Arriving in Beijing, I was blown away by the super clean and modern terminal building, clear English sign posting and announcements on the train, the friendly airport officials and the incredibly baggage reclaim. I almost felt a bit bad about having had reservations about visiting the Middle Kingdom.
Leaving the terminal building, I was prepared for a change in temperatures, but not for the change in atmosphere that expected me.
Stepping out of the airport, was like stepping into a completely different world. Suddenly friendliness had disappeared completely, people were harsh, rude and unwilling to help a stranded girl at 11pm at night. The taxi drivers hardly spoke a word of English (and by that I mean that "Hello" was a challenge) and pushed me around from one to another. With rough voices they said short aggressive sentences in Chinese and made gestures that I didn't understand :(
Having finally found a guy who at least vaguely looked like he knew where my hotel was, I got in the taxi and almost got kicked out again for not paying the tourist-rip-off fee (including one way surcharges, highway and bag charges and night fees) immediately as I sat down.
I reluctantly paid and he took me on a long and dodgy drive, until he stopped and pointed down a sideroad in which the hotel supposedly was. I asked him to please drive down the road as it was pouring with rain, but instead he got out of the car, opened the door and chucked my bags out.
Within an hour of arriving in China, I had been shouted at, ripped off and kicked out of my taxi into torrential rain.
Needless to say my first impression of China quickly changed again and I decided that my initial reservations may not have been totally unjustified...
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