Arrived on Tuesday, 21 July mid-morning after a red-eye flight from Bangkok. The cheapest flight I could find with a good morning arrival time included an overnight stop in Hong Kong. That turned out to be an adventure in itself. The plane change in Hong Kong required a mile hike to a connecting terminal with a young airline staff member determined to demonstrate her good physical conditioning while disregarding the fact that some of the several dozen passengers running after her might have difficulty keeping up.

At the new departure gate we learned we would need to walk another distance through the heavy rain to reach our plane parked out on the tarmac... but not to worry: amazingly thin lemon colored plastic ponchos appeared and we all struggled to get them over our bodies... and backpacks. Other passengers seeing my futile efforts to wriggle into the thing with my bulging backpack graciously clustered around to lend assistance. Once inside the plane, the flimsy ponchos were unceremoniously ripped off by a stewardess into a growing pile of dripping yellow clutter.

On arrival at the Beijing airport and through the recently streamlined immigration formalities, I noticed a Citibank ATM and negotiated a fistful of Chinese RMB. Then, following the elegantly clear signage fixed to the walkways themselves I grabbed the 25RMB (about $4) subway connection going from the airport international terminal #3 to the downtown Dongzhimen termination station near the three star Holiday Inn Express hotel. Being the closest to the Koryo Tour offices needed for the DPRK trip negotiations, I had booked it for the first night knowing I'd be tired from a sleepless night traveling. I grabbed it even though $100 is the best rate I could find with the Internet search.

The Holiday Inn Express in Beijing is not a place where one would choose to spend a lot of time. It is really set up for quick over night pauses in a business trip. The Chinese buffet breakfast was terrible in my opinion. The six lobby Internet terminals attracted a hoard of noisy Chinese kids who monopolized them my entire five night stay, preventing access by adults most of the time. I complained to no avail.

Some of the hotel reception staff speak almost understandable English and the modern, recently refurbished room itself proved more than adequate, though there is absolutely no storage space for guests who plan to stay more than a night or two. While perfect for a brief one night pause, this brand is a poor choice for anyone planning an extended stay. The just adequate buffet breakfast might satisfy Chinese tastes, but I found the selection of food items boring and skimpy. Three machines brewed excellent coffee however, and the fresh orange juice helped me overlook the stir fried everything.

As soon as I'd had a shower and unpacked, I checked for Internet connectivity only to find exactly what I expected: anything Google is simply unavailable, including Dropbox which I use for managing my photos along the trail.

I learned most foreign residents have circumvented the censorship by installing a VPN (virtual private network) on their computers, but how they do it seems to be a carefully guarded secret here in China, though one guy insisted the process is easy and that I should look into it. After learning other foreign residents have found ways of accommodating the Chinese restrictions, I started the process of getting a VPN (Virtual Private Network) installed on the laptop and Galaxy phone, but only managed to irritate the always alert Chinese dragon watching the Internet use for prohibited activity. The phone's nearly fully charged battery suddenly went dead and the laptop battery went into hyper-discharge mode. Even simple searches that mentioned VPN resulted in odd computer behavior. The Chinese censors really do not want ANYONE to get blocked information from the outside... even visiting foreign tourists!

Once settled, I located a city map and proceeded to search for the offices of Koryo Tours supposedly only 5-6 blocks from the hotel. Reaching the area near their address I could see nothing even vaguely similar to what I expected from their literature. Asking directions proved useless... even in a nearby travel agency office with staff preoccupied doing other trivial tasks and totally ignoring this recently arrived potential client.

So, back to the hotel I dashed where I could consult with the reception staff who at least speak some English. After a bit of puzzling, several suggestions renewed my confidence I'd find the "hidden" Koryo office located behind the KFC store which I'd spotted on the first foray. Out of the way in a gated courtyard down an alley next to a DVD store I finally spotted the Koryo Tours logo and dashed towards it. Another locked gate barred my way, but a bank of doorbell buttons included two numbers for Koryo. A male voice answered on the intercom and invited me to push open the now unlocked massive wooden gate.

Once inside the Koryo offices I found five cluttered desks and organized chaos. The attached briefing room looked more orderly and prominently displayed a wide variety of things DPRK, offered for sale by Koryo Tours. Simon, the managing director set his current tasks aside and devoted full attention to my long list of questions, finally leaving me with a handful of literature and applications to consider back in the hotel. Satisfied I'd squeezed all the information I needed from the Koryo staff, I retreated back to the hotel to study my options, the most sobering fact being the 30 day lead time required for any tour! I'd expected to start much sooner.

Considering the many possibilities I chose the cheapest option: the KimChi Tour #3, four night tour offered by Koryo, reasoning exposure to the unique culture and politics did not require deluxe accommodations for so few days. So, I'll be travelling with as many as forty other cheapskates and staying in lower end hotels. I did opt for the single supplement to insure I'd have a room to myself in the hotels (a $170 add on). My total cost excluding incidentals is $1140 for the 5 days and 4 nights. That includes flights from Beijing to Pyongyang and back required for all Americans; non-Americans return by overnight train. Photos of the hotel rooms used (three nights in the Changwangsan Hotel) suggest they might meet my just barely adequate standards, but time will tell.

With a full month to kill before the DPRK tour I considered running up to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, but still thinking the Tran Siberian Railroad trip a possibility after Mongolia, decided to look for places closer to Beijing to explore. Harbin initially looked like a possibility until I checked information about summer attractions... winter is better. When I learned of the high speed rail connection with Tianjin I spent some time studying hotel possibilities with the Internet. The Radisson Blu there looked like an excellent value and recalled the wonderful time I'd had in their Tunisian location.

The fast "bullet train" connecting Beijing and Tianjin some hundred and twenty kilometers southeast of Beijing leaves from the Southern Railway Station. With plenty of time I figured I could walk the distance shown on the city map in under two hours. Boy, was I wrong! After two hours of huffing and puffing under the load of my heavy backpack and still only halfway to the terminal, I finally decided a taxicab did indeed make sense in this particular case. I have always avoided using cabs because drivers around the world are notorious for little innocent scams to boost their inadequate incomes... something I learned from my brother's taxicab business knowledge.

Air pollution in Beijing is terrible! The city still suffers from very smoggy air. Fortunately, frequent rains during my stay washed some of the smoke from the air and the showers were usually short. The city is home to many drivers and pedestrians who ignore the rule of law at crosswalks. Exceedingly wide multiple lane boulevards make crossing them hazardous to your health.

There has been a series of  escalator accidents due to poor maintenance in China recently, some of which have resulted in fatalities! One such malfunction received wide attention recently because a security camera caught the gory horror of a mother's death as she desperately struggled to save her child while the mechanical monster gobbled her body! I have not personally seen any evidence of malfunctioning moving stairs during this trip, but one of my earliest memories of China includes walking through a dusty, dimly lit shopping mall with multiple escalators partially dismantled and blocked off to prevent use.

Waiters in many restaurants enter the diners selections into a cell phone application. The orders are obviously displayed to the kitchen staff for preparation. The whole system seems to work flawlessly. I'm surprised something like it hasn't become dominant in the U.S.

Naturally, I walked numerous shopping malls. Many of the multi-story complexes included one entire floor devoted to "entertainment" for children. Physical challenges like one might expect to find in adult sport fitness centers surprised me. The Chinese are teaching their children to face difficult challenges early in life. I saw rock climbing walls and other "military style" "basic training" obstacles in several malls, eagerly being enjoyed by young children well protected by safety harnesses... each under the ever watchful eyes of their personal "trainer."

After only six days of aggravating life in the Holiday Inn Express and finding nothing better near the Koryo offices during my explorations, I left to try my luck in Tianjin, some eighty miles southeast of Beijing.