I am rather upset because my recent blog: Beijing Part 1 The Tour has vanished and I am not in the mood to rewrite it right now. Maybe it can be found somewhere in cyberspace and until I try to locate it, I will continue with the story.
As the title implies, we were on our own to explore Beijing today. I had dutifully questioned Jason, our guide from yesterday, and made copious notes on our map about which metro routes to take, which stops to exit, and in which order we should see the following landmarks: Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace. We needed to get up early, which didn't happen, and get an early start because we were literally going from northeast Beijing to central, then northwest, then northeast again to pick up our luggage, and then to the train station in the south. The plan was to take the metro as much as possible. We made two trans-Beijing trips via metro and then spent several hours in a taxi. Beijing is not at all like Shanghai, compact and vertical, it is spread out and it takes forever to get anywhere especially when there's traffic.
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| Temple of Heaven |
First stop, Temple of Heaven. This altar and surrounding buildings is where the emperors of the past prayed to the heavens for a bountiful harvest. The Hall of Prayer is a three tiered round building beautifully painted and carved. It was probably my favorite. The Circular Mound Altar was interesting to visit as well due to the large group of "spring break" Chinese students standing in the middle singing the Party Rock Anthem, obviously a new form of harvest ceremony. Let's keep those traditions alive! Of course, in the past, even the smallest mistake made by the emperor performing the ceremony was a bad omen ensuring disaster for the entire nation in the upcoming year. I guess it wasn't all fun and games to be the Son of Heaven. I also bought a momma and a baby crocheted dragon from some ladies in the park nearby. Very cute!
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| Me in between the Doors |
Second stop, Forbidden City. The only thing I have to say about this place is HUGE! We took a taxi to the north gate near the museum and were not sure if we were even in the city. We got on a tram excitedly hoping it would take us around inside the Imperial City but it only took us back out the gate to the road. Apparently that was the end of the trip and we were pushed off the tram by new passengers boarding. I guess we should have known 1 kuai wouldn't get us very far. So we got back on the tram and went back inside the gate where we walked around a bit. The builds were impressive and for a guided cage it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't have minded living there as long as someone carried me around in a jiao or palanquin (chair carried on the shoulders of other people).
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| Anna, Mao, Me |
Third stop, Summer Palace. By this time we were exhausted and hungry. This royal summer vacation home was on even more extensive grounds and built on and around very steep Longevity Hill. A pristine Kunming Lake sits at the bottom of the mountain and the view of the surrounding hills is breathtaking. This was by far my most favorite place in Beijing. Winding paths snaked up the hillside to palaces, temples, pavilions, halls, bridges, and one very long corridor. We strolled around enjoying the scenery but in reality we were frantically searching for food since we hadn't eaten all day. Some rice cake things and beer made us feel a little better. We were feeling quite accomplished after our outing today and ready to go to Tianjin.
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| Beautiful Summer Palace |
But what will forever be known as the Beijing Incident, put a dark cloud over our final experience in the prestigious capital city. Upon exiting the Summer Palace, we were accosted by people selling tourist trinkets like Mao hats, weird little glasses with noses and mustaches attached that would blow out sideways. They are difficult to describe. I instantly stepped away from the hawkers and tried befriending a stray puppy. While I was petting the pooch, Mike and Anna were bargaining for a Mao hat, army green with a red star on the front. Something shady happened during the transaction and Anna's 100 RMB note was switched for a very obvious fake. She didn't notice right away. Shortly thereafter, I wanted to buy a hotdog for my newfound four legged friend. A man popped out of nowhere to sell me the hotdog. Djorf gave him a 100 RMB note but then I found 10 RMB note to pay with instead. Quick as a flash, Djorf's bill was switched for a fake and he noticed it right away, demanding the original back. Then Djorf asked Anna to see her money, low and behold, another fake. The lady with the hats was long gone of course and the wiener man had also vanished. We tried to cause as much of a scene as possible but it was useless. The whole group of hawkers was probably in on the scam. All the people selling those weird masks just stared at us, looking very clown-like and disturbing. I despise masks. Considering this is the first time in two years anything like this has happened to me, I wasn't upset for too long. We had a good laugh, cursed the group of cheats for the scum of the earth that they were, then hoped the 100 RMB would feed their families, grabbed a cab and were off to the train station and Tianjin.
Our trip to Beijing was short but sweet. We accomplished a lot in just a few days. Now I won't feel foolish for living in China for over a year and never seeing the Great Wall. I have born witness to some of the most important sites in China and am prepared to leave without regret.
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