The train trip from Jinan to Beijing was smoother than we thought it might be. Finding the spot to catch the train in the station was the hardest part. We did point to our ticket and find the right room. I asked a college aged student seated in the waiting area if he spoke English and sure enough he did. He happened to be on the same carriage and train, so he told us to follow him when he loaded. We stored the luggage in a storage area at the back of the car, which made us a bit nervous. I walked back and checked on it at the two stops we made on the way. The train was very nice. The seats were like airline seats. At the front of the train, a sign would indicate the speed. We usually ran at 245 km/hour. It was very smooth and definitely the way to go.
My seat mate was another college student who was heading to Beijing for school. He was most helpful, also. He actually wrote out the address and name of our hotel in Chinese. This proved to be very helpful for our next adventure: getting from the train station to the hotel.
Steering our suitcases through the station wasn't easy, but we managed.
The Beijing station is very well organized. We followed the taxi signs to a special line where taxis came through to claim customers. Joy and three of the bags went in the first taxi. Elizabeth and I rode with the remaining bags. Our driver didn't seem to want to take us at first, but the train attendant spoke to him and he took us. The ride was $10.00. It seemed reasonable to me. Joy"s ride was $6.00. I don't know if we got ripped off or our charge was for two riders. Either way, it's cheaper than Nashville's ride.
Our hotel is fabulous. We have internet, a safe, a refrigerator, comfortable beds, a huge bathroom, and amazing staff. They have been so helpful with everything.
After checking in we decided to wander in the direction of Tienanmen Square to find something to eat. We saw a pretty interesting looking restaurant. Joy noticed a foreigner eating there, so we thought the restaurant may be used to serving visitors. We managed the menu and started with eggplant, followed by sweet potatoes that should be added to every menu in the states! After a long wait and actually asking for the bill, we got our very good sweet and sour pork and rice. Our overall review was great food, lousy service.
Anyway, that's when we wandered onto the square thinking that we had probably missed the sunset flag lowering, but we arrived in time. It was unbelievably packed. We got there just as the ceremony began. We were outside of the square across the street--as close as we could get! We tried to go in after the ceremony, but they were clearing the square. We still want to actually stand on the square, so we will try to go back and see it again.
We wandered back checking out some shops: folk art and silk paintings. From out of nowhere, we got caught in the Beijing rain storm. We were drenched when we got into the hotel, but it was definitely a successful day overall.
We are tired, but pleasantly so. This is a wonderful ending to our trip. I'll post more pictures soon. I am attaching a picture of the teachers from our group.
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