Sixth and final day in Beijing, and we are catching the morning SQ flight home.
This is the rather grand-looking embassy complex, comprising apartments for senior staff and offices. I think it was opened just 3-4 years' back, and it's quite a modern 6-storey complex, complete with undergound car park. Privately-installed satellite dish allows reception of Malaysian TV1, TV2 and TV3 broadcasts.
The apartments are cosy and well-designed. The one we stay in has 4 rooms. Security is provided by the Chinese govt and also by a private company (the guards salute us whenever we pass the gate). The compound is regarded as Malaysian soil and we cannot just freely leave or enter without being accompanied by embassy staff. This sort of cripple us, as we usually like to take strolls in the neighbourhood whenever we travel. I am told there has been no serious security breaches, except on one occasion when North Korean asylum-seekers climbed over the wall to seek refuge. After that, they put spikes on the wall. :-)
Anyway, bye-bye Beijing, and all the best. It is one of the greatest cities in the world, in my book. Well worth the trip.
