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Left Richmond and flew Chicago.I slept like a champ on the way over… Guess I am used to sleeping on airplanes by now.The taxi driver on the way from the airport to the hotel was a self tipper (he gave me less change than he should have).Guess he needs it more than me though.The hotel is the Marriott Executive Apartments, which means that it caters to the expats living in Beijing.Lucky for me, it means that I got a huge apartment to stay in… It was definitely bigger than the first apartment I had in Alexandria, which was 750 sq. feet.I had a laundry machine, which meant that I could come home with some clean clothes… very exciting.
Beijing is similar to how I remember it from 3 years ago - polluted and not much English. I definitely prefer Shanghai.Today I head to the Summer Palace - something I didn't see last time I was here.Somehow, I managed to do it again - halfway there and I realized my camera didn't have its battery.I left it in the charger, just like I did in Dubai. At least I had not gone the entire way there before realizing it.
It seems like there are a lot of police everywhere… turns out there is an election in Beijing coming up, or so I was told.The taxi ride took 45 minutes, which meant we put the emergency brake on about 35 times.I suppose that if you are a taxi driver who drives a manual transmission all day, you want to rest your feet as much as possible?I drove past the CCTV building, which is awesome, but not done.It should be done in time for the Olympics.As it seems to happen in the majority of the locations I visit, we drove past an IKEA.Next I saw the "Bird's Nest" also know as the National Olympic Stadium.I really hope that the pollution here does not hurt the athletes coming for the Olympics.The pictures are just a reminder that Beijing was named "Pollution Capital of the World".I can understand why.
Summer Palace
I am the only foreigner I have seen in the 1st hour of touring.Impressive.Obviously, I was traveling alone.One thing I have come to hate about this is that I have no one to take pictures for me.(Or the people take a picture that either doesn't have the background in it or I am not in it... etc).So I tend to use my self timer, set up the camera in the right position, and take pictures of myself… or do the classic "put your arm out and hopefully it's a good picture" move.(This is how I met Ben in Venice.He was laughing at me doing this.)I find it so strange that people will stare at you but not offer to help; they just become your audience. Reverse paparazzi? Who knows, at least I made them smile.
3 hours of non-stop walking later…
I decided this place is kicking my...It's hot then cold.I am crossing my fingers that I don't get sick.Argh. My path hasn't been quite… um... straight? Understandable? I guess I just like to wander.As I am wandering down "Suzhou Street" wondering why all the shops are closed (and why the walkway is only 3 feet wide, and why the waterway in the middle is the standard 3 feet deep, etc) I went against most everything I believe in and stopped at some "random little hole in the wall place" because I was dying for some hot tea, a place to sit, and just a break from walking. I looked at my map, charted my course, and of course, laughed at the zig zags.Time to start writing some of it down…
I started through the East Palace Gate and thought I would go see the "Garden of Harmonious Pleasures"… that didn't work out so well.I got lost.So I went down a corridor in a different direction and decided the best thing would be to go in the direction everyone was coming from and start there.It was the "Garden of Virtue and Harmony", on to the "Hall of Benevolence and Longevity", then to the "Wenchang Gallery".I am not much of a 'gallery' person, but it was included in the price of my ticket, so I figured why not… apparently,I am still not a gallery person, as I only stayed here for 5 minutes.
I went on to the "Heralding Spring Pavilion", where I tried super hard to get a picture of myself in front of "Longevity Hill".I put my camera stand on a rock, positioned it, hit the 10 second timer, and ran.That picture got deleted.The pollution is making it hard to take decent pictures (easier to blame that than me not being photogenic).So 10 pictures later, I get 1 I like and not to my surprise, I have an audience.Next time I will take a picture of themJNext was walking along the "Kunming Lake" - which was about 3 feet deep from all points that I saw it at - not that it stopped the wind from whipping into me.Put on my sweater.Still the only foreigner.
So I make it to the Bronze Ox, which was pretty cool, took a picture, kept moving.Stopped by the "Spacious Pavilion" (which is named justly since it is so big) and stopped to enjoy the little kids running around with kites.Then came the first foreigners I saw all day.A group of people doing (I think) land cross country skiing?I don't really know.They had ski like poles… I am not really sure. I was going to ask, but there were so many of them, I felt stupid, so I kept moving.
Crossed the "17 arch Bridge" (named after it's 17 arches).One really cool thing about this bridge is that all the lions standing guard over it are different.Some were serious, some made me laugh, some were kinda worn and I could not tell what they were.I peered over the bridge.The Lake was maybe 4 feet deep at this point.So after getting across the bridge, I got to "South Lake Island".Not too much to see here, but a GREAT place for taking pictures of yourself in front of "Longevity Hill" (the famous part of the palace).
Again, I try to take pictures of myself.This time 2 men literally stood behind my camera and started laughing.Awesome.
I find that the Chinese (wow, that is such a generalization) tend to eat healthier snacks than at home - I see people walking around munching on zucchini.Seems random to me, but the US is going through an obesity problem, so I definitely not one to judge.I saw a family that looked like they were traveling with the middle/high school kids for spring break.It made me consider if my children will face the wrath of all my China trips - meaning that I will not want to bring them after being here so much.Who knows, that is quite a long time away.
Walked back in the cold to the place I started.Started down the "Long Corridor" (again, perfectly named) went through some pavilions, fought with some tour groups, and decided to stop for some water and crackers.Kept walking before the tour group caught up.Arriving at the "Glowing Clouds and Holyland Archway" was pretty cool… you look right up at the "Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha" (hereafter referred to as Buddha Tower). At the entrance, the crowds were so thick that I, the crowd hater I am, decided to go off to the right side.Smart move.There I took the best picture I have of my trip to the Summer Palace.J
So the stairs up to Buddha Tower were not toooo bad, but I was kinda tired and decided to blame it on the 2 straight hours of walking, not my lack of endurance. No pictures were allowed of the Buddha. Some people were praying and generally at that point when I am visiting a temple/church/etc and people are worshiping, I feel somewhat like an intruder, so I turn to leave.Sometimes when you are so intent on moving forward, you forget to look back and see where you have been.The view from the Buddha Tower was great!
I started to head towards what I thought was "Suzhou Street" but I wasn't quite sure.The signs are there, but I am not sure the arrows were all correct.I wound up at the "Four Great Regions" and had NO clue where I was (until now, when I am looking at my map).So I walk around some more, come to some stairs that lead to where I wanted to go (the "Clear and Peaceful Boat" also known as the "Marble Boat") but realize how far away it is.I had to turn in my audio guide (that wasn't super insightful when compared to the signs that were there) at a specific time, and I had no idea where I was.I gave up. I headed toward the gate and decided I could live with myself if I didn't see the boat.
That is how I ended up here, at this little eatery type thing on "Suzhou Street". I got some surprisingly good noodles and chicken soup… yum. Just what I needed.As I am sitting here writing, I finally have figured out that the shops aren't closed.There are black hangings over their entrance ways.I thought this meant that they were not open, but you just have to pull it back.Anyway, time for a cab.As I walk out, I expect the onslaught of illegal taxis (who charge about quadruple).There were no cabs when I left the North Palace Gate, so I didn't tell them yes or no… as this driver started walking to his car, he pulled out the "Taxi" sign, stuck it on the roof and smiled.I decided to walk.Who knows where this guy would have taken me.After maybe 10 minutes of walking (and watching men working on power lines… normally, not interesting.But when the ladder they are on is barely leaning on the power line, you can't help but stare), this nice old man taxi driver rescued me.As with most Beijing taxi drivers, he did not know English, but I showed him the hotel card and we were off. He was such a cute old man, trying to give me a tour using the English words he knew.We passed the National Olympic Stadium, he said 'Olympics' - things like that.So cute.Maybe I am biased though because he told me I was beautiful… but maybe he just didn't know what he was saying.J
Sometime later…
Next stop was the grocery store to stock my bottled water, diet coke, and to get laundry detergent for my washing machine.The supermarket was 4 floors and had some major differences from a US supermarket.For example, they sold live turtles.Not quite something I can take home… wait… it's not a souvenir.Right.
Went to the "Silk Market" after that, which is 5 floors of 'stuff', only 1 floor of it is most likely to be silk.This is also known as the counterfeit market… and man it was running at full force. That is not what I was there for; I have learned that they sell the SAME souvenirs at these markets that they sell for 10 times the price at the airports!I decided that I will eventually have a bigger house (when I eventually settle down and stop traveling so much, there really isn't a point to a big empty house right now) and therefore since China has been such a big part of my life, I want an Asian themed room (eventually).So what better place to get things for this room?Exactly, the market. And my bargaining skills are just as dangerous as ever.JSo I get some wall hangings, some panda stuff for my niece and nephew, and decide to go look at the pearls…. Oops.That took forever and cost some money.Thank goodness I just got my tax refund. J
So I ended up eating dinner at Subway (they have pretty much the same menu).Long day, work is tomorrow, I am TIRED!I am contemplating doing another Great Wall trip on Saturday to see a different part of the wall.The Badaling section was ok for my first time, but it was so crowded and touristy that I want to see a different section… a road less traveled I guess. We'll see.
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