Peking Duck and History
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2007
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67
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Trip End
Dec 2007
Beijing,
China
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Beijing seems to have a smoggy haze constantly - when the sun rises and sets you can see the red through the "fog"...otherwise it is about 200m visibility. humid too. somewhat dreary....
we took a tour of Tiannmen Square (largest in the world) and the Forbidden City in the morning. Again fighting the crowds constantly. It was really packed with tourists. But still beautiful and surprisingly large and well preserved. After a short but MUCH needed nap we saw a Kung Fu show that evening - impressive...
The next morning we were up early to beat the traffic out of Beijing to get to the Samatai section of the Great Wall. SPECTACULAR!!! we climbed the whole way (anita was really sick but she did it) and took a lot of photos. they definitely do not do the experience justice. it was a pretty phenomenal place. After returning to Beijing we went to the Silk Market for some bargaining and shopping.
That evening was our groups farewell dinner of Peking Duck. We had a private (claustophobic, white walled) room for our group - we squished around a table meant to seat 6 people comfortably...we were 10... just ok.
We had planned a BIG-JING night out but most people were tired/sick/things to do so just Monica joined Fran and Helene and Pete for drinks at Hou Hai. Beautiful area of bars and restos around a lake - great live music sung by a Chinese band...they were talented but sometimes the accents made us laugh (" I sho the shareaf")
The next morning Helene and Jenny joined the two of us to tour the Summer Palace. It took us a LONG time to get there by public bus but it was worth it. again spectacular preservation of history. Went out to dinner with Jenny and Jon and had a great cheap meal - sizzlin beef was so tender. the foot massage afterwards was heavenly (and ticklish)...(monica missed the table and spilt tea everywhere)we also had a TV on during the massage and they were playing the 80th Anniversary of the People's Republic Army "irish/Chinese" dancing...pretty funny stuff. There was a lot of celebrations during the week for the anniversary. we have some photos of the military in Tiannmen Square.
Our last full day in Beijing we visited the Temple of Heaven...again beautiful. we saw a lot of people exercising in the park; dancing, tai chi, a game with water balls and raquets, and our favorite - a HUGE group of over 100 randomly gathered people singing! it was beautiful, magical and moving. there were people of all ages smiling and singing at the top of their lungs - one senior in a wheelchair was smiling away. really cool.
more bargaining and buying at the Pearl and Silk markets - so much fun - we are pretty good at it now. love market shopping for great deals....only problem is we DO NOT fit into any of the shoes in Asia - they dont make mutant sizes! no fake Pumas for us.
We had another go at the Peking Duck for our final dinner in Beijing and we really liked it this time around.
Before our flight to Singapore, we walked to Benhai Park (old imperial Gardens) and enjoyed watching more ballroom dancing and a group of people playing Harmonica's with little amplifiers hanging around their necks. One thing we definitly like about asia is the parks in the morning - so many people gathering to exercise or practice a hobby - you can try anything for free and it encourages a greater sense of community - something we think North America is lacking.
one thing that will take some getting used to is the lack of paparazzi and staring outside of China. We are like celebrities here. Everyone takes photos, waves, practices their english with us and generally stares. Anita even gave an autograph! it is hilarious and daunting at the same time. As we pulled away on the airport shuttle bus Monica had a whole family wave goodbye to her which made her cry! someone said goodbye to her! hahaha
random thing we saw in china - woman walking with shopping bag on airport tarmac...wonderful security....
TIC this is China - we will miss it!
