Day 297 September 1st 2007, Meet the Parents - Beijing

The train rolled into Beijing just after 7AM, we managed a good nights sleep but were still blurry eyed as we tried to find a taxi, after checking out the taxi queue which looked like the great wall we made do with the subway. Given the size of Beijing its surprising that it only has 3 subway lines.

The first hotel we tried to check into told us we couldn't check in as we weren't Chinese, strange as we stayed here only a month ago. "we are only allowed to let Chinese people stay here, the police told us no foreigners" the receptionist told us. Ah ok so the buildings about to fall down and its not something you want on the international news with the Olympics coming up.

Checking into another sturdier hotel round the corner we relaxed for a few hours before venturing to a nearby McDonalds, yep after a month I don't want to see another Chinese meal for a while.

Now the exciting part of the day, my Mum and Dad arrived in Beijing this afternoon for a 2 week tour of China. Both myself and Shelley were very excited as we met them at their grand hotel. Shelley met her future inlaws and showed off the engagement ring. It was great to catch up and we chatted until the bar had closed. A bit strange though seeing your parents in China though.

Highlights: Meeting up with Mum and Dad fantastic