4 x one night in beijing

My recent trip makes Beijing the Northern-most latitude that I have been to so far. And 2009 is a good year to visit Beijing as the People's Republic of China celebrates 60th National Day. Also, after Beijing Olympic 2008, most of the infrastructures are in place.

Having been the capital of dynasties and modern China, Beijing holds significant political, historical and cultural status. As a Chinese it has been enriching to visit places like the Great Wall, Forbidden City (no forbidden fruit), Tiananmen Square among other sites, to walk on the streets, to take their bus and subway, to eat their food, to experience and peep into life of the locals. Beijing gave me a totally different feel from Southern China which I am more familiar with. The streets are clean, the buildings are tidy (even if they are old), and people are polite. The Wangfujing Dajie can match Singapore's Orchard Road or Hong Kong's Causeway Bay. It makes a difference to be in the capital.

I also took a high speed train and sneaked out to Tianjin, an early industrial city of China in which they recently rolled out the first Airbus to be assembled in China.

I was so ill-prepared for this trip, I forgot about my Nalgene bottle, had to brave the sub 20 degrees chill in my berms, but I had my trusty Osprey backpack and Keen sandals to keep me exploring. Have I told you I forgot about bringing extra underwear too?

But at least I'm back (like donkey weeks ago).