Sorry for the delay in putting this Blog together - technology failed me in China and since getting back, it's been a major undertaking to catch up on the mountain of work following 7 days out of the office!
Oh well, here goes - thankfully I made a few notes each day, so these are my recollections as they happened:
Friday: Met at Heathrow T3 at 7:00am, and everyone was in great spirits for the challenge ahead. We met our trek leader Phil Mitchell (not that one!) and eventually boarded our delayed flight to Helsinki.
The flight was 'ok' - and we were fascinated with the overhead video display screens, which showed first a 'pilot's eye' view of take-off, then a view from underneath the aircraft. That was great for take off. Landing was a different matter! A few of us were sitting in the bumpy rear seats of the plane, and as we started our descent, it got rougher and rougher….. Then they switched the forward facing video camera on. We knew it was cold by the frozen lakes clearly visible out of the widows. The frontal camera seemed to show just snow! We made a few steep turns, getting more and more buffeted, but still no sign of a runway. Eventually, with just a few hundred yards to go, there it was - partly covered in snow!
By this time we were being tossed around like Thunderbirds puppets, and the aircraft was crabbing sideways aiming to the right of the runway!! We hit the tarmac hard, and the plane lurched forward, straightening it's path along the runway. Afterwards, Ron said that it was a four-dimensional experience - you could see the approach, feel the turbulence, hear the wailing engines and taste the panic! I would add a fifth - you could also smell the fear!!!, at least in my seat. That was the worst landing in the hundreds of flights I've been on!
We exited the aircraft into freezing cold air, then took buses into the terminal, where we all enjoyed a few beers to settle our nerves for the next leg
We then settled into our seven and a half hour flight from Helsinki to Beijing. This was a far more civilised flight, much of which Robbie & I spent in the 'nightclub' at the back of the aircraft (where the hostesses kept all of the beer and wine). So on Saturday morning we arrived in Beijing well 'relaxed'. The airport is huge and ultra modern, all completed for the Olympic Games which Beijing hosted in 2008.
As we went outside to get on the bus for our next leg, we noticed our first hint that the Chinese don't take health & safety too seriously - these guys were cleaning the glass roof - without any safety gear!
The bus journey was something else, as we spent 2 hours stuck in the weekend traffic jams ("It's much worse during the week" our guide said gleefully
Once the traffic cleared, we had our second thrill ride of the day, as our driver 'Mister Shin' weaved in and out of vehicles at high speed - he used every lane including the hard shoulder to get past slower vehicles
- some like this one carrying very precarious loads! It was all a bit odd, especially seeing someone holding their child at the back of the car to have a 'wee stop' ….. In the FAST lane of the motorway!!! And a bloke in a suit having a wee up a lamp post. Obviously toilet routine is very different in China!
We had lunch in a barn of a restaurant - it must have seated 300, but we were the only guests. The food was 'interesting' to say the least - my least favourite being the crystallised lotus root - baaahh! We ate quite a lot of rice.
Martin & Jason were our guides for the week - both fluent in English (very few Chinese people we met spoke any English at all). Their names were given to them in school as they role-played in the English language, and have stuck with them. We were given early Chinese lessons, so that at least we could say 'Hello' (Ni Hao) and 'please' (Xie Xie),How are you?'(Ni Hao Ma), 'Very Well' (Ding Ding Hao) and most importantly, 'beer' (Pijiu).
Then it was back on the bus for a spin to the Ming Tombs............
Martin guided us through the avenue of the stone statues and on to the various tombs and the final resting place of Emperor Ju-di, a massive hillock covered in trees.
We were greeted at the entrance by one of many creatively-translated signs. Line 5 prompted quite a laugh from the team!
The tombs contained a number of interesting artefacts, but all seemed to be inviting you to part with your money as a 'sacrifice', including this 'sacred incense burner'.
Outside, the pressure to part with money continued, with these ladies doing their very best to sell us some fruit and nuts.
Our first night's accommodation was at the Shisanling training Centre for the Ministry of Land and Resources
We soon went in search of some refreshments, and passed this little commercial venture - live chickens for 10 Yuan (£1)
At the little shop, we found Pijiu, and after much sign language, we bought his entire stock of beer for about 20p per can!
... and the local wine was just about palatable at just over £1 a bottle
So we sat in the spring sunshine and enjoyed our first evening in China. The night was cold (as were the rooms), the toilet didn't fill with water - but the floor did, and there were plenty of bugs in the room, but we would soon find that this was five star in comparison to some of our accommodation to come!
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