BEIJING

I visited China way back in 1986, just a young tike at the time, so there isn’t a lot of Information I can depart to you, unfortunately. I can tell you Beijing was quite a city and left an impression on me. Plus I had some photos. Streets full of bicycles, I remember feeling strangely out of place in a taxi. The Imperial Palace (scene of such things as… The Last Emperor) is possibly better than the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Huge and amazing, decorated to the max and full of gold, it is quite a ‘wow’ experience.

The Great Wall of China is obviously a chief tourist attraction for the country, and doesn’t disappoint. It stretches both forward and back as far as the eye can see – further. So you walk along it (there ain’t much else you can do). On the downside there were some cleanliness issues if you were picky – the occasional pile of vomit here and there – why don’t they throw up over the side of the wall?

I also remember a visit to the Beijing Zoo, with one star attraction bringing us there. That was, of course, panda bears. These quiet, big cuddly things were quite beautiful. Unfortunately their enforced habitat wasn’t – this was clear to an eleven-year-old. I was not impressed by the conditions any of the animals were kept in – but that was a long time ago now.