My final day in China was spent in Beijing. This time I treated myself to a five star hotel...only $100/night Canadian - the Beijing International Hotel. (During the rest of my travels I only spent $25-$38/night.)I felt I deserved this extravagance after the ordeals I had gone through. This hotel also had a telephone in my room, so I could conduct my radio and newspaper interviews, and hopefully have a connection to home.
As well, I had an Internet connection again, which I had to pay extra for (120 rmb) per day, but as I was soon to discover, I was blocked more than I'd ever been before while travelling in China.
My regular e-mail no longer worked, and many Internet sites weren't accessible. For the first time I had a TV with CNN on it, but when Tibet was mentioned, the TV screen immediately went black until the newscast segment was over.
Communications was more frustrating than ever and I wasn't even sure if anyone from Canada could even get through as phone lines had been blocked during the Tibet violence.
However, the interview connection came through and here's the way it reads on the CBC Morning Edition feature page: http://www.cbc.ca/morningedition/feature12.html. You can also link to the actual interview.
I did an interview for the Regina Leader Post too: http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=1ac4f44a-b135-450f-9edf-2057ada58883
One of the other good things about the hotel was that it had a bath tub, which I promptly used a couple of times before leaving, although soaking for any length of time became out of the question because the plug didn't fit into the drain hole. (I was happy to have a bath though instead of a shower, which I'd been using most of my month in China.)
The rooms were adequate, but not anything fabulous, though the hotel lobby and the eight
restaurants were impressive.I chose the multi-cultural buffet on the top floor, discovering when I arrived that it was a revolving restaurant. It served some great Western foods, and I resorted to some of the comfort foods...they had mashed potatoes, potato salad, baked ham, and makings for a green salad, sort of. And there was plenty of seafood, especially shrimp, and even some buns and bread, though not anywhere near the quality of what we have in Canada.
I had supper there, and the next day a brunch, which was quite similar.Good old Beijing is still plagued by smog and the sights from the 18th floor weren't that inspiring.
I've learned that China's plans for making things better during the Olympics are little more than closing down the factories in Beijing for the two weeks that they will take place, and to have half the cars on the road, during the same time. Those with even numbered licence plates will drive on even numbered days of the week and vice versa.
The problem is that the whole country is ful
l of pollution and it's all drifiting east. And can you imagine all those factory people out of work and the other residents somehow having to find a way to their jobs during that time? Sounds like total chaos to me and a solution that won't work for getting rid of the pollution at all.For most of my time in China I had a scratchy throat and phlegm like conditions. In Beijing the situation worsened and my eyes were itchy constantly.
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I left Beijing in the afternoon on Air Canada. After a 10+ hour flight and two not great meals, I was incredibly relieved to be on Canadian soil again, when I landed at the Vancouver airport.
A couple of hours later I caught a flight to Calgary, where I decided to stay for a few days, just to relax and decompress.
A good friend of mine is taking care of me, cooking for me, and nurturing me, as I sleep a great deal, catch up on the news about Tibet, and finish my travel blog.
I did another newspaper interview, this time with the Calgary Herald, but have not seen it yet. That very afternoon in Calgary there was a protest by Tibetans in front of the Chinese Embassy. I didn't take part in it, but my friend did....I was sleeping soundly, finally able to relax totally after the tension of the past week in Lhasa.
What's next? I'm working hard to complete all the sections on this blog, so please check back to see some of the sights, if you are interested, especially those I didn't get to while I was in Beijing the first time.
Then it's home to Regina for awhile, though of course, I sold my house and my belongings and don't actually have a 'home.' I have great places to stay though, so that's what I'll do while I finish a children's novel I'm writing, which I started a few months ago.
I've already been applying for other teaching jobs, so I'll see where that will take me. I'd like to go to a Spanish speaking country, so may try for Central or South America.
I can't teach in Europe because I don't have an EU passport. I suppose Russia is still a possibility, but not sure if I want to be in another communist-type country again for a long time. I'd certainly like to go back to Europe to travel though! I just need to work a little first.
Wherever I travel, you can be sure I'll post another blog! Besides, it's the only way I can keep things straight myself.
