Beijing, China
November 11, 2013
Well, unfortunately I missed my overnight train to X’ain on Saturday by all of two minutes.
I had a bad change on the subway from line 6 to line 9 as the station was so confusing as to where my next platform was. But even so I still had enough time to easily make my train had it not been for the rail employee who pointed me in the wrong direction once I got off the subway at the Beijing West Railway station. I could have changed my ticket and not lost any money however when I went to the ticket office they had it closed off by Police as something was going on that I didn’t really understand.
Not to worry though, I have another ticket booked to leave tonight and I’m heading down the station very early on and will park myself up in a cafe somewhere nearby so at least I know I wont miss this one.
It’s given me another couple of extra days in Beijing though to have a look around and I was going to wander off again and take in a few more temples etc however I’ve pretty much had my fill of temples in Beijing so I’ve spent a couple of relaxing days meandering through the tiny little mazes of Hulong’s, eating cheap food with the locals, sharing a few beers with them and catching up with friends and family back home.
I’ve done a bit more research for where else I would like to get to after X’ian and it’s looking like I’ll try to head to Zhangjiajie. The place looks amazing and it’s where they got the idea for the floating mountains that are in Avatar. I didn’t even know such a place existed so I’m really looking forward to that if I can get there. Got my hostel sorted in Hong Kong for a couple of nights before I fly on to Malaysia and also arranged a months volunteer work at an animal sanctuary on Langkawi Island just near the Thai border, so some exciting times ahead.
