Beijing Day 2 - Exploring the vast complex of the Ming Tombs

The second day started out real early as we needed to meet our tour guide at 7am. Yes, that early! As a result, we rushed through breakfast just to get to the hotel lobby on time where we will be picked up.

We hopped on the van, along with the other folks who will be joining us, to start the long journey towards the Ming Tombs. To start off, our tour guide provided a few details about Beijing and how life goes on around here. There’s also a bit of introduction amongst the folks who are with us in the van. So, all in all, we were 8 – a Japanese couple, a solo traveler from Hong Kong, and our group.

Beijing Day 1 - Learning about Chinese history and heritage at the Capital Museum

We woke up a bit late to get some sleep as we took the midnight flight into China’s capital.  Luckily for us, we still got to avail of the breakfast buffet at the hotel which served a really nice combination of both Asian and Western flavors. However, as it was bird flu season during this time, we avoided all poultry dishes just to be sure.

We decided to take it easy on our first day. Right after breakfast, we explored the vicinity of the hotel to see where we can buy some necessities like drinking water. We didn’t go far to get to the nearest 24 hour local convenience store. There were lots of products to choose from so it was like a mini supermarket of sorts. Great find!

facade of Beijing's Capital Museum

Then, we headed on to the nearest subway station to get to the Capital Museum. Thinking it was just a few blocks away – judging from the map – we decided to walk. Apparently, blocks here in Beijing are really wide so after 30 minutes, we were dead tired. Giving up on the idea, we just took a cab to get to the station as it was just too much effort on foot.

Beijing, China - 5 Days / 4 Nights Itinerary

During the Labor Day holidays, some colleagues and I went to Beijing, China for a well-deserved vacation.

It was my first time to visit the city and I found so many interesting things to do here. The experience was very much enjoyable due to the spring weather. It was very easy to explore around with the cool atmosphere. The city was filled with beautiful colors as well thanks to the sprouting greens and blooming flowers everywhere.