Monday 25 March Beijing

Well, firstly I have to eat humble pie - can’t fault Air China really, seats not quite as wide as other airlines but the service was spot on! The crew were fantastic, couldn’t do enough for us.  We arrived on time at 5 am, wheelchair waiting at the door  and after a very long walk and an even longer 

skytrain ride we were met by the Regent representative and taken to a waiting limo, the young lady wheeling all the way!  The Shangri-La China Hotel is beautiful, our guide this morning said it is the most luxurious in Beijing.  The foyer is rather like a palace (most Asian hotels are anyway) and we were not meant to check in until 2 pm or earlier if the room was ready.  We got lucky and they had a room right away!   Not sure what I was expecting in Beijing - maybe a bit of Hong Kong, Bangkok but I was totally blown away by the drive to the city, in the semi darkness everything looked so clean and fresh, the cars new, traffic organised, no honking or road rage.  It was 2C when we arrived, felt great, and has risen to about 20C now. So far no smog but won’t hold my breath about that.  Below the hotel and surrounding buildings there are acres of shops.  I thought great! I can meander around for a few hours in typical Chinese stores but in fact I’ve never ever seen so many designer stores in one place!  FA Swartz NY have massive ads all over and will be opening soon. We both walked for a couple of hours then came back to the hotel as G needed to rest.  I went back and did it all again, bringing some Taiwanese takeaway for a late lunch.  We were given wifi details on check-in but when we got to the room found that we couldn’t get Gmail or Facebook etc.  I went back to the foyer, asked a young guy and he was fiddling around with my iPad when a man eavesdropping said ‘you won’t get those things, they’re blocked’.  So I went to the other desk to ask again and an American guy standing next to me told me the same thing.  He suggested I buy an app which we’ve now done and it allows us to get Gmail, Facebook and everything we need.  Tomorrow we have tours including the Forbidden City.  Lots of walking I gather, our guide told us it’s possible to rent a wheelchair with wheeler so I’m putting my money on that one!!! People here very friendly but not much English spoken.