Beijing,
China
Saturday, August 19, 2006
We catch a flight to Beijing, which will be our final destination in China. We meet up with our guide, Wendy, and check into the Royal Presidential Hotel. They have given us a room with one bed so we are required to move to a new room where the internet is not working. After three hours of working on it, we are given free internet use for our stay but the day is over so Matt and I join our group for yet-yes, you guessed it-Chinese food. The Argentineans are protesting and go to the Sizzler down the street. I don't blame them. After dinner Debbie and I go by private car arranged by Wendy to the Beijing Opera at one of the more traditional, older theatres. The English subtitles appear very sporadically but I love the costumes and makeup. Part melodrama, part acrobatics, the opera tradition here is rich and it is a great evening
Wendy has warned us that Beijing will be some of the most strenuous walking we will have to do so it is off to bed in preparation for our trip to the Forbidden City tomorrow.
