China 2008

I've recently spent nearly 10 days in China - 3 days in Shanghai and a week in Beijing, and had an unexpectedly good time. It was a work trip, so no husband or sons (all of whom would have liked to come), and most of it was therefore work-related.

But I also managed to tick off a few must-dos while I was there, including:

• visiting The Bund (Shanghai) at night
• going to Tienanmen Square
• spending four hours in The Forbidden City
• going to the Ming Tombs
• climbing the Great Wall at Mutianyu
• shopping (haggling encouraged) at several markets
• eating Peking Duck
• eating other yummy dishes, some of which I couldn't identify
• bike-riding around the city, at night, no lights on the bike (or helmet).

Would I go back? Absolutely! It was great timing because of the Olympic Games and the Paralymics, which began while I was in Beijing (actually I met some of the NZ Paralympian team at a welcoming function for them at the NZ Embassy). Everything was clean, lots of people spoke English, and mostly they were very friendly. Also, the weather was very good - a bit of rain on one or two days, but pleasantly warm. And I love being able to go out at night with bare arms. Don't do that very often in Wellington.

As a lone woman traveller, I also felt very safe, whether in big crowds, on the Metro (easy to use and cheap) or at night walking back from the Metro to my hotel.

Big thanks to 'Michael's House' - comfortable accommodation, reasonably priced, and friendly staff.

As a family, we're working out if we can all go some time...