Beijing Lama Temple International Youth Hostel 北京雍和国际青年旅社

I was very disoriented when I got to the Bawangfen 八王坟 Bus Terminal in Beijing. Actually, it was my first time in Beijing and I suddenly realized that I was already there. The bus took an excruciating four hours to get there. I remember my friend telling me that I can get to Beijing from Tianjin in half an hour. It was like taking the subway. This gave me the impression that Beijing was actually very near. Big mistake for me. The bus ride, although cheaper, took me four hours to get to Beijing city center, nowhere near the half hour I was hoping for. The traffic was terrible on the way to the city. Adding to my anxiety was the fact that the sun sets much earlier here in the north. I wouldn’t have the luxury of time to find where I needed to stay that night.

First thing is I needed to get out of the bus terminal area, it was quite dark that time although it was still around six in the evening. There were a lot of people milling about but they weren’t really bothering me. I got out to the main road and tried to find the subway station. I needed to walk a couple of blocks before I stumbled onto a subway station. From there I tried to figure out a way to the Beixinqiao 北新桥 station.

The subway map of Beijing startled me since it is much more complex than I imagined. They have around 9 lines in service throughout the city. I was warned that transferring from one line to another would take a lot of time since they are not put so near each other. I was at the Dawanglu 大望路 Station and it was a simple matter to figure out how to get to Beixinqiao station. I needed to transfer to line 5 at Dongdan 东单station. Here they go by line numbers so it pays to remember which line number you intend to go to.

With my backpacks, I squeezed my way into the packed train of line 1. Dongdan station was a major interchange so I didn’t have difficulty figuring out where to go from there. It was indeed a fairly long walk but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the trains of line 5 were much better than line 1 being the oldest line in Beijing. Beixinqiao station seems to be a sleepy station since hardly anyone got off there. I got my direction ready and head to exit B. I walked outside the station to Beixinqiaotoutiao 北新桥头路, which is basically the first street in Beixinqiao.

My hostel for the next few days will be at Beijing Lama Temple International Youth Hostel, it is located at a small alley just behind the subway station. The moment I saw the logo of Hostelling International I heaved a sigh of relief, at least I know I have a place to stay for the next few nights. The hostel is designed much like a Lama temple, a famous one in Beijing is actually nearby. In this trip, I don’t have anyone to share the place with so I be slumming it out at the dorms, my first time.

The dorm rooms were actually quite pleasant with the beds already neatly arranged. Naturally everyone has their own bed and you probably don’t know anyone here unless you are travelling in large groups. I ended up getting the upper bunk which was a little difficult to get to since the way up was littered with stuff from the guy below me. I quickly dumped my stuff and head off to inspect all the other parts of the hostel.

The toilet is shared with three cubicles for hot shower and at least three rooms for the toilet. Unfortunately, this hostel had squat toilets for dorm use. I’m not terribly fond of them but what can I do? There is a small folding chair with a hole in the middle though for people like me who prefer the western style. It was a godsend though there seems to be only one of it.

As for the staff, they are friendly and very helpful in giving you information or at least they try to. English seems to be not very good though. Computers and wifi is free to use. There is also water for tenants. I loved the design of the hostel. Though the dorms could be a little brighter, they probably add to the overall mood of the place. The wonderful common area is a great place of gathering and meeting people.

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