Our big trip

A few thoughts and photos from our travels

  • Day 57 – Buddhas in the coal belt

    22nd October: Datong, China It was bright and sunny across Datong this morning, although frost lingered on the rooftops which were visible from our 9th floor apartment. We decided not to rush out today and instead chilled and caught up with washing. We’ve got to make the most of those rare occasions with a washing…

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  • Day 56 – The bizarreness of Datong

    21st October: Beijing, China to Datong, China It was time to depart Beijing and therefore the day of our first experience of the incredible Chinese rail network. Since first operation in 2008, China has astonishingly built 46,000 km of high-speed rail! (not to mention that built in other countries). Getting across the city in the…

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  • Day 55 – Incense and Indulgence

    20th October – Beijing, China I’m now a Weixin user, having linked my Chinese number to my WeChat account. They’re the same but different. Hopefully, we can use the full functionality of the mini apps now. I made full use if this by ordering a coffee, although this may have already functioned. Either way it…

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  • Day 54 – The Great Wall

    19th October – Beijing, China A 5:30 alarm today for a special day trip. The metro was surprisingly busy for 6:30 on a Saturday morning, with almost rush hour levels of people on the inner circle. The sun was out but the air very chilly. We were at Dongzhimen bus station for 7:30 and managed…

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  • Day 53 – Living in the future

    18th October: Beijing, China We both woke up in the middle of the night. Perhaps this is jet lag is catching up with us? Regardless, we’d already planned to have a chilled morning today. In the afternoon, we again popped out on the expansive metro network – the world’s longest at 815km. We’ve found it…

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  • Day 52 – Hungry in the Hutongs

    17th October: Beijing, China Breakfast was interesting, although I suspect I might get tired of oily vegetables, tofu, and either rice or noodles 3 times per day. There is actually a decent amount of variety, but working out what is in some dishes is a minefield! We headed back into the centre of imperial Beijing…

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  • Day 51 – The Forbidden City

    16th October: Beijing, China We had an early night and got up bright and early too to try to settle into the time zone change. 6:00 here was equivalent to getting up at 1:00 where we came from in Doha! Our hotel includes breakfast, for 60p per person. Down we went, with no idea what…

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  • Day 50 – China, at last!

    15th October: Doha, Qatar to Beijing, China Bang on time at 2:05, we taxied out and set off from Qatar. It was a bit bumpy as we climbed through the boundary later, but soon enough we were over the Gulf and then Abu Dhabi. The seat next to us was free, so Kaja stretched out…

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  • Day 49 – The history of Islam through art

    14th October – Doha, Qatar Our final day in Qatar. We’re leaving for Beijing at 2am tomorrow morning. Our stopover deal conveniently means we don’t have to check out of the hotel until 7pm, 96 hours after we checked in. The one thing we both really wanted to do here was to visit the Museum…

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  • Day 48 – A day for planning

    13th October: Doha, Qatar Today was a very successful planning day! We’d always intended for 2 of our 4 days in Qatar to be China planning – it’s why we booked such a long stopover – and we’ve really needed it to get to the bottom of various logistically headaches. We’ve both got eSIMs set…

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