O Rick Steves, Where Are Thou?

I wish Rick Steves would do an Asia book series. Perhaps he has, and I’m woefully unaware. My time in Beijing was not as thrilling as it should have been. Instead of visiting the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, I was holed up in my hotel room writing talking points and managing agencies. Important and interesting work, to be sure. But it was work that could have been wrapped up in a few hours, leaving me an hour or so of each day to explore this historic city. Yet, I found the prospect surprisingly intimidating.

Home base in Beijing.

Normally I am very comfortable walking around major cities, hopping on the subway/trains, taking taxis … but Beijing was intimidating because it’s difficult to decipher the language. In my experiences in France or Argentina for example, there usually are English translations everywhere and the subway workers/taxi drivers know enough English to tell you if you’re on the right train. However, “Forbidden City” in English is not anything close to “Forbidden City” in Chinese … and colleagues have said that taxi drivers, for example, are blissfully unaware of English names of many things. I’ve been told to bring business cards or notes that list the places I want to go in Chinese … but who has time to track that down? So alas, I found the excuse of too much work comforting and holed up in my massive one-bedroom apartment at the Westin.

Had I had Rick Steves practical advice instilled in my brain, I would have felt more comfortable touring the city. Next time, I hope to have more time to read up on sites, walking tours, restaurants, etc. It’s an amazing historic city and I’m bummed I didn’t really have a chance to experience it.