Reflections

The final installment of Dr Madhumita Sen's travelogue. I hope there will be more from her in the future. DAY 4: Today we are going to the Zoo! It has been another dream of ours to see the Pandas. We arrive at the Zoo at 9.30am, but already the crowds are thick. Before we enter, Alice takes us aside and warns us to be careful with our valuables; pickpockets are common here, apparently. This is news, we have always read and heard that crime is really rare in Beijing (which is true, we’ve been here 3 days, in really crowded areas, and would have been definitely pick-pocketed by now in Kolkata!). Anyway, we shift our wallets and passports to secure pockets and dive into the surging crowds. There are two Panda enclosures, called the ‘Asiad’ enclosure and the ‘Olympic’ enclosure. The pandas are behind glass windows, but we are the ones enclosed, they are in the open. We really need to push through to catch a glimpse of the reclusive animals. We split up, jostled by the crowds (it is...

The penultimate installment of Dr Madhumita Sen's travel diary. DAY 3: We start early again. After a hurried breakfast, we head for the Antique Merchant street, on the other side of the forbidden city. This is also an old part of town, but has been rebuilt to impress the tourist. It is fully pedestrianised and lined on both sides by small shops selling both real and fake antiques, jade, pearls, silk and tea. Many roadside statues have been made to give a historical feel. There are statues showing tea making, a statue of Cixi, the Dragon Queen, and cobblers with giant shoes. We then walk to the Zengiangmen watch tower, which was once part of the city gates, past the railway museum (built by the French, this was the old Beijing railway station), and come upon the picturesque Schichahai Lake. This is a beautiful lake in the middle of the old city, now surrounded by bars and restaurants. It is lined by weeping willows and birches, and there are many boats in the water. It is a re...

The fourth installment of Dr Madhumita Sen's account of a visit to Beijing. Next stop, lunch. We climb the grand curving marble staircase, decorated at each landing with magnificent lacquer-work, and come up to the first floor, which is a large open dining area, already busy with diners. Large round tables are filled with delectable food, and suddenly we are really hungry. We are led to a separate enclosure and sit around a round table big enough to seat 10 people. We unload our gear and relax. Plates of food start to arrive, and Alice comes with a small bottle of rice wine and tiny china wine glasses. This is a traditional wine, reserved for special occasions, and is the strongest wine in China. At 56% alcohol, it is probably the strongest in the world! We pour the wine and click ‘cheers.’ After all, we have climbed the Great Wall, a childhood dream fulfilled! The wine burns down my throat like very strong whiskey ... got to sip it slo-o-owly. A word about the food in China....

Madhumita Sen has been a friend of ours for many years now.At present she lives and works in Malacca. She has written a detailed acount of a recent trip to Beijing which I think is very interesting.I requested her to let me reproduce it in my blog. She has graciously agreed. So here it is. You might want to also read my impressions of China here . Beijing Trip 5th to 9th August 2013 We arrive in Beijing early morning on 5.8.2013, 2am. Beijing airport is huge and quite well managed. Much like so many other international airports, we note, blearily. That’s nice though - pictures of the great wall as we clear immigration. Took some snaps immediately! No one there to meet us at arrivals, had to hang around till 2.35, then this young Chinese girl rushes up. It’s Alice, our tour guide. A short, spritely young lady, in shirt and trousers, smilingly anxious face, no make-up, blond bleached hair. She is very pleasant, English is a bit of a struggle, but we get by fine. She leads us ...