Since I can only do 10 photos per post now, I'm going to post Day 3 here, and then will post Day 4 a little while from now. There's no point in doubling up short (travel) days.
Day 3 – Beijing or Bust!
So today we left the Peninsula Hong Kong to head to Beijing! I don’t think it was a particularly early morning. As we all met up after breakfast to get ready to head out, CG mentioned something about her DD finding out that the really lovely carved soap container in the room actually was a gift/souvenir! So I ran back to the registration desk, and they said yes, it was a gift, so they let me run back up to the room and grab mine. It’s quite pretty!
The other thing I didn’t think to ask about was the little plastic ABD suitcase that accompanied the chocolates in my room. BUT! But I discovered, when I looked through the Adventure Guides’ photos, that WHAT?? It was CHOCOLATE??? I thought it was cheap plastic! It never occurred to me that it was, itself, chocolate!! I don’t know if I’m happy or sad. It’s not like I had a dearth of chocolate to eat, but if I’d wrapped it up & stuck it in my suitcase, chances are, it would not have survived for 11 days in my suitcase! I wonder if anyone took theirs? The staff probably would have laughed if I asked about taking it…
So we headed out to the Hong Kong Airport. This was the only time for the internal flights that we had to check ourselves and our luggage in. Even though Hong Kong is part of China, it’s still like a separate country in a lot of ways. So it was full check-in with our passports. (For the rest of the flights, “Tinkerbell”, assisted by Joe, would check us in -- we’d have to turn in our passports to him -- and we’d be handed our boarding passes and passports when we got to the airport.)
We finally found out what our Gate number was, and were given some time to shop & buy lunch before we had to meet up at the gate (which was “downstairs” from the shopping area). I went to the
Disney Store there, and bought a cute little Mickey keychain (with Mickey in a Chinese outfit) to put on my gel seat cushion so that it would not blend in with the seat, and I would remember to take it with me.
I then managed to find some food for lunch. I then headed downstairs to the Gate. Only it turned out, the Gate was not just “downstairs”! The Gate was down the escalator, across the room, back up the escalator, onto a train, back up, etc, etc! It was *MUCH* farther away than any of us thought it was. I went from having plenty of time to panicking about just how long it was going to take me to get there. Luckily, I got there in time, as did everyone else.
It was a relatively uneventful flight (they all were) and we arrived in Beijing! Only once we *finally* got off our plane, after *endless* taxi-ing, we had to use outside steps to deplane, and then boarded a bus and were then driven half-way around the airport to the actual terminal where we were supposed to have deplaned. And that bus was a real “welcome” to Beijing! People just kept shoving their way on, and shoving their way on, until that bus was completely jam-packed. I didn’t think they’d get the door closed!
I’m trying to remember, but I think think the flight had been delayed enough (plus all the time it took them to find a spot to unload us, then bus us to the correct terminal) that we went straight to Duck de Chine from the airport. If I’m wrong, someone please correct me! Duck de Chine specializes in Peking Duck. For those of you not familiar with it, Peking duck is made from duck that has been seared in a fire so that the skin is carmelized, and it is sliced thin in a ceremonial fashion. It is served with very thin pancakes that you put the duck, sliced leeks, cucumbers, radishes and sauce in, then roll up into a little duck burrito.
It was OK, but really not my thing. After all the hype, I was expecting something absolutely luscious. But the fact that it wasn't amazing didn't stop me from eating it! After eating several little burritos, then they started bringing out more food!! LOTS more food! I thought the Peking Duck *was* the meal, but apparently, it was only the start! And I don’t think I was the only person who thought that! The food was all delicious, and of course you had to try everything, so we all left dinner that night thoroughly stuffed!
Then we headed to our hotel – the amazingly gorgeous Rosewood Beijing!
This hotel was just beautiful, and the rooms were spacious and inviting, and just wonderful. I told the others, all they’d have to do was add a kitchen, and you could move into it as a lovely apartment! I think it was pretty much everyone's favorite hotel of the trip.
The dressing area/walk-in closet:
Floor-to-ceiling windows with remote-controlled blinds.
I settled in, as we would be here for 3 nights, and then went to bed.
Next up: Day 4 - Beijing: Forbidden Magic.
Shoot. Well, Beijing may not be posted for a few days until I resolve this...
