. It will be an entirely different adventure there. So…stay tuned! 🙂