Kelly's Courtyard: Our Hutong Guesthouse in Beijing

For our accommodation, I chose somewhere comfortable but authentic. I didn't want to stay at a 5* hotel which looked the same inside as it would in any country. Kelly's Courtyard was perfect - located in a hutong (alleyway), with rooms opening onto a traditional courtyard (albeit with a roof over it, which we were grateful for on the day it rained), decorated with antique furniture and with lots of special touches.

It is also central, close to a subway station (this is very important, because even small distances on the map are far in real life) and the hotel manager is friendly, goes out of his way to help guests and speaks decent English. Even better, despite being close to the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square, it's not in a very touristy area so you are not harassed by hawkers (as we were when we visited the touristy bar street) and it feels like you're experiencing the "real" Beijing.

 The gorgeous courtyard area

 It even has a fish pond!

 View over the hutong from the rooftop courtyard

 Rooftop courtyard - unfortunately it was too chilly to enjoy time out here

 The common room, where there is a TV and a computer (with internet) for guest use

The courtyard from above, with guests enjoying their breakfast

The simple but delicious breakfast that was included with our stay

 

Our gorgeous bedroom. Every room is uniquely decorated, with antique furniture and amazing wallpaper. I was lucky enough to get a peak into other rooms as on one morning, most rooms were empty:

I would definitely recommend this cute guesthouse if you're heading to Beijing. Here is my review from Tripadvisor:

We really enjoyed our stay at Kelly's. It is a cute and cosy place with lovely decoration and attention to detail. The rooms are comfortable and uniquely decorated. The location is great- not a very touristy area (which we liked), but plenty of restaurants in walking distance and a 5-10 minute walk from the line 4 subway.

What really makes the stay is the small size of the place and the personalised, friendly service. Bob is lovely and goes out of his way to help the guests. He recommended restaurants and helped us with whatever information we needed as first time visitors to China.

Pros:
-Good location, easy access to subway
-Bob is a fantastic manager, very helpful and friendly
-Lovely decor, very authentic
-Nice simple breakfast
-Excellent heating/air conditioning (and personal controls in each room)
-Very clean, rooms well cleaned daily
-Fast free wifi throughout the guesthouse, and computer also free for guest use

Cons
-We had hardly any hot water and it went from very hot to ice cold with no warning
-No fridges in rooms (which we would have liked)
-Has the potential to be noisy if other guests are inconsiderate. Bob is very good about reminding people to be quiet, but that didn't stop a rude French tour guide who came daily to pick up some guests.
-Difficult to locate when you arrive from the airport, taxi drivers aren't generally willing to take you to a complicated destination (even if you have a phone number etc)

Engrish and Other Funny Sights

I regret not capturing more hilarious examples of "Engrish", but the reality is that you're bombarded with so many every day, it's easier to laugh and get on with it instead of fishing around for the camera. Towards the end of my Beijing trip I realised I hadn't taken many photos, so made a concerted effort to snap a few funny signs and menu items.

 True honesty - Probably the finest seafood served in Beijing (but they cannot be sure...)

 A warm prompt (nicest on chilly days)

 All of these funny menu items are snapped at the one restaurant, but Engrish menus were a regular occurrence. My favourite is this bean salad with disabilities.

 The cake with donkey - yum?

 Watch out - smooth liver is pointed. Also on this page, explode three kinds.

 The incense burns the basin basin shrimp

 "I want to pig. I will developed"

Fake KFC - aka 'Mr Lee's'

Notice the slit in the child's pants. This was a very common sight, and allows for easy poohing anywhere and everywhere (when the child squats, the parting opens). It was particularly unpleasant to witness a child poohing in the middle of the path inside the summer palace (right infront of a temple actually...). This child's hairstyle is also a popular one amongst the toddlers.

 Another cute popular hairstyle.

 Exhibit B: another example of the pant slit

Ironically, while pooping by children in the street is still accepted, you'll then come across a sign such as this one (in Mandarin) which instructs you "No poohing" in the toilet.

Our hotel didn't have the most reliable hot water so we decided to get our hair washed at a hairdressing salon. We didn't expect them to lather and massage while we were sitting in chairs (with no sink in sight) - but it felt great! They did thankfully wash it out in a proper sink.

Food Glorious Food (Beijing Style)

We had many fantastic meals, and some disappointing ones. Overall, the food was delicious and I further expanded my waistline (despite all the walking we did). I still prefer Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, but Chinese food packs a punch if you eat at the right places.

 Strange snacks at the night market - scorpians, starfish, silkworm larvae etc. No, I didn't try any. I had plain beef and chicken kebabs (which I wouldn't bother with- they weren't great)

 Peking duck, one of Beijing's specialities.

 Sweet streetside snacks

 

Bodyparts galore -the Chinese eat every part of the animal (and seem to enjoy it)

 Hotpot recommended by our hotel. This was disappointing, although it *looks* good.

 Delicious dumplings and noodles

This bbq'ed fish was amazing

 

A typical delicious spread

 The simple yet satisfying breakfast provided by our guesthouse

Sweet potato vendors selling their wares. I had a few of these and they were such a delicious snack!

Both our best, and worst meals were at places we stumbled into rather than those that were recommended to us.

Sightseeing: Modern Beijing

Not many tourists have a whole week in Beijing, but we were lucky enough to have ample time to explore its sights. The Art Zone is not somewhere that many would prioritise (and we didn't either, we saw the ancient sights first) but it ended up being a highlight.

It is a trendy area with lots of cute cafes and shops, and plenty of interesting modern street art. I think photos are the best way to give you an idea of what it's like:

 A giant robot in one of the stores

 Wall of bears

 Fat posing Buddha- great for photo ops!

 I like how this one says 'made in China' around the barrel of the gun...

Certainly a hangout for the trendy (or try hards)

I'd definitely recommend visiting this cute area if you are in Beijing. Take the subway and then a taxi or bus from the subway station (it's too far to walk). 

Sightseeing: Ancient Beijing

Why is it that the week you return to work after leave, it is so ridiculously busy that your relaxation is undone almost immediately? Upon getting into work this morning, I was informed that I need to clear my evening schedule and will probably be here until 10-11pm. Fun times... Luckily, I have pre-written a stack of Beijing blog posts so you can still hear about my adventures!

We visited the Great Wall at Mutianyu, the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. Here are some photos from the Great Wall:

 

Mutianyu is a great section of the wall to visit: not too many tourists, and not too far from Beijing. Unfortunately it was a little foggy/smoggy the day we went, but it was still beautiful. There are lots of steps to climb, it is exhausting and a great workout!

We took the toboggans down the mountain which was a lot of fun. In hindsight, we should have taken the chairlift up instead of walking the 100s of steps (and saved our energy for walking on the actual wall, which is very steep at parts).

We only had blue skies on one day - it's amazing what a difference it makes to photos. It had rained heavily the day before (we shopped!) and was very windy, which must have cleared the air. On every other day, the smog was terrible. It is very polluted, worse than any other Asian country I have been to (a lot worse than India for example).

 View over the Forbidden City from a temple at a park behind it - this is a must see.

 Tienanmen square. I had forgotten that the Government completely covers up the history of what happened here, there are no memorials for the protestors - they are all communist centric.

Rock temple in Forbidden City - all man made!

 The entrance to the Forbidden City, a tribute to Mao.

 Forbidden City

The Summer Palace

Summer Palace

 Temple of Heaven - not sure what the significance of this writing is, but it is certainly beautiful.

 Temple of Heaven

Next post: Sightseeing in Modern Beijing!