Today, we landed in Beijing. It's been an interesting but tiring day. After the 9 hours flight from Brussels, we end up waiting 2 hours for a bus to the main Beijing train station. Buses do not run as often as you wish for, especially at 7 am. Anyway, we manage to find our way to the city centre. Without a single word of Chinese, we boarded a local bus to arrive at our final destination - The Leo Hostel.
The hostel is in a bustling market street surrounded by Hutongs. Within walking distance of several well-known landmarks like the Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square, the hostel offers nice, cosy and clean rooms. The staff speaks a good English which is something you don't get to hear often in China. Anyway, we found most Chinese people very welcoming and helpful despite the language barrier.
After we freshen up and a brief but stimulating nap, we walked in the Hutongs bordering our hostel. Hutongs are great places to watch people living. We were surprised to encounter so many official police officers and sometimes military-style uniforms. You literally can't walk 20 meters without spotting one peacefully watching the crowd.
Having found a second breath, we took the tube for a final walk in the legacy Olympic park which hosted the 2008's Summer Games. Starving, we went for a simple but delicious mean. Now, as we are feeling a little jet-lagged, we are leaving you for a good night sleep...