My low expectations of Beijing were superseded before I got past immigration. Friends had told me about the pollution and the traffic so my husband and I planned to to see the sites, get a new stamp in our passports and return back to our reasonably pollution-free countries.
As we expected, the dun colored haze of China's air pollution greeted us as we landed. Also in appearance: an expeditor from the Raffles, a youngish woman with a no-nonsense bun and dress suit, appeared to take our bags and usher us to our waiting Audi to take us to the hotel. The Raffles brand is defined by exceptional customer service but we had expected a 6 by 12 airport sign after we cleared customs. Likewise, our we found that what we originally imagined to be a check-the-box-on-China trip exceeded our expectations and left us wanting more.
Read after the break for specific recommendations on doing Beijing in style with three days on the ground.
As we expected, the dun colored haze of China's air pollution greeted us as we landed. Also in appearance: an expeditor from the Raffles, a youngish woman with a no-nonsense bun and dress suit, appeared to take our bags and usher us to our waiting Audi to take us to the hotel. The Raffles brand is defined by exceptional customer service but we had expected a 6 by 12 airport sign after we cleared customs. Likewise, our we found that what we originally imagined to be a check-the-box-on-China trip exceeded our expectations and left us wanting more.
Read after the break for specific recommendations on doing Beijing in style with three days on the ground.
I knew in my head like a textbook fact that China's has ascended as a global and economic superpower. Seeing the immensity of the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and many of the Chinese ministry buildings, more stout than tall, I gained a deep internal sense of China's rise, and the Chinese citizens fiercely proud of their past and present.
So with little variation, we found the itinerary that worked for us and follows our usual formula: a hotel with excellent service--does not have to be five stars by the way; we have done Saigon on $30 a night-- some exercise--shlepping up the Wall--and good dining, in this case Yunnanese food and Peking Duck.
As I mentioned earlier, Raffles provided excellent customer service from our arrival gate to an exclusive recommendation at a Peking duck restaurant. The historic building lies within two blocks of Tianenmen Square and the Forbidden City, making venturing out in a cab unncessary. For our Great Wall trip, we found a private driver at a fraction of the cost of a Raffles tour, however, and went to Mutianyu, a less-frequented but restored part of the Great Wall. The only thing we would have changed is we would worn hiking gear and walked more along the wall, perhaps bringing a picnic and a few Tsing Taos.
Raffles does best with service, and surrounding guests in a colonial yesteryear that has you reaching for a pith helmet. They offer a new wing and modern rooms, but we chose to upgrade and stay in a Heritage room with an Oriental (but machine made) carpet, an oil panting of a hutong, and thick cream curtains that covered our door to the balcony. The club floor access, at around $100 extra per night, gave us breakfast and an evening cocktail hour. The food and alcohol selection was limited and several families crowded the small space so that their children could have mini-hamburgers, in what would most likely be their meal for the night. We still had the opportunity to sit on a comfortable couch, have a gin and tonic.
Breakfast and other meals in East 33 restaurant offer a large buffet of Chinese and Western dishes, along with brisk service. We had heard that the French food at Jaan was great, but stuck to Chinese food. Coming from Wisconsin, I have near constant cravings for cheddar cheese; and the breakfast table had the best cheddar in Asia that I have had. :)
The best part of the Raffles was Singapore Sling, a fruity yet not to sweet signature drink, and the concierge. "Jack" booked us our restaurant, planned our cab, all things a normal concierge would do, but in a more eager and personalized way than other places. He offered to go out and buy videos for us for our in-room DVD player. ?something about how it was better. When we first arrived, he made a point of introducing himself.
Also on the agenda: a quick look around the Forbidden City. Here we only had 45 minutes; other travelers will probably want more but we felt content. The city is laid out like an Oriental version of Zelda: a courtyard leads into a set of rooms or temples, which leads to another courtyard, and so on. At least I think it is similar to Zelda--my parents did not let us have a Nintendo growing up. In any case, insert video game here. We raced against the clock to get one end of the 1 kilometer long complex to another, rushing in and out of the courtyards The "princesses" or in this case, wives and concubines, numbered over a 1,000 and rested in the innermost chambers. Our main obstacles in our quest to get to the other side and see these dwellings consisted of a crush of tourists in from the provinces for field trips.
Friends we met recommended Dali House for Yunnanese cuisine, which due to its geographic location borrows from both northern Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking. The set menu goes well with Tsing Tao and the cooks use lots of Southeast Asian spices. My favorite item on the menu was the fried and shredded lemongrass beef.
Stay tuned for a post on Burma, including the scavenger hunt that is getting a visa from the Philippines...
So with little variation, we found the itinerary that worked for us and follows our usual formula: a hotel with excellent service--does not have to be five stars by the way; we have done Saigon on $30 a night-- some exercise--shlepping up the Wall--and good dining, in this case Yunnanese food and Peking Duck.
As I mentioned earlier, Raffles provided excellent customer service from our arrival gate to an exclusive recommendation at a Peking duck restaurant. The historic building lies within two blocks of Tianenmen Square and the Forbidden City, making venturing out in a cab unncessary. For our Great Wall trip, we found a private driver at a fraction of the cost of a Raffles tour, however, and went to Mutianyu, a less-frequented but restored part of the Great Wall. The only thing we would have changed is we would worn hiking gear and walked more along the wall, perhaps bringing a picnic and a few Tsing Taos.
Raffles does best with service, and surrounding guests in a colonial yesteryear that has you reaching for a pith helmet. They offer a new wing and modern rooms, but we chose to upgrade and stay in a Heritage room with an Oriental (but machine made) carpet, an oil panting of a hutong, and thick cream curtains that covered our door to the balcony. The club floor access, at around $100 extra per night, gave us breakfast and an evening cocktail hour. The food and alcohol selection was limited and several families crowded the small space so that their children could have mini-hamburgers, in what would most likely be their meal for the night. We still had the opportunity to sit on a comfortable couch, have a gin and tonic.
Breakfast and other meals in East 33 restaurant offer a large buffet of Chinese and Western dishes, along with brisk service. We had heard that the French food at Jaan was great, but stuck to Chinese food. Coming from Wisconsin, I have near constant cravings for cheddar cheese; and the breakfast table had the best cheddar in Asia that I have had. :)
The best part of the Raffles was Singapore Sling, a fruity yet not to sweet signature drink, and the concierge. "Jack" booked us our restaurant, planned our cab, all things a normal concierge would do, but in a more eager and personalized way than other places. He offered to go out and buy videos for us for our in-room DVD player. ?something about how it was better. When we first arrived, he made a point of introducing himself.
Also on the agenda: a quick look around the Forbidden City. Here we only had 45 minutes; other travelers will probably want more but we felt content. The city is laid out like an Oriental version of Zelda: a courtyard leads into a set of rooms or temples, which leads to another courtyard, and so on. At least I think it is similar to Zelda--my parents did not let us have a Nintendo growing up. In any case, insert video game here. We raced against the clock to get one end of the 1 kilometer long complex to another, rushing in and out of the courtyards The "princesses" or in this case, wives and concubines, numbered over a 1,000 and rested in the innermost chambers. Our main obstacles in our quest to get to the other side and see these dwellings consisted of a crush of tourists in from the provinces for field trips.
Friends we met recommended Dali House for Yunnanese cuisine, which due to its geographic location borrows from both northern Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking. The set menu goes well with Tsing Tao and the cooks use lots of Southeast Asian spices. My favorite item on the menu was the fried and shredded lemongrass beef.
Stay tuned for a post on Burma, including the scavenger hunt that is getting a visa from the Philippines...