BEIJING, WE MADE IT

Just over 30.000 kilometers further and we are driving into the Chinese Capital Beijing. Will we make it without accidents, we worry for the last time. Will we make it without a single flat tyre? Slowely we move forward in the dense traffic.

All three of us anxiously look at the signs. Via the newly opened 4th ring road we continue our way into the city. All drivers are fighting for a bit of space. We just want to reach Tianeman square, the center of Beijing. Half an hour later, with sweat in our hands we come to the main road leading to Tianeman square and the forbidden city.

Then we see it, The huge billboard of Mao, smiling at us, from above the entrance of the forbidden city. We made it… beijing!!!! A thousand feelings and emotions flow through our body at this stage. 1 year of preparations and hard work, almost 7 months of driving and ten countries further. This is it….. we have made it. Now we can finally breath and relax.

This morning we woke up and were looking forward to the last bit of brand new highway. Only three hours of driving… hahaha piece of cake. But as soon as we got to the lobby we noticed a thick fog outside. ¡®Highway is closed¡¯ we are told. ¡®Too dangerous to drive.¡¯ We can¡¯t believe it. Finally, after 6500 kilometers in China on the worst of the worst roads we finally have a good road….. closed!!! Maybe someone is out there playing with us or enjoying this trip so much that he doesn¡¯t want it to finish! But we are determined to reach Beijing today!

We take the b-road which is okay but full of heavy traffic. 2 hours later at a maximum speed of 30 k an hour we try the highway again. Luckily from this point it¡¯s open. Traffic is easy untill we reach the ringroad. Here it¡¯s congested.

Driving on The famous Tianeman square is amazing. Not only because we have been driving for almost 7 months with this square as our main destination but also because it has wide lanes and the majestic Forbidden City, home to many emperors, overlooking it. One thing we still can¡¯t believe. We made it without a single flat tyre. One thing is for sure, we will drive on Pirelli¡¯s for the rest of our lives!

We feel great but sad as well… it¡¯s nearly over. Good news is that arriving in Beijing doesn¡¯t mean we stop writing straight away. We started writing while organizing the expedition and we won¡¯t stop untill Hippie, our beloved car, is on the boat safely stored into a Hanjin container. We will spent at least a week in beijing and will ofcourse share our last experiences with you.

Hippie…. you did it!! Damn…. we did it!!!