Beijing

We had a fantastic trip so far! For starters, we flew out of Newark on Continental. The airport was so much nicer than JFK or La Guardia, and security was much easier, so we had a smooth take-off. The flight wasn't full so we had room to stretch out and nap and watch as many movies as we could absorb in the 14 hours it took to fly over the North Pole, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia and then land in Beijing. The Beijing airport was huge, sparkling with newness, and easy to get through. I felt like I was inside the Bird's Nest. We made it through the body heat sensors and quarantine area without a hitch.

Our hostess - Angela, from Mao'er B&B was waiting with a sign as we came through customs. She led us straight to an ATM machine that had no line, and then to the parking garage where a driver was waiting in a comfortable land rover type vehicle. What struck me immediately were all the BMW and Mercedes Benz cars parked in the lot. Every car was beautiful, and shining new. Their drivers were hanging around nearby.  When we were here 15 years ago, there only rattle-trap clunkers serving as cabs. Driving into town, we could have been on any modern highway, anywhere in the world except that the street signs were all in characters. Hmm. No wonder foreigners aren't allowed to rent cars.

When I was making a reservation for Beijing, I wanted somthing that would give us a real "chinese" experience. I don't care for chain hotels. So I searched extensively on the web for a small, courtyard style guest house that would be a great place to end up after a long flight. The Mao'er did not let us down.  It is located in what's called a Hutong, in an historic part of town near the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, just north of the Forbidden City. Hutongs are walled in neighborhoods that consist of tiny, winding alleys that are accessed through one main street. They are the real feel of China. But these old neighborhoods are quickly being demolished for modernization. This particular area is now designated as historic and there is supposed to be a limit to what can be knocked down.

     

The Mao-Er B&B consists of 4 guest rooms situated around an inner courtyard. There are also other rooms - kitchen, lounge, patio with swing, breakfast room, office, computer room, living room with TV and the staff rooms.  It has a more personal feeling than even a small hotel.  Angela's uncle has a woodcarving workshop and they carved all of the furniture by hand. The style is Ming Dynasty. It took them six months to carve our bed. It is solid teak or rosewood.   Ariela said that she feels like Padme from Star Wars, sitting on her royal throne. This courtyard style home was rennovated 5 years ago and the interior is completely modernized and well designed while maintaining the Ming Dynasty decor.  Our rooms were even better than the website photos.  We have a suite of 3 rooms - sitting room w/bed, living room with tea-making set-up, bedroom and full bath.