After a day of travel, we are now in Beijing.  The short flight from Shanghai was a bit more challenging than we expected.  Air China’s baggage rules are quite different than U.S. airline rules.  So we had to pay extra fees and move some things around.  Now I see why we had to be at the airport three hours early for such a short flight.  The flight, itself, was pleasant, although it was late.  That felt just like home!

Our Air China Boeing 767 waits to take us from Shanghai to Beijing.

Now to the pleasant surprise.  Our hotel in Beijing, the Dong Fang, is the best hotel we’ve stayed at, yet.  The rooms are clean and comfortable and have good A/C!  And there are three or four English-language TV channels, including BBC and HBO.  This hotel is off the beaten path, in the middle of a neighborhood.  A quick walk down the street gave us the sights, sounds and smells of the real Beijing.  People were playing games on the sidewalks and street vendors were cooking and selling meat dishes. It doesn’t feel like we are in the middle of a big city.  It feels much more relaxed. 

Probably the coolest thing about this hotel is the courtyard coffee shop.  While it’s pretty expensive, even by American standards, you can’t beat the setting.  Tables are set up on a brick pathway.  They serve coffee, Chinese and western dishes.  We had drinks and food with my old buddy Tony Perkins.  It was a nice, relaxing way to end the day.  Tony now works for CCTV in Beijing and we’ll get to spend some quality time together during our visit.

The courtyard coffee shop at the Dong Fang Hotel in Beijing offers a great place to unwind.

Today, we’ll head into the heart of Beijing.  Let the adventure continue!