On Saturday morning we took the high speed rail from Shanghai to Beijing. Organising tickets was a stressful experience but we got there in the end. The fastest high speed trains were sold out but we found seats on one that averaged a measly 300 km per hour. It was great zooming through the Chinese country side although we immediately missed having Chris around to help us. We didn’t have enough time in Shanghai to organise snacks so we tried to buy some on the train. It didn’t go as smoothly as hoped – thanks to language barriers and miscommunications I accidentally ordered Dan an entire braised chicken as a snack. Still, we made it to Beijing in one piece (albeit hungry).
After getting off the train we headed for the subway and were immediately surrounded by the chaos and crush of Beijing. I was totally overwhelmed by the scale of the city. Something that looks like it is next door on the map is miles away. The crowds were intense, the roads were huge, the subways were packed and the passengers definitely didn’t appreciate our backpacks. Although we found some great spots on Beijing, both of us prefer the vibes, the more relaxed pace and the green streets of Shanghai.
Anyway, after checking into our hostel we headed out to grab dinner. We went in the direction of Sanlitun, an area that turned out to be full of malls and expats. We didn’t want to fall into an over priced tourist trap so we were a little flummoxed about where to go but we managed to find a great hot pot place called CouCou. Dan had his fill of lamb and I ordered so many vegetables and stuffed myself with watermelon. It was all so welcome after lots of salty packaged snacks on our six hour train ride . I tried to order jasmine tea but our server couldn’t figure out what I wanted. She used a translate app to ask me if I wanted green tea after the rain. How could I say no to something so poetic? What arrived was very different to what I expected – I think it was an iced jasmine tea latte? Not something I would ever order for myself but really tasty and so refreshing against the heat of the chilli packed hot pot. After dinner we had a quick drink at Janes & Hooch and then crashed.
On Sunday morning we headed out to explore Beijing. We started with Peking duck (a Beijing specialty) at a famous spot near our hostel (we had tried to go the previous night but there was a two hour wait!). Duck is not something I seek out as a mostly vegetarian but it was very delicious and the attention to detail was incredible. Everything was so beautifully presented. Even the grapes served with your meal arrived on a plate piled with crushed ice and swirling with dry ice. We ate the duck with the most delicious pancakes, sweet soy, cucumber and pickled vegetables. And I ordered lots of steamed greens to have on the side.
After breakfast we rode to a cluster of hutongs west of our hostel to explore. While wandering in and out of lovely alleys sounded like a lot of fun, we had not anticipated the insane crowds of a Beijing weekend. Walking around tested our patience and stamina. I think we made it out alive thanks to a combination of caffeine (at the beautiful Voyage coffee shop and a mountain of churros and vanilla ice cream topped with a sweet milky syrup called hazelnut milk).
Ever optimistic, we headed towards the Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square. Of course, it was also eye wateringly busy. We came, we saw, we made our best attempt at admiring the sights and then we admitted defeat and went looking for more coffee and somewhere quiet to read.
We found the much quieter hutong south west of the Forbidden City which was very pleasant to wander along. We looked in at some very chic boutiques and got more coffee and read our books at Berry Beans.
For dinner we headed back to the hutongs where we started our day, thinking it might be quieter at night. Ha! No chance at all. It was still packed. Despite the crowds, we made it to Nina’s, a negroni bar Dan had read about. Not sure what we’d find at an Italian spot in Beijing, it turned out to be great! It seemed to be packed with every Italian person in Beijing. The negronis were delicious and the food was pretty good too, especially the fried pizza.
Monday was our last full day in Beijing before leaving for Mongolia. We started the day by moving to a hotel just by the train station. Our train was leaving at 7.27am on Tuesday morning and we didn’t want to have to deal with public transport or taxis and risk missing our train. It turned out to be a great move as the hotel was a few minutes walk from the station and far more comfortable than our hostel.
After moving we got lunch at Yoshinoya (very much inferior to the Japanese original), coffee (pretty good cold brew from Starbucks) and shortbread from Wagas (excellent!). We needed to stock up on snacks for the train ride so in the afternoon we went to a supermarket – one of my favourite things to do in a foreign city. Errands completed, we went for dinner at another hot pot place. There was a long wait but Beijing makes waiting for a table a big event – restaurants line up chairs on the foot path outside the restaurant and offer snacks and drinks to pass the time. So, we sat and snacked for about an hour until our table was ready. Dinner done (the hot pot was fine, but not as delicious as CouCou), we headed home to pack and sleep ahead of our train journey. Next stop, Mongolia!
