Saturday 31 October 2015
I woke this morning at 06:00, which seems to be my trend on this trip,
even though I didn’t need to get up until 07:00. Most of us going on the Xi’an
extension trip went down to the lobby at 07:30 to wave
off those returning to the UK. We then went to the restaurant for breakfast. We
didn’t have to leave the hotel until late morning so Sarah and I chilled in our
room having a lazy morning; a perfect time to relax with a face mask on. It was
great! We organised our bags as we were just taking our day sacks to Xi’an and
leaving our duffel bags in the hotel.
We went down to the lobby about 11:45 and got on the bus and drove for
about 45 minutes to the Summer Palace.
I liked this place much better than the
Forbidden City because it was tranquil (but still packed with tourists) and
beautifully landscaped. There was a huge lake and landscaped gardens as well as the longest corridor in the world.
The longest corridor in the world
Alan gave us a guided tour and we
had lots of time to explore on our own. It was a strange day in a way, because
there was only half the group left. It felt odd that some had gone home.
Chinese tourists on the dragon boat
I enjoyed wandering around the Summer Palace in the sunshine. We got a
dragon boat across the lake and then walked over a beautiful bridge to where the bus was waiting for us. Another 45
minute bus ride took us to Beijing train station.
We went to a restaurant down the road from the train station and had a
good meal. It was quite adventurous compared to what we had eaten before but it
was tasty and filling. We didn’t have to be at the train station until about
19:45 so we stayed in the restaurant chatting. I was feeling quite tired and,
maybe as a result, quite chilly.
Spicy duck tongues and spicy chicken claws: yum!?
We walked to the train station and had half an hour to have a look
around and buy snacks before we boarded the sleeper train. I wasn't tempted to buy spicy duck tongues or spicy chicken claws that were on offer in the little supermarket!
Beijing train station
The train station was enormous with security check points just the same as at an airport. We found our train and we were in Carriage 1, so right at
the front of the train. I was in Room 3 with Di, Bev and Kate, which I was
happy with as they all like going to sleep early!
My cabin buddies: Bev, Di and Kate
We settled ourselves in our
cabins and then, while walking along the narrow corridor, I got chatting to a
couple of ladies from Northern Ireland who were on a 2 week trip travelling
around China. They were good company and I talked to them for a while, swapping
stories about our adventures in China.
Then I joined Kevin, Amy, Janine, Carol,
Faye, Dean and Leroy playing UNO in the next carriage. It was good fun. As I
was tired, I played until 22:30 and then went next-door to our cabin. Di, Bev and
Kate were all fast asleep so I climbed into my top bunk and settled down to
sleep. I had brought my pillow so I was actually pretty comfy. The main problem
with trying to sleep on the train was that the driver decided to honk the horn
repeatedly, about every 10 minutes, all night long and, because we were in the
first carriage, it was loud enough to wake us all up at every honk!!
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