hey guys!
you will have to bear with me because I am a little rusty at this. Somehow I lost everything that I just typed! and it was long! oh well. sorry but this will be the coles notes version in my laziness!
after 30 hours in transit we arrived in Beijing. After some chaos, including arriving after the subway closed (we arrived after midnight, the subway closes at 1030 (!), we found a taxi to bring us to our hostel (a few attempts because we couldn't find a cab driver who spoke English or knew where to take us). here I was thinking that I would be frickin amazing after my one year of Mandarin like ten years ago and my phrasebook! it was a great experience though. Our hostel was down a dark sketchy alley; we found it asking some guy who was peeing on a wall. The guy who answered the door didn't speak English. at all. We managed to get into a room, but only to find it absolutely freezing. I mean, we are Canadian, it can't be that cold, right?! We ended up sharing a bed with a mountain of blankets sleeping in our jackets, mitts, long underwear and two pairs of socks!
The next morning we were moved to a warmer (ish) room. We spent the day walking around and checked out Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, and got some amazing pictures (on Yosha's camera) from Jiangshan Park close to the Forbidden City.
The next day we went to the Great Wall. Thankfully we were on a section that isn't as popular so it wasn't as touristy. Man was it COLD! it was a great workout too! many parts of where we were on didn't have steps anymore. Between the fresh air from the last few days and the lack of sleep, we slept through part of the Kung Fu show that night, but what we did manage to stay awake for was cool!
I toured around the temple of heaven park while Yosha did some shopping yesterday. The park was great, and full of random activities like tai chi, group aerobics, praying, and tourists checking out the temple of good harvests, one of the popular symbols of China.
We are eating well (moms and dads!) and enjoying the local cuisine. :)
Random observations:
- Even if they don't speak English, people from Beijing will try their hardest to help you. They will also maybe chase you down the street if you drop something. I could have used one of them when I left my Chawel (some group deal thing) on the plane in Chicago (I think!)
- Servers will stand over you the second you sit down at a restaurant while you decide what you want to eat. Plates, bowls and cups are shrink wrapped.
- I don't know if it's because of being desensitized by the Olympics or if it's the culture, but you could be the only white person walking around for miles and they don't really pay attention. it's kinda neat!
- you can feel some of the communist love when you walk around. I couldn't access facebook or my blog...there are police officers everywhere....
that's it for now! I promise to update more often! Don't be shy to post comments! :)
M xoxo
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3 comments:
Ha ha peeing on a wall. Classic. And good job on finding a section of the great wall that wasn't so touristy! In my opinion the parts that are in immaculate condition somehow lack authenticity and that feeling of venerable agelessness.
Salut Michelle!
Belles photos! C'est toute une aventure que vous vivez. Merci pour les biscuits de Noël. Dicken vas bien. Amusez vous en espérant que vous aurez des chambres où la température ambiante va vous permettre de relaxer un peu. :)
Guylaine
I look at your pics and I remember so well being in the very same places two years ago!! The only difference, is back then (pre-Shanghai Expo with tons of white folks visiting China), the chinese were absolutely fascinated with us as white folks. We kept being stopped by random people everywhere, asking if they could take pictures of us with them. It was such a cool feeling. Shame they have lost that charm. Keep warm, keep safe, and keep writing!
Love,
Caro
xo
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