The Journey to China

I made it. Its around 1.15am local time. That was a long haul. Up at 5.30am to travel with the family to Tullamarine for a 9.30 flight to Sydney.
Theres bo denying that was an extra difficult goodbye... but lil Ryland was kind enough to dish out a great cuddle and some smiles.
My domestic flight was pretty good. Front row window seat of economy meant loads of leg room. Getting from flight to flight was tight. The Melbourne-Sydney leg was delayed so by the time I landed in Sydney and changed terminals, my international noon flight was boarding..
Sydney to Beijing was a long 12 hours. The seats were very tight and seemed to recline less than usual. A few movies and long chat with my neighbour, a Chinese born New Zealand citizen named Shuo made the time eventually tick by.
I touched down in Beijing around 10.30.. The airport was huge and impressive... getting through customs, fingerprinting, transferring terminals and getting my bag was all relatively pain free. My preorganised "cab style" pick Up was even there waiting for me..
He didnt speak a word of English but seemed friendly enough. First impressions of Beijing - no road rules, busy but not as busy as expected and very smoggy. The drive from airport to city centre hotel was about 40min.
The internet is tedious as expected with no google or Facebook. This blog app works, but im not yet able to map my location as Google maps doesn't work ofc.
I think ive outdone myself again for hotel room... its ridiculous... probably biggest yet, maybe bigger than my house.
For now, I need sleep badly. I should get up at a reasonable time to get to Tiananmen Square and the forbidden palace.Read more