The first leg of my Trans Siberian Railway Adventures – Beijing, China! Being a Malaysian Chinese, this was my maiden trip to China and I couldn’t be more excited. When i thought about Beijing, I pictured in my mind streets filled with bicycles, dusty air and busy pedestrians. I was bound to Beijing via Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 360 and arrived at my hotel at almost 3am in the morning. Fortunately, my pre-arranged pick up to King Parkview Hotel was smooth and pleasant. The taxi driver had a conversation with me in mandarin and whoa.. that was a challenge and my language proficiency was definitely put to the test. I needed sleep!

“Beijing : It is where ancient and modern China meets. Constantly re-imagining itself as it races towards the future, yet inextricably linked to its glorious, notorious past, Běijīng is as compelling as it is complex.” – Lonely Planet

I had only one day in Beijing and it knew it wasn’t enough to explore everything. Thankfully, the hotel’s location was strategic. It was located adjacent to Jingshan Park’s East Entrance. I had to cherry pick where to visit and the Forbidden City was not to be missed. After all, it was just really close by to where I was staying – 10 minutes by bus and 30 minutes by foot. Of course, i took the bus as time was rather constrained.