Our first hike for the year was a huge success with 19 hikers meeting at Lido for the drive to the start of our hike. The skies were azure blue and the temperature mild – perfect hiking weather.

We climbed a slight slope for about 30 mins past flowering pear and cherry trees, with wild violets and myriad other wildflowers underfoot.  We finally reached a picturesque section of the wall where the more keen hikers tackled the steep climb to the top of the towers while the rest stayed behind to have a special Qi Gong lesson on the wall with June  – what a surreal experience! There was a soft wind, birds singing, squirrels gambolling – a very ‘zen’ experience!

We continued on to the old walled village with more beautiful flowers and views along the way. About 10 families still live in this village – mostly old-timers. It was then back on the bus to our lunch overlooking a local reservoir.

Lunch was a beautiful spread which included fresh, local grilled trout, spicy eggplant, delicious sweet potato and much more – food is never in short supply on these hikes.  All was washed down with copious drafts of beer, soft drinks and local tea made with herbs collected in the local mountains. Our very knowledgeable guide, Hui Jie arranged for us all to take home a packet of this delicious tea to  try for ourselves – said to be very cleansing and ‘good for what ails you’. Lunch was followed by more hiking up this section of the wall for the athletes in our group  - more beer and tea and chatting for the others!

On the trip home we were all keen to talk over ideas for upcoming excursions including a cherry-picking hike (good idea Roh!), and a  hike/hot springs swim combo  – but it was decided that as the chestnuts would be flowering in early June, we would do the Mr Mao’s Chestnut Orchard hike June 7th

1300Flowers donated a great prize to our raffle drawn at the ANZA September 2011 Morning Tea.  They would also like to continue support to ANZA members by offering a 10% discount on all orders sent to Australia.   Click here for details.

I had just arrived from 18 months living in London, which appeared “bright” in contrast to Beijing (that has amused some friends). My husband had arrived a couple of weeks earlier and a driver was sent out to the airport to collect and take me to our temporary serviced apartment we were to call home for the next 4 months. The trip from the airport to our serviced apartment seemed to take forever, traffic was thick, so was the atmosphere, there were people everywhere and every head had black hair, in the car I felt like I was ‘a fish swimming with the school’ with mild whiplash…welcome to Beijing drivers! Everything looked the same to me…”dusty”, all the buildings had drab exteriors, with façades coated with various forms of metal caged windows, air conditioning units & satellite dishes!

So what are the 10 top things that most overwhelm shock, surprise or even irritate you about moving to and living in Beijing?

• is it the smoggy & polluted atmosphere & lack of blue sky & white fluffy clouds

• is it the size of this large, flat, dusty and rather drab looking city

• is it the crazy way Beijingers drive and the constant honking of car horns, or the realisation that lawful pedestrians have no rights

• is it the sheer number of people everywhere you look and go

• is it the language barrier

• is it that you don’t know anyone or know where anything is

• is it that you need to plan for every venture outdoors

• is it the exercise of trying to find a ‘home’ or a dwelling that feels like ‘home’

• is it the Beijing symphony of “hack & spit”, and dodging the result on the footpaths

I was lucky. One of the first things I did on arriving in Beijing was “Google” ANZA, and found out when their next coffee morning was. I ventured down to the management office of our apartment complex the day before the coffee morning and asked the manager if he would write the location address, of the ANZA committee member hosting the morning tea, in Chinese characters for me….for the taxi driver to read!….and asked him how long the trip would take.

Boldly I ventured out the next morning with piece of paper in hand and with the knowledge of the approximate duration of my journey, and flagged a taxi. I sat myself down into this ridiculous sized taxi (Hyundai Elantra) with my knees up round my neck, and passed my piece of paper with the Chinese characters on it to my driver……only to experience my first rejection! We did not speak the same language, but clearly the driver did not want me in his taxi and motioned to me to get out. Neither did the second taxi driver want me as his passenger! I alighted from the second taxi and shook myself off like a cat that had been dropped from a height, just landing on its four paws. Had I forgotten to use deodorant that morning, did they just not like my choice of perfume, or did they not like “aliens” as passengers (I had noted the term “alien” on signs on my arrival at Beijing airport)? I had never been knocked back by any taxi driver in any other country ever before. The idea that a taxi driver would knock back a ride was unfathomable. Perplexed, I headed back to the management office and explained my dilemma. The manager showed no surprise and simply told me that Beijing taxis don’t like driving out to Shunyi because they have trouble getting a ‘ride’ back to the city….shame he didn’t enlighten me the previous day about that fact!

I asked the manager if he could organise a taxi for me, which he did…..then he sent me down into the bowels of the earth (the basement of our building….our apartment building felt more like a disused government building with its ‘timed sensor lights’ in the foyers, which more often than not left you in the dark while waiting for a lift…you stamped your feet on the ground for the lights to come back on) to wait for my taxi. The taxi arrived after about 15 minutes. As I sat in the passenger seat the driver muttered some indecipherable Chinese under his breath, shook his head at me and started to drive. When we arrived out at Shunyi, this vast compound of oversized ‘cookie cut’ villas, the driver asked me a question in Chinese (I had not yet begun my Mandarin classes….I had not yet been in Beijing 2 weeks!). My instincts however told me my taxi driver was asking which way from ‘here’?……like I knew! I shrugged my shoulders….and again received a ‘shake of the head in disgust’ response…..so I muttered under my breath in perfect Australian “you’re the bl…y taxi driver, you tell me”! After my taxi driver having asked at least two security guards for directions, we eventually found our way to my destination…albeit 20 minutes late.

The first lady I met at the coffee morning enlightened me about Beijing taxi drivers, “write down the driver’s registration number and the Taxi Complaint Line telephone number on a piece of paper in full view of the driver (details found on the passenger side glove box/dash) ….and the driver will soon change his/her mind….taxi drivers do not want to lose their job”. Remember my earlier comment on my arrival to Beijing “there were people everywhere”….there is a reason why the taxi drivers don’t want to lose their jobs. I have not had a problem with taxi drivers refusing to take me to any subsequent destination!

I met other ladies at the coffee morning and tried to absorb copious amounts of information and vital ‘must know’ detail about life in Beijing. I was told that first and foremost I should get myself an “Insider’s Guide”……I thought to myself “what is an Insider’s Guide”! I asked where I could buy this “Insider’s Guide” and was told “Jenny Lou’s”… “Right” I thought, and what is, and where do I find Jenny Lou’s!

I said “I was lucky”…..I met this fabulous ANZA committee member at the coffee morning who promised to send me links to various sites and information to assist me with my transition to life in Beijing….which she subsequently did. I have since forwarded those same links and information on to other newcomers to Beijing, who like me, have appreciated a ‘helping hand’. I was also asked by this ANZA committee member if I would like to join her, and 2 other ANZA Committee Members for lunch at a Japanese restaurant after the morning tea, and she later offered me a lift ‘home’ with her driver on her way back to the CBD…..”Yes”, a lifesaver saving me from the wrath of yet another Beijing taxi driver, that is of course if I could find a taxi out at Shunyi!

I have not yet mentioned that on completing my ANZA membership form at the coffee morning, I ticked the box indicating that I would “….. like to be involved on the ANZA Committee”.

I have enjoyed my Beijing experience ever since, I am on the ANZA Committee, and my ‘fabulous ANZA Committee Member’ remains a friend.