From Switzerland to Viet Naam, overland, 2005.

Part Five: Beijing 14th Feb Evening Well, I've settled into my 'Red Wall Hotel'. 'Red Wall' not because of the colour of the bricks of the Forbidden, Imperial City just across the road, but 'Red Wall' because of a long GREY wall on the other side depicting the world figureheads of communism. However, the hotel couldn't be any closer to the Forbidden City without actually being inside! 90 seconds from the front door and I'm looking down into the moat that used to surround the Imperial City on all sides. Straight down the road, or with a slight excursion if you want to go via the Forbidden City, and you're in Tien'anman Square. Because of the 2 windfalls in the Chinese Restaurant car, I felt quite at liberty to try something a bit different for supper. During the afternoon, there had been English-speaking touts outside all the eateries inside and outside the Forbidden City. But when I went out again for my evening meal, those people had obviously gone home for the night, the Imperial City being a daytime attraction! I tried several restaurants, including a Japanese and Korean place, but no-one spoke English, no-one had a menu in any Western language and ALL of them insisted that I sat down to drink a pot of tea while they tried to call a friend of a friend who might be able to communicate with me. The only frown I received was when I tried to do what you do in Greek restaurants, but it became quickly very clear that their kitchens were out-of-bounds. So I ended up wandering back to the hotel. And round the back of the hotel. Where I found a Moslem restaurant. Chinese Moslem, that is, serving beer and other drinks. The skewer kebabs were cooking on charcoal in front of their window onto the street and they smelt wonderful, so I went in. I ordered eight kebabs and a beer and they arrived with the bread duly oiled and also crisped on the charcoal fire. They were so delicious that I ordered another half dozen. While I was waiting, I got talking to a young (Christian) Iranian who spoke excellent English and obviously good enough Chinese to communicate easily. His little brother was completely fluent, running around between the tables with the Chinese children of the house. He also pointed out his mother on the other side of the room (she came to talk to me later). The family is stateless and the Chinese were the only ones to offer them asylum, but he said everything was 'great' here. He told me they were leaving in 2 days for Sweden because his father had been offered work there and the Swedish authorities had promised to 'facilitate' papers for them as they were finally accepted as 'authentic' refugees. The young man then went to join some friends. After I finished my second helping of kebabs and another beer, I got up to leave, but the young Iranian came across and told me I couldn't leave yet, as there was something else... and the Chinese owner brought me another 5 kebabs plus piping hot bread and another beer and mimed that these were

gifts from her! While I was eating this unexpected but still welcome gift, the young Iranian's mother came across to talk to me. She excused her son, in case he had exaggerated or twisted the truth, because their situation really had been desperate but the boy was unable to deal with the reality. She said life had been terrible and in fact, the only people who had offered them anything -since they had been living on the streets 7 months beforewas this same Chinese Moslem family who had offered them food and, later on, a room behind their restaurant. There are only two rooms and a cold water loo there, so the Chinese family of 8 was in one room, having given up the other to the Christian Iranians..... My first night in Beijing and I have the material for a documentary, a piece of fiction or anyway something to squirrel away for the times when I'm feeling sorry for myself because of something nowhere near as tragic, nowhere near as humanly warm as this story being played out in this little corner of humanity. When the lady brought me the bill, it was a little under $2US....... ************** Beijing days 15th February The people from the Beijing agency who met me at the station had said I would need at least $200 spending money, if not $300, so I had changed a couple of hundred dollars into YUAN. But if last nights dinner was anything to go by, I could live here for 50 days and not spend it all but of course Ill need some for when I come back from Viet Naam in a month-and-a-halfs time. But lovely people in the Moslem restaurant. .. a bit like Marios in Florence. Clean the tables down with a hot damp rag, onto the floor, then sweep out. But again, the lady who was inside doing the cooking was immaculate, just like Marios widow, Romeos mother. Da Mario, in via Rosina in Florence. (And Ive told you all before, go there and ask for una bistecca di Roger. You wont regret it.) Anyway, Im sure Ill pop in and see them again before I leave.. But in the hours I have left, theres quite a lot to go and look at.. So we shall see. ************** A story from the 'China Daily': "A crook -who was seriously wounded by the couple he tried to rob- had an emergency operation after his victims and the police had a whip round to pay for his medical costs. The desperado, armed with a shotgun, had opened fire in an aborted robbery bid. He missed the husband and wife, they retaliated and hit him on the head with a shovel and stabbed him with a knife. The police arrived and the hapless robber was taken to hospital, where they demanded up-front medical expenses. The officers and the couple (who had accompanied him to the hospital) coughed up the cash... and the robber is now out of danger". It's the 15th February 2005. **************

Before I started out, I listened to people's advice as to what I should bring: packet soups and things like that; chocolate and other snacks for the train. They suggested what I should wear... plus a tent pole for when I got lost in the Gobi desert, or if I needed to fly a distress signal when the train ran out of steam far away from civilisation So it's really rather ironic that the only time I have actually needed my winter woolies is here in Beijing. This morning it was snowing. I just walked around the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) and, yes, I would have been clever to have put my long-johns on this morning. I didn't, but I HAVE got my fur boots on. And I have got a hat on, which is something I would never do back home... and only very rarely (with bad grace, just to 'please' my wife) when I'm out on skis. But here, I've been very happy to have covered my ears with earphones to listen to the commentary. It should have been a commentary by Roger Moore, my fellow Swiss Brit actor, but, unless he's had a sex-change and "toks rosser rike dot", then I don't think it was him. I didn't really mind, though. I don't think Roger Moore can tell me anything special about the Imperial Palace-cum-Forbidden City... and the Chinese lady's voice was extremely pleasant to listen to. I am now sitting in a refectory, drinking a beer, looking at the different Nestl products on sale over there on the counter... plus the forever-present pot noodles, which I think I should sample as soon as I've finished this recording But first, another quickie about Nestl & co. Beside the ticket office to come into the Imperial Palace, there was a rather discrete plaque thanking 'American Express' for help in restoration work. Subtle U.S.... But when I turned my ticket over, the back was the Nestl birds' nest logo and a photograph of dozens of kids jumping into the air, all waving Nestl products. The height of Swiss bad taste, stamping its mark well in advance of the next Olympics. I mentioned that I'm in a refectory. It has the feel of a a bit of free enterprise, rather than one of the 'set pieces' scattered around the palace... set pieces like a "Starbucks'" lurking beside the gateway into the Inner City; I wonder if I shall resist the temptation.... ************** The pot noodle was just the right kind of hot snack, because it really is very cold today. But in spite of the cold, people are really happy and smiling. The last couple of days of the TET (Chinese New Year) and it's snowing. And suddenly it all falls into place: it's like having a white Christmas in England: often wished for, dreamed about, but rarely a reality. Whole families are having snowball fights, while teams of snow-shovellers hardly miss a step, sweeping good-naturedly around them. I photographed the square full of snowmen in Moscow on 8th, but the snowmen being improvised in each and every little square within the Forbidden City are the very antithesis of the famous Chinese army of statues. Here, people are stripping off their own hats, scarves and gloves to personalise their creations and obviously no-one even considers throwing snowballs at anyone else's snowman, only at their own. ************** You hear English being spoken very often, but usually as a common language between disparate tourists. Whereas there seem to be dozens of couples or

threesomes muttering very knowledgeably to each other in French. ************** 16th Feb I'm hoping it's going to get a bit colder tonight, so that the sleet turns into proper snow. My mac is completely soaked through; my mountain walking boots seem to have leaked ! Well, one of them seems to have leaked, although it might have gone in from the top, I suppose. So... it's a bit warmer than it was yesterday, which is why it's sleet rather than snow. Yesterday it was minus five, so I suppose today it's round about zero... which is a shame... I've been round the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City again. Less snowballing because of the fast disappearing snow. I stopped in at the 'Starbuck's' which I suppose is quite sober and discrete... and the coffee made a change from the instant Nescaf and Ovaltine that I'd been drinking for the previous week. ************** I'm now contemplating whether to make myself something to eat here in my hotel room or to go out. I will NOT be going to eat downstairs in the restaurant; unfortunately, I popped in there last night thinking "Ooo good ! Seafood !" They had lobsters, live lobsters.. they had huge frogs, live frogs... but in the fish tank there was one fish that was, not belly up exactly, but very much head down and was (if it had had any) on its last legs. So that rather put me off having any fish. And as it turned out, as I said earlier, I had a lovely meal next door in the Moslem cafe. I shall probably pop back there and grab a couple of beers tonight. I've explored around the area here. Thanks to my excellent sense of direction, it was a nice wander, although the road system - a grid made up of overlapping squares and rectangles- isn't too difficult, but distances are not marked on any of the little maps given out by the hotel. Interestingly enough, two of the roads that I walked up had different names on them from those on either of the large maps here in the hotel, so the little local map wouldn't be very helpful to anybody. I bought a painting for my wife in an improvised gallery in the Forbidden City. A modern painting, but a traditional subject:"Autumn". So I have to try to find myself a tube in which to roll it to carry it properly, otherwise it will be terribly crushed. The only container they wanted to give me was about 4 1/2ins square... the length was OK, but 4 1/2 inches square would take up really too much space in my suitcase, because I'll not have any extra space until after I arrive in Ha Noi, unfortunately. So I have to try and find myself a tube from somewhere. We shall see.

room 3502, Red Wall Hotel. It's dark outside... On CCTV there's Messers Manley and Attwood downloaded from Sky Sports playing the first of 4 sets... of Darts, for Ladbroke's. The only programme in English is CCTV International, but it's very interesting to see and hear their slant on the news... Propaganda is minimal compared with other places I've been.

They've just finished a kind of 'Hard Talk' interview with an American from CitiGroup, a banker, with a Chinese interviewer. He was very tough and got some very good answers as far as the ignorance of the general American public was concerned, and their concepts of what communism is and what China's doing at the moment and so on. For example, the message was never really spread to the Americans that just about the first people to get in touch with George W. Bush after 9/11 were the Chinese offering all help they could... and apparently they gave them a lot of electronic help, and also put pressure on Pakistan, which means they had a lot to do with Pakistan coming out to help the U.S.. ************** I've spoken to Rahel, I've spoken to Manoel, I've spoken to Hannah... and finally I spoke to Rahel again, a little bit more at length, because she'd just about had time to say:"Can Manoel speak to you?" and that was it! I haven't heard how much the call cost yet... it'll be interesting to find out, because we were on half an hour or so, but... we shall see how 'Skype' works. Sound quality was excellent, now for the financial side. I know it's much cheaper to China than it is to Viet Naam.... I'll switch off now; it's afternoon back home, but I need to get some shuteye. ************** A morning with watery sunshine Yesterday, Wednesday... yes, Wednesday.... no Tuesday, that's right, yes Tuesday when I went round the Forbidden City... I said it was sleet all day long, but I passed quite a few eateries, eating places... people touting for business, trying to drag me in... but yesterday I was really 'on walkabout'. I think I said I'm staying just round the corner from the Forbidden City, so yesterday evening I went out to have something to eat, went BACK to some of these same places, but they keep their English-speaking touts on the door to get people in during the daytime. They obviously don't imagine that many people go back around the Imperial Palace at night. I could not find anybody a) that had an inkling of English or French or b) that had a menu which was comprehensible.... the people in the Japanese restaurant were lovely, but nobody spoke English. They just kept saying "Sorry, sorry" and brought me lots and lots of tea, sat me down, brought me a beer, but they couldn't explain what they'd got to eat. Again the chef/cook wasn't keen on my suggestive mime -going into the kitchen to cook- so I ended up by thanking them very much and leaving. It was around 10 o'clock and nowhere else was open, so I ended up back with my new friends. a dozen delightful kebabs, another pot of tea, a couple of beers and non-verbal conversation. The Iranians have left today -so today must be Thursday- and therefore yesterday was Wednesday the 16th... 'course it was ! That's why the kids and my wife were at home... Wednesday afternoon they're all home from school. So that's that cleared up... but I do seem to have lost a day somewhere... or maybe even two... So, after months living in one room, the Iranians are off to Sweden... let's wish then Godspeed and hope they soon acquire official papers, so they can stay somewhere legally and therefore also be able to travel legally...

I had a lovely dinner in the end, but I ate the same as I did last night, which is a bit strange... ************** Beihai Park Today, the sun is out and, because they were continuously sweeping and chopping the ice and snow away, now you can walk quite well. My only problem has been with my beautiful fur-lined boots. I said that I had wet feet the other night. Well, that's because the sole had decided to come away from the uppers. So I've been shopping this morning and managed to find myself some superglue. I shall repair them when I go back to the hotel, later. But at the moment, I'm looking for a lake and then, if I can manage to walk that far, I'll go up to the Summer Palace. ************** This morning's paper, the China Daily, arrived while I was having breakfast. The front page story was about the latest coal mine disaster here in China... 210 dead... Terrible, but keeping things in proportion, they say that in 2004, including the two big mining accidents near the end of the year, there were 6027 miners killed. A spokesperson is quoted: "It's terrible. The situation prompts us to dig deeper into the issue"..... ************** Goodness, I'm confused ! TODAY is Thursday 17th ! So the Iranians left a day early, on Wednesday... and I really have lost a day somewhere ! However, I had a really good sleep last night, and now I feel refreshed and ready to face the next stage of my journey this afternoon. In retrospect, I realise it was not such a good idea to keep my mobile phone on Swiss time. I should have changed the phone and left my Swiss watch on home time. With my watch, I KNOW that the day and date functions... don't function, but believing my cell phone has played into the travel fatigue, and confused rather than clarified. ************** It's been a pleasure walking around this part of Beijing, especially after all the other tourists have gone to their more central (and more expensive) hotels in the evening. This morning the postcard sellers around the Imperial moat all seem to recognise me and don't even try to attract my attention. Perverse as they might find it, I'm going to ask on of them to sell me some cards to take home with me.... ************** The Chinese New Year officially started last week, on the 9th, so a great lump of the party took place while I was on the TransSiberian. I arrived here on Monday and had a couple of full days plus days at either end. Last night there were fireworks in the streets. Utterly illegal. They say it's OK in rural areas, but it's 100% against the law in towns and cities. No private fireworks in the urban areas.... but the people around here didn't seem to pay much attention to that law. There was some lovely stuff (very professional) as well as little kids with jumping jacks just outside the Moslem restaurant, which

-as it's just a couple of doors away from my hotel- is facing the 'Red Wall'. The Wall is a graphic representation of the history of international communism. I had to take more than half a dozen photos to cover the whole length. So it's the 'Red' Wall Hotel as in Red Flag... I'd presumed it referred to an ancient wall the colour of the Forbidden City's rooftops. Somebody's playing 'Jingle Bells' in the background, which makes this Chinese New Year in February even more like the White Christmas atmosphere back in our culture. ************** After breakfast I went for another walk around the Imperial Palace and then to the market and bought myself some stuff to take on the train this afternoon. Today the pavements are completely clear of snow. Hard as the sweepers were working in the previous two days, I still have an image from the sci-fi film 'WestWorld' (with Yul Brynner and Richard Benjamin) that keeps popping onto my internal video screen, where the technicians collect all of the 'dead' robots in order to repair them so that they're ready for the following day's gunfights and gladiatorial combats etc.. ************** There have been in the region of 192 million people making special trips during the TET... within China. It's a number which kind of... yeah, well you realise you have to radically change your frame of reference.... China's economic power is really something to think about: the GNP for the month of January this year was up by 33% on last year. You can understand our American cousins getting upset about it. Over a billion people... even a devalued American billion gives us dozens of cities of 10 million or more... Anyway.... I'm waiting here in the hotel lounge. It's a quarter to two and they're coming to pick me up at 2 o'clock, hopefully. Then I have a train in two hours, so I don't know what we shall do in the meantime, whether they will stay with me, dump me at the station, or what... but they were very pleasant before, so let's hope for the best. I had a lovely lunch again today. My friends the kebabs... and a beer. Guess where.... Then I went into a little private road round the back from here where I found two superb hotels behind guarded road blocks... and then back into the market... Still looking for those little dried fig things that the Chinese attendant gave me on the train. But I didn't find any. I found the other stuff that he gave me, that I didn't like that much... but the dried figs were much less sweet than the dried figs I'm used to and not sticky at all. Very nice to eat. Perhaps we'll have some of those in Viet Naam... ************** My goodness, Beijing really is huge. We've come across to the other station, Beijing WEST Station; I was escorted across by the driver and Ivy. She got my tickets and gave them to me, then put me on the back of a queue and said "It's down there and it leaves in an hour and 20 minutes. Bye bye". So I tipped the driver, I tipped the busboy, but I didn't tip Ivy.... she gets paid out of the transfer money that I had to pay, which was $70.

It was a very abrupt goodbye... And then of course nothing moved for about three quarters of an hour. So if she'd left me in the wrong place, I wouldn't have been able (wouldn't have had time) to change platforms or waiting rooms. However, I ploughed my little furrow through the mounds of hand luggage (there seem to be about 10 kilos with every toddler), found my carriage and now I'm on the train... top bunk unfortunately... 3 huge cases already in the compartment, so it'll be a bit difficult to manage with my suitcase and big haversack. Still, we shall see... two nights on board. I can do that. The train itself is immaculate. Frills around the bunk and piped music through the tannoy. Let's see what happens when we leave at 16.16.