19 Hours in Beijing

I am back in Beijing today, for a 19 hour stop over between returning to England from Australia. We just went through customs and it was really horrible, they herd you through like cattle, and everyone is treated with the utmost suspicion. I kind of expected this kind of customs when I went to America, but they were so polite and kind there! Here I felt really nervous, the whole thing reminded me of the beginning of zombie films where they cattle you through and there's not enough room and everyone's confused. On the other side of customs it's like a different world! Extremely peaceful and they play soft classical music. There are lots of shops with crazy things in:

 

and the staff are extremely polite, they don't hassle you or think that you're a shop lifter, and when you say thank you they always reply 'you're welcome'.





We had an amazing cheap lunch here. It was 102 CNY for two people - we both had prawn stir fry with rice and a bud. Maybe I'm just used to extorionate Australian prices, but that amount of food, for that little money, plus it was really yummy and in an airport.. Please comment and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's great.

There's lots to see in Beijing airport, there are mini realistic looking temples:

Places to practise your calligraphy:



which is not advisable if you're a leftie:




There are some strange shops too, this one sold powdered pearls - what is that used for? A quick search on google tells me it's used as a skin treatment .. what?



We also had an amazing dinner there, this time it was squid and pork stir fry with drinks for 15CNY




We found three hilarious signs:

You can leave Beijing airport on a temporary visa, which I'm pretty sure is free. We considered doing it, but since I had already been to Beijing and Tanbay had no interest in doing so, plus we didn't want to be quarantined or anything.. we didn't do it, but you could!


All in all this sums up our day, if we assume it stands for Beijing

Share this:

ABOUTME

We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.