Hong Kong to the Mainland

Well another 5.45am start to head into Central HK with Steve. Today though I'm heading to the mainland - Beijing. I was a bit nervous about the Chinese border guards but everything went really well and the whole flight experience was easy. The only thing that was a bit strange was the Chinese flight announcements. When you are flighing along and there is a bit of turbulance, the announcement is "Can all passengers return to their seats and fasten seat belts. We have a problem" it doesn't make you feel so safe!
I did a bit of research while I was waiting at the airport in HK about places to stay in Beijing. I decided on a hostel that is in one of the Hutongs - which is an old style of neighbourhood in Beijing - for the cultural experience and because these Hutongs are disappearing. I memorised the way to get to the hostel and really surprised myself in that I caught a public shuttle bus and then the tube to Quaimen (just near Tianamen Square) in central Beijing. Everyone was telling me that English isn't a problem in Beijing but I can tell you that most people don't speak any, so getting to the station I wanted, straight off the plane, for $3, in an hour I was pretty happy with myself. I then couldn't find the hostel so I got my 'Hutong experience' walking around looking for 3 hours. Eventually I met some Germans who explained that there are new roads that are not in the Lonely Planet map, and who took me to the hostel. There is a restaurant across the road that has a menu with pictures in it so I had a bowl of noodles and crashed out very early.