Text and photos by Leila Antakly

At creamhotel being a traveler is a lifestyle.  Our team is always “on the road”, exploring new cities, discovering native customs, meeting local people… and so are our blog contributors. This summer Leila Antakly from Ninu Nina decided to go on a different kind of summer holiday. Being based in Dubai, one of the major advantages she finds of living there is the proximity to exotic travel destinations, so she ended up going on an epic adventure to Mongolia with a stop to Beijing on the way and back. 

Honestly I did not know what to expect. I’d heard Beijing was a dump from so many different friends and I really was not sure if I would end up liking it or not. I have to say Beijing was a great highlight of my summer and a huge surprise. I fell in love. I know I was probably very lucky that I got to walk the Great Wall early in the morning, there were no tourists, and nothing but endless beauty and history. I have to say what I loved most about Beijing was exploring the art district called The 798 Art Zone: an old industrial area converted into one of the funkiest neighborhoods full of galleries, cafes, book shops, boutiques and just amazing street art. I could just walk there for days. The other incredible highlight was the Park View Green mall, (the first “ green” mall in China) which holds an impressive collection of contemporary Chinese art that makes the trip to Beijing worth the visit. Hope you enjoy my photos and come back to read part 2 of my summer adventures in Mongolia.