Our adventure around the world began on April 1st from Geneva, with a first stopover in Frankfurt, before arriving early in the morning of April 2nd in Beijing.
We chose this 13-hour stopover on purpose. Rather than getting stuck at the airport, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to discover a legendary place: the Forbidden City.
As soon as we arrived, we took local transport directly to reach the center. Metro, train… a real first immersion, quick but already very exotic.
We had booked a guided tour with an appointment at 9:30 a.m. We thought we would be clear when we arrived around 8:30 a.m., but we hadn't anticipated the security checks at all. There were everywhere, with huge lines. We must have gone through around ten in total, and it took us a lot longer than expected. As a result, we arrived late and missed our guide.
At the time, we were a little disappointed, but ultimately that didn't stop us from enjoying it.
Once inside the Forbidden City, we completely forgot all that. The place is immense, impressive, almost unreal. We spent about three hours there walking around, discovering the different palaces and imagining the life that took place there during the imperial era. Even without a guide, you really feel the history of the place.
There are a lot of people, and the entry controls are quite tiring, but once inside, it's clearly worth it.
We didn't stay in Beijing, it was really a short stopover, but we are really happy to have taken the time to live this experience.
Then, head to the airport to continue our journey to Manila, Philippines.
We were still starting to feel tired. We had slept a little on the plane between the 1st and 2nd, but nothing very restful, and we went straight to this day in Beijing without really stopping. Suffice to say that our first real night in a bed in Manila was more than expected.