Our arrival in Beijing after an adventurous night on the overnighter. The bathroom down at the end of the cabin was out of t.p. early, and we figured out early on that one side was the whole in the floor and the other side was a toilet. I am becoming accustomed to the whole, and sometimes prefer it over the other option!
The above is the taxi line at 7:15 in the morning at the train station. It went very quickly and we were soon in two separate taxis on our way to the Sihe Courtyard Hotel in a Hutong. Hutongs are the blocks, like the lanes in Shanghai, where people live. They are little alleys along which are many homes and some shops. They are all behind walls with doors that enter into alleys where 1 - 5 families could live. The traditional hutongs did not have bathrooms, and everyone in the alley would share the bathroom down the street. They still have the public toilets frequently on the street.
Taxi lines.
Beautiful train station.
Upon arrival, we immediately went in and had breakfast. A fun buffet of a variety of things: noodles, ham/bacon, pastries, rice, soup. Eggs could be ordered, but we stuck to the fun offerings that were out.
Tea, cereal, yogurt.
This was one of the buildings in the courtyard. Rooms were all around a courtyard, and then there were lesser courtyards off to the side. If you want to book here, definitely ask for a room around the main courtyard. They are much larger.
This was the first room mom and Nancy and Storey had. They had to switch the next night to a MUCH smaller room that had the toilet in the shower, and no room to even lift your arm to brush your hair!
The large courtyard. Really fun living in the hutong style. It had a lot of atmostphere, and it was an experience walking down the lane to the hotel watching all the locals on the way.
Have to run. We are in Xi'an now (I am behind on the blogs) and we are running out to rent bikes and ride the city wall.
M
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