The air traffic controllers in Paris decided to let my flight take off at the scheduled time -- thank you!
Arrived in Beijing on time, exhausted, expecting an ordeal with the immigration people at the airport. First surprise: no queue at immigration; second surprise: the nice woman looked at my landing card, passport and visa and said "Welcome to China, have a nice stay." Good start! So much for the stereotype of Chinese bureaucracy.
I had checked the weather forecast for Beijing before leaving and it said hot and humid. They weren't joking. It's going to be three or four shirts a day.
My second stereotype has also been shattered. The streets are not teeming with bicycles as you might expect from watching movies. It seems all those bicycles have been replaced by cars. In the taxi on the way to the hotel (Hotel G -- check it out) we got stuck in a few traffic jams, but the most impressive sight was the 16-lane (2×8) highway that crosses one end of Tiananmen Square, right past the giant portrait of Mao. I suppose they need that width to fit the tanks.
The adventure begins today!
Arrived in Beijing on time, exhausted, expecting an ordeal with the immigration people at the airport. First surprise: no queue at immigration; second surprise: the nice woman looked at my landing card, passport and visa and said "Welcome to China, have a nice stay." Good start! So much for the stereotype of Chinese bureaucracy.
I had checked the weather forecast for Beijing before leaving and it said hot and humid. They weren't joking. It's going to be three or four shirts a day.
My second stereotype has also been shattered. The streets are not teeming with bicycles as you might expect from watching movies. It seems all those bicycles have been replaced by cars. In the taxi on the way to the hotel (Hotel G -- check it out) we got stuck in a few traffic jams, but the most impressive sight was the 16-lane (2×8) highway that crosses one end of Tiananmen Square, right past the giant portrait of Mao. I suppose they need that width to fit the tanks.
The adventure begins today!
