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We checked out and took the subway to as close as we could get to the Tailong Hotel, then wandered with bags until we found the place. The fact that we were booked (with deposits) for all but the present day caused some confusion abetted by language difficulties, but we got through it. We dumped our bags and walked down the road to get some food at a wonton joint, feeding 5 for ~$10 US (including 3 600ml beers and 2 bottled waters). I think I’m going to like prices here.
After eating, we walked west to the Forbidden City wall, then south to Tiananmen Square to get our bearings. For photos, visit http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172065998/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539.
By the time you get within a block of the area you’re accosted by people trying to sell you maps, guidebooks, tours, Mao’s Little Red Book, Mao watches… they can be pushy & Dan seems to get a kick out of pushing back. One guy tried to sell him a watch for 100 yuan & he countered by offering 2 (about 30 cents). They carried on the banter for at least a block as we kept walking.
About Beijing: I have never seen a place with such air pollution. The air is thick & over 90˚F. You can’t see the sun, but it’s not cloud cover. I find I have to squint, partly because of the gauzy glare and partly because the air literally stings my eyes. But the Forbidden City looks promising: we’ll come back for that.
We exited the Heavenly Gate, the outermost wall to the Forbidden City to the south, and hit Tiananmen Square. The Gate is adorned with a huge painting of Chairman Mao.
Heading south, the Monument to the People’s Heroes is straight ahead, followed by Mao’s Mausoleum (closed). To the right, the Great Hall of the People, where the National People’s Congress was in session. To the left (east), the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. Both seemed to be closed.
The hike back was oppressively hot & humid. We went back to our hotel to cool down and rest, then walked down Wangfujing Daijie, a broad pedestrian arcade lined with shops leading to the metro station we’d arrived at. We stopped at Ulan-Ude Roast Duck for a dinner of (you guessed it) Peking Duck. We ordered a whole roast duck, which was sliced for us at our tableside. You put slices on thin rice pancakes along with hoisin, onion, cucumber, and garlic slices. We had sides of rice, mushrooms and spiced cucumber: a tasty meal. Then we walked around the shopping arcade and stopped for a beer to watch the world walk by with some awful imitation of Beijing Opera serenading us from nearby.
You don’t sit alone. Beggars and peddlers regularly walk up to try to get something, and if you’re identified as a mark they will exploit you. A guy tried to sell us a big bottle of drinking water for 20 yuan when the going rate is 4 yuan. Dan taught us a very useful term tonight: phonetically, it’s “Boo-yah,” which means “not interested.” It’s a term we’ll use a lot.
Dan was in the mood for “night snacks” and an amazing array of street food vendors had set up right outside our hotel. Unfortunately, here they shut down at 10:00PM, and it was now after 11. Judy & I went back to the room. The boys went out for another beer.
After eating, we walked west to the Forbidden City wall, then south to Tiananmen Square to get our bearings. For photos, visit http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172065998/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539.
By the time you get within a block of the area you’re accosted by people trying to sell you maps, guidebooks, tours, Mao’s Little Red Book, Mao watches… they can be pushy & Dan seems to get a kick out of pushing back. One guy tried to sell him a watch for 100 yuan & he countered by offering 2 (about 30 cents). They carried on the banter for at least a block as we kept walking.
About Beijing: I have never seen a place with such air pollution. The air is thick & over 90˚F. You can’t see the sun, but it’s not cloud cover. I find I have to squint, partly because of the gauzy glare and partly because the air literally stings my eyes. But the Forbidden City looks promising: we’ll come back for that.
We exited the Heavenly Gate, the outermost wall to the Forbidden City to the south, and hit Tiananmen Square. The Gate is adorned with a huge painting of Chairman Mao.
Heading south, the Monument to the People’s Heroes is straight ahead, followed by Mao’s Mausoleum (closed). To the right, the Great Hall of the People, where the National People’s Congress was in session. To the left (east), the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. Both seemed to be closed.
The hike back was oppressively hot & humid. We went back to our hotel to cool down and rest, then walked down Wangfujing Daijie, a broad pedestrian arcade lined with shops leading to the metro station we’d arrived at. We stopped at Ulan-Ude Roast Duck for a dinner of (you guessed it) Peking Duck. We ordered a whole roast duck, which was sliced for us at our tableside. You put slices on thin rice pancakes along with hoisin, onion, cucumber, and garlic slices. We had sides of rice, mushrooms and spiced cucumber: a tasty meal. Then we walked around the shopping arcade and stopped for a beer to watch the world walk by with some awful imitation of Beijing Opera serenading us from nearby.
You don’t sit alone. Beggars and peddlers regularly walk up to try to get something, and if you’re identified as a mark they will exploit you. A guy tried to sell us a big bottle of drinking water for 20 yuan when the going rate is 4 yuan. Dan taught us a very useful term tonight: phonetically, it’s “Boo-yah,” which means “not interested.” It’s a term we’ll use a lot.
Dan was in the mood for “night snacks” and an amazing array of street food vendors had set up right outside our hotel. Unfortunately, here they shut down at 10:00PM, and it was now after 11. Judy & I went back to the room. The boys went out for another beer.
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