h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I got up this morning with the full intention of visiting the zoo to see the pandas. Zoos are fine as scientific places of conservation, which is exactly their function in the case of pandas, who seem to have backed themselves into an evolutionary dead-end. Left to their own devices in the wild, present numbers wouldn't be able to sustain themselves and they'd end up extinct

I digress ... on reading the guide book, I discovered that it's possible to take a boat ride from the zoo to The Summer Palace so decided to defer until tomorrow when I can go with Mr T.

Today's activity involved me taking a taxi into the city centre to do some shopping. I was heading for Wangfujing and even at 10.00am it was still full-on rush hour. A half hour journey cost 38 Yuan - less than three quid. I don't know how these guys make a living. It's illegal to tip in China but I have a terribly careless tendency to drop a couple of small notes by mistake when I leave the car
Notes come in very small denominations here. Ten Yuan is worth about 70p and it's possible to get a half Yuan note.

It was hot in the city centre. Everywhere one sees girls with parasols, protecting their complexions from the suns rays. Meanwhile, us westerners are taking every opportunity to catch some of these rays, starved of sunshine as we are after a long, dreary winter and damp spring.

The shopping malls provide a comfortable, air-conditioned respite from the noon sun. There are many recognisable brands available here - everything from Nike to Moschino. Prices are comparable to those in the UK - so no real bargains on clothes or cosmetics, I'm afraid.

Beijing is gearing itself up for the Olympic Games. A fair proportion of the city is a building site and many older buildings are getting face-lifted. It's akin to being inside a beehive; determined and slightly frenetic activity wherever one looks.
This is no third world city. This is a thriving, modern world capital with sophistication sitting comfortably alongside its less cultured cousins. Many sky-scrapers surpass those of London, in both height and design.
It's useful to remember that the Chinese had attained a level of development way beyond that found in much of Europe, 2200 BC. This country is certainly one of the cradles of civilisation and if my understanding is correct, they were carrying out sophisticated things like writing and building while we were still trying to figure out how to rub sticks together.

I love people-watching and find faces endlessly fascinating. Some have very delicate features; even the men could be described as pretty. Others have more heavy-set faces. This part of China isn't that far from Mongolia and I suspect many Beijingers have that ancestry and the attractive features bestowed by those particular genes.

I had a good wander along Wangfujing Dajie, stopping in a few places and making purchases of wee gifts to take home. Every 200 yards or so there's a Beijing 2008 store selling Olympic souvenirs, some of which are incomprehensible to me and possibly designed mainly for the home market. With a population of 1.29 billion people they're sure to find plenty takers.

In one of the malls I found an excellent cup of coffee and they had free internet access for patrons so I was able to get online and find out what was going on in Hootooland.

Getting a taxi back to the hotel wasn't easy. The first chap in the rank wanted to leave the meter off and charge me 145 Yuan. He was nearly asked if he thought I'd come up the Clyde on a banana skin! I settled for just giving him one of my best death-glares and barking ¡®illegal¡¯ at him.
The taxi who took me back did use his meter and the fare came to a whole 36 Yuan.

Back at the hotel I dithered between going out to sit in the Plaza with a coffee and a sudoku puzzle or three ¨C or going to the gym to shift some more lard. Decisions, decisions. The gym won.

Mr T would very much like me to stay out here with him for the duration of the contract but, interesting as the place is, there's not enough to keep me occupied without being able to speak Mandarin. Learning that would be a fulltime occupation in itself.

Oh I love the orient, I'd far rather visit there than anywhere else.

I was in Moscow the year before the 1980 olympics. The things that I brought back are mostly lost - except the little pin badges, which we swapped with the kids there for plastic ball pens and chewing gum. I've seen some on sale here in badge shops for €10. But I'm keeping mine.

Thanks for keeping us updated on your China trip, T!

Would you consider transferring your China journals into a series of articles for ?

I could think about it, Ti - if you think anyone would be interested in reading such stuff.
It'd need a bit of work to make it suitable.

Sure they would - especially since China is very much in focus right now because of the Olympic Games

Go for it Mrs. T. I am finding it really interesting, know that I'll never get there, and it is like Having a H2G2 reporter there, giving an honest viewpoint.. and hey! Great Kudos to you...
And now I really must go to , especially after reading about Fuzzy's shenanigans... Put's my problems into perspective, but does make me wonder...


Teuchter... Going off topic... I'm away now. Have a good day, and I look forward to catching up with the daily bulletin...



MMF

Oh, I really enjoy travelogues.

It's good to follow in your , Teuchter.

Your travel blogs are a joy to read ....move over Mr Palin

More please

Thank you for your very descriptive travelogues. Since I won't fly, it's very nice to read of your adventures!
Enjoy your stay,
Lady C.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my efforts

I do enjoy Mr Palin's travel writing/broadcasting. He's an amiable chap and must have a good team behind him.

Paul Merton, however, is a totally different kettle of
Much as I like his sardonic humour on things like HIGNFY, I was annoyed by his approach during his recent travels-in-china thing on UK tv. He was nastily sarcastic and bad-mannered and totally NOT amusing.