Hold your breath

When we landed in Beijing, I was totally unprepared for a couple of things:

a) The smell
b) The temperature

It is hard to describe the smell. It wasn't garbage or rotting anything or sewer or anything like that. It was ... just hard to handle.

And the temperature, well I have totally become a Vancouver temperature wimp, but my ass was COLD!

After an hour-long bus ride to the hotel, listening to the annoying tour host talk about the the most auspicious tours available, we arrived at our hotel, which was surprisingly nice.

We went upstairs, slipped into something more comfortable and went exploring.

One of the things that excited me about this China trip more than anything was that Beijing is Jarod's New York. He lived there for about a year and LOVED it.

Our hotel was perfectly located a block from Tianammen Square and the Forbidden City.

After walking around the area, we began the hunt for food - Steve was getting hun-grumpy.

Because it was so late, our options were limited. But we found a nicer resto (with the best dumplings ever) and ended up paying a bit more than we expected - and by that I mean like $20 CAD.

After dinner we headed to the Sanlitun district where Jarod used to cause trouble in.

While we were too tired to get in any serious trouble, I did experience a first: the squatter.

It is self-explanatory, but I have included a link, just in case. Call me a spoiled North American, but I like my toilets to be toilets. I hate the squatter.

After the beers, in a bar where smoking was permitted, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for our first full day in Beijing.