Good morning from Beijing! In this cabin crew layover vlog, I challenged myself to do a full 24 hours (well… basically 10 hours straight) exploring Beijing alone, and honestly it felt like a little adventure from the moment I stepped into the metro. The last time I was here was in 2008 when I was 8 years old, so everything felt new again. Because it was a one-week public holiday, the crowds were intense, but I still wanted to just walk the city, take public transport for the first time in China, and hunt for local food that isn’t “China spicy” (because I really can’t eat that). I wandered through busy streets, escaped into quieter lanes, and tried a jajangmyeon-style noodle (nice, but too salty for me). My favorite surprise of the day was this “hard yogurt” that turned out to be a yogurt pudding/jelly texture—so smooth and I would 100% buy it again. I also made my way to Sanlitun SOHO, warmed up with a freshly made bun, and finally found my matcha fix at a more “premium” HEYTEA branch (less sugar, less ice—so good and properly bitter). For dinner, I was so happy to finally find non-spicy options: steamed eggplant with minced pork (10/10, star of the show), plus pork with vegetables and rice. Biggest takeaway: Beijing is really nice for a solo layover day, but you need Alipay for payments and a China map app because Google/Apple Maps won’t work properly here.