I've been having a great time in Beijing. I've been here for ten days now and I was sick for seven of those days. I'm just finally getting over this cold today -- knock on wood. However, I wasn't going to let a sore throat, runny nose, congested lungs, coughing and sneezing keep me from doing all the touristy stuff.
Tianamen Square is not really a square but is a rectangle. It can hold up to 1.5 million people. We saw the inside of the Great Hall of the People where congress meets about twice a year (I think, don't quote me). We walked by Mao's Memorial Hall but weren't allowed to go see his dead body on display because they were renovating the place. One of my classmates is close to seven feet tall, so everywhere he walked, the Chinese people were taking pictures of him. We have dubbed "The Giant." We also asked a Chinese person to take a group photo of us, to which resulted in a picture that had everyone in it but "The Giant's" head. It was pretty funny.
The Summer Palace is where the Empress Dowager spent her time in the city. It was full of tourists when we went, and a bunch of peddlers were trying to sell us fake Olympic t-shirts (of which I bought one -- it's for you, bro). We also encountered our first scam artist -- another classmate bought a t-shirt and gave the peddler a 100 yuan bill for a 25 yuan shirt. When she got the change, we realized they gave her a fake 50 yuan note. Lesson learned.
We also saw a Chinese Acrobatic show (where that Chinese guy from Ocean's 11 came from) and it was so cool to see these talented artists perform. There were some crazy contortionists going on. And this girl riding the bicycle has very strong legs.
Next up was the Silk Market -- can I say knock-off galore? Coach, Louis Vuitton, Samsonite, Prada, Gucci, True Religion--whatever you can think of is here at market and you HAVE TO bargain in order to get things cheap. I spent way too much money there. On myself. For custom tailored cashmere suits. They look great on me so I'm just going to stop whining about how much I spent there. But, I was able to get other things too. Like True Religion men's jeans for $15 USD a pair. Yes, I'm not joking. The Boy has put in an order for six pairs. I don't know how I'm supposed to get all this back to the States. I might start visiting the post office or DHL soon.
The Great Wall!! This was the day that I was deathly ill, like I-didn't-want-to-get-out-of-bed-because-my-every-inch-of-my-body-hurts-and-I-had-no-energy-ill. But it was the day to go to the Great Wall, and I couldn't miss that.
So I dragged my ass out of bed, slept on the bus for the entire 2 hour ride to the wall, and then took the easy way out by riding the gondola up the Great Wall instead of climbing the mountain that leads up to it. It was so awesome. It's one thing to see pictures of the Great Wall, but it is entirely a whole different feeling to be able to stand on top of one of the world's greatest monuments. I walked along the Great Wall from one beacon to the next, but then got exhausted and decided to sit and wait while my classmates finished walking the whole section of the Great Wall we were in.
The best part of the Great Wall was being able to slide down to the bottom on this luge-like toboggan thing. From looking at it, I thought there was a great risk I would die from attempting this. They even sold insurance for the "ride". However, once I got on and starting my descent down, it was really fun and wasn't too fast or scary.
After an exciting day at the Great Wall, we got back to the hotel and I fell asleep while everyone else went out partying until the wee hours. I have yet to do that, but as soon as this cold is over, Beijing beware of QQ.
Now that I know where I can use my laptop to get a wireless connection, I'll try to update my blog more often, even if it's just to post pictures. Hopefully, the PRC isn't checking any wireless connections and trying to ban whatever I'm posting. hee hee
No comments:
Post a Comment