Chongwenmen, Beijing, China

The road we first thought we lived on

* Christmas Edition *

What an amazing, gobsmacking and confusing last three weeks! Where are we now? Well we are putting away our backpacks and settling down for a year in China. The land of the rising sun. Hopefully? When this smog clears...

After a busy twelve months on the road, on the mountains, beaches and on many a bus in Asia we are reducing our travel speed in country seven! Beijing, China! But are we stopping for good? Nope! 2014 will be a very busy year for us!

Super pollution protection! 

China is very different from home, both in our preconcieved perceptions but also in the culture and attitudes. Number one- there's no Christmas! Ok, so several of the bigger shopping centres are in with the music and decorations but there is no holiday! There is no Santa and there are certaintly no elfs or reindeer! On new years eve the Chinese celebrate with giving fruit to friends... apples are the fruit of choice or just heading to a local restaurant together (it's not really a family thing).

Our Chongwenmen intersection 

Number two- It's cold. Not so cold that you can't go outside but so cold that after an hour you feel like you are slowly freezing. It starts in your nose and fingers and spreads from there! The locals only laugh about the cold... ohh its going to get much, much colder.... and maybe (its predicted) we might get some snow on Christmas day! So far, our little science experiments on the deck are freezing over and yesterday it only took 10minutes for some splashed water to turn to ice! Brrr.!!!! In addition to the cold, Beijing is extremely dry. It hasn't rained at all since we have arrived. The dryness causes the city to be an electric time bomb!!
It is common to receive up to 50 electric shocks a day from anything! Clothing, door handles, light switches etc... Kara got quite a bad one at work and now touches the light switches with her elbows.
Funny but sad :(

Yum! Potato and peanuts

Number three- the food is different from home. It's not your normal Chinese takeout (fried rice, egg fu hong, vege chow mein) its actually a bit more basic no frills style. Surprisingly its also much cheaper to eat out than cook at home. We must say though, the fresh dumplings are to die for and they can do some amazing things with noodles!

There are some food safety concerns in China with genetically engineered products and meats so we are sticking to a lot of veggies (which gets washed carefully with our fruit and veg wash).

A hazy sunset by our apartment

Beijing is probably quite different from the rest of China (or photos you see of the big cities) as a cultural relic of Chinese history the government has vertical restrictions on building height. This means there is no real definable CBD within Bejing. With most buildings under 17 stories the city has just spread far and wide!!

Generally, Beijing is very clean, however people do spit (a lot) big hunks of thick mucus.

Old women in particular are the scariest most intimidating people we have met, and in Beijing the smaller the scarier. Rule of thumb, you never want to between an old women and the subway door. Their elbows can find all your soft spots.


The subway system is fantastic- like a little meerkat you just pop up from underground, do your business and then pop back underground.

The subways are very busy during peak time- but we think it's got nothing on Tokyo's subways! The area we have an apartment (Chongwenmen) is fabulous, there are five shopping malls within 500meters of our apartment!



So on Monday we filed for our Chinese permanent residency!

Many a motorised 'thing'

All seems to be falling in order, we have an apartment (in Chongwenmen- shamefully we can't even pronounce our street address), more work teaching English than you could throw a ball at, we're beating the Chinese at doubles badminton and are mastering some very basic Chinese.

Exploring the frozen Houhai lakes, Beihai

There is a lot to explore in Beijing - and we LOVE exploring! Some of the markets offer delectables such as tarantula, scorpion and starfish. Kara was brave and tried the deep fried snake... not bad either. We have also visited the Forbidden city and lama temple. Today we are off ice-skating on the houhai lakes! (Photo below).

Walking around Shenjing district 

So we would like to take the time now and wish everybody a happy Christmas, where ever you are! We have meet some amazing people this year and caught up with many old friends, but in particular a huge thank you to those who have hosted/accommodated/spent time/kept in contact with us this year. Our travelling would not be possible with out you ~ You are greatly appreciated.

Looking West in Sanlitun 

We hope that 2013 has been exciting, challenging and has offered you plenty of new opportunities! Most importantly we hope that 2014 will be your year! The year of the strong, handsome, intelligent and energetic horse!

Christmas dinner anyone?

                            ** MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS**

Chinese street lanterns

With love and kind greetings,
John and Kara