This morning the program arranged for a free tour of Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. Even though the bus left at 8:30am, I still wanted to go because hey, it's free, and the Forbidden city is a bit of a hike from the hotel so we figured we might as well get our money's worth! When I woke up this morning iI saw with amazement that it was a beautiful clear day, sunny and blue skies. That was the deciding factor: I had to go!
I made the bus with plenty of time to spare, although the karaoke crew came rolling in late and very hungover. I was quite glad that I ended up skipping--KTV will always be there and I can go for round II next time.
We had a guide take us around to Tian'anmen first, although we only walked up the length of the square and did not go into Mao's tomb to view the preserved body of Dear Leader (not that I am complaining about that). It was really chilly, probably about 55 with a continuous chill wind blowing. The communist hat vendors were making a brisk business selling the furry hats and gloves to frigid tourists. The Forbidden City looks much the same it did in 1997, although it has been spiffed up quite a bit for the Olympics. All the major buildings/gates are freshly repainted, which looks pretty from afar but close up looks a little bit shiny. The side areas are not restored, and to me were more interesting. As soon as we got in the City Mike and I ditched the group and went off to do our own thing. we made a pact to take only non-postcard type pictures, so we had a really fun time looking for interesting photographic subjects and unique shots.
After working our way north and leaving the city we met up with Ethan (native Taiwanese) and decided to find a place to eat. We were walking towards the Wudakou subway station and were talking about how much we wanted some dumplings when we found this literal hole in the wall dumpling shack! It was just a narrow room with a couple of tables and chairs, with a guy in the front steaming everything. The place was crowded though, so we ordered some dumplings, xiaolongbao and xiaobao (which are like small dumplings but with rice inside). The total was 15 yuan! What a crazy deal!
We walked to Wudaokou so I could buy the Insiders Guide to Beijing at the English Language bookstore. I also got Lonely Planet Cambodia so I can get a feeling for what to do there besides just go to Siem Riep and Ankor Wat. We took a cab back to the hotel so Mike could check out of the hotel and move into his apartment. He and I will hit up Sanlituan area tonight to hang out with Cordell. So far it's been a great weekend!
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