Blogging in Beijing

Hey guys, it's been radio silence here because we've been in Beijing, and I've found it pretty much near impossible to blog.  First of all, google (and by extension, blogger) is banned and blocked.  I can go through a VPN, but accessing the VPN website is temperamental and a game of luck at best - in six failed attempts, I managed to log in twice (one time I'm not counting because once I logged in the whole thing crashed and I had to restart my computer).


So, anyway, I have an old post that I should post but it'll have to come after because why not blog about the more exciting stuff??


I'm in Beijing for a work conference and Michael happened to be able to join me this time - it's our first time in Beijing together!  So naturally we decided to extend the trip into the weekend and stay on for some sightseeing and exploring.


We are staying at the Rosewood hotel, a very beautiful, relatively new hotel in the heart of Beijing's downtown, the Chaoyang district.  Our room looks out on the CCTV tower, World Financial Center, and Fortune Plaza. 

As always, I am dumbstruck by how wide Beijing's streets are.  They easily stretch six lanes in each direction.

The hotel lobby has very high ceilings, large displays of art and bouquets of fresh flowers, as well as lots of tchotchkes.  This place is (tasteful) tchotchke heaven.

They welcome us with fresh lotus flowers and a different bowl of fruit every day (rambutans on the first day, lychees on the second, donut peaches on the third, etc).  Due to the multiple climates (it helps to be such a vast country), the fruit in Beijing is fresh and plentiful and cheap and delicious. 

Our room is very nice - spacious with a large bathroom, and it almost feels like a small apartment.  There is a small entryway/foyer area.

There is a nice mini bar and fridge set-up, with a nespresso machine and various tea stuff.

The bed, with an oddly placed painting (is that deliberately off kilter?)

 The tub is very large and comfortable.  The rain shower is next to it.

 It's been really nice and comfortable - light years away from my first accommodations in Beijing after my freshman year in college, when I stayed in student dorms at the Beijing Normal University!

The spa and gym areas are very nice. 

By virtue of it being in Beijing, the pool has to be indoors - but they've done a good job with the retractable glass ceiling and the interior landscaping leaves you feeling like you are in a tropical oasis (even if you're really not)!

Rosewood Hotel
Jing Guang Center, Hujialou
Chaoyang District
Beijing, 100020, People's Republic of China