Townsville Grammar Arrive in China

Townsville Grammar arrive in China!

Our travels from Townsville to Brisbane and then onto Bangkok were smooth and uneventful, though we misplaced two of our "bible" guides to China! Thailand was interesting, especially the "box breakfast" which consisted of a cheese or ham sandwich with what may or may not have been mayonnaise. Also included in the breakfast was a strange green drink that was ridiculously sweet with chunks of coconut in it. At least we think it was coconut : )

The flight to Beijing was good, upon arrival in Beijing we went through temperature scanners that check for fever before we even got to customs and immigration. After clearing customs and immigration we were greeted by Denis, a young Chinese fellow who has been our friendly guide.

After a long bus ride to the hotel, on which many photos of anything slightly Chinese were taken (this got old quickly as we progressed into the city), we arrived at our hotel, King's Joy. The hotel is home to an impressive tank of gargantuan fish!

Dinner was an interesting experience as we were all stressed, hungry and had a hard time picking a restaurant among the busy streets of Beijing. Both cinemas and shops alike had huge fluorescent signs in indecipherable Chinese which was a bit of a distraction.
 
Today we went to Tianamen (no idea how to spell it) square and saw Chairman Mao's mausoleum. The line was probably 500 billion people long, give or take, and twenty minutes after standing in the shadeless line we started making bets on how much longer it would take.
 
Our internet is almost out of time so we'll have to tell you about Steve's amusing Chinese pick-up lines and the incorrectly translated menus later!
 
Also: the hotel lost jack's passport but we found it! S don't worry! Bonus: everyone is well.
 
Thanks,
 
Hannah, Calum and Jess.