So far I have been quite impressed by the airports in China; they move a lot of people through them very quickly and efficiently. In all cases the waits in line have been significantly shorter than anything I’ve experienced in the US. Today, however, the Beijing airport threw us for a loop.
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Chris and I climbed the Great Wall at JiuYongGuan – It has the steepest grade. It took us 45 minutes climbing to the top and when we were getting down, we could feel our legs shaking. It was a quite climbing but we did it!!
On the way down, we got two T-shirts with words “I Climbed Great Wall” written on them as souvenir.
Do you think Punky would want to play with him?
Lady and the Dog
Some days you realize we aren’t the only creatures affected by the way a city is built.
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This is the home of the famous Beijing Duck (often better known as Peking Duck, but as Peking no longer exists, so Peking Duck no longer does). This restaurant has been in operation on Wangfujing Avenue for over 200 years — although it is not in its original location now, it has always been in the same area. This restaurant is so famous that even Chaiman Mao ate here.
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Would you attack this?
Nikon D80 + 18-55
Exposure: Aperture Priority (Auto ISO)
Shutter Speed: 1/90
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 55mm
Flash: Off
ISO: 100
Well it all finally caught up to us! Yesterday we got up at our usual 5 AM, got ready for the day, had breakfast, and the tour guide picked us up at 7:50. We had a great day which I shall tell you about later!
We finally got back to the hotel at 5:00 at night. I put the pictures in the computer, Ling decided to have some tea and read before dinner, and I laid down on the bed for a quick snooze.
At 6:30 Ling woke me up and said we should get moving if we sleep the whole night we will wake up at midnight and be all off on our sleep. I agreeed, but couldn’t open my eyes, and I noticed her eyes were closing too.
At 9:30 we both woke up and agreed that we should get up, this was really bad. Our eyes were already closing as we agreed.
I think Ling woke up at 4, I woke up at 5, which is the ususal time for me here!
Its been a long time since I’ve slept 12 straight hours…
You really have to feel for the emperor. Sure it is nice to live in the forbidden city, but sometimes you are going to feel cooped up! I mean, can you imagine being stuck inside a mere 8 million square feet? Well, that’s where the Temple of Heaven comes to the rescue.
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Also seen on the same menu (and I have the pictures to prove it!):
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Walking around Beijing I am struck by the two completely different worlds that exist. Unlike Vancouver, where the worlds are seperate and only intersect around the borders, here they exist side by side, passing by each other. I’m not sure they integrate; but they co-exist. You watch high-end cars honking at rusty rickshaws to get out of the way. Old men on even older bikes riding through crowds of people wearing Ralph Lauren clothes.
In the two days we have been in Beijing, I have already had many experiences I would not expect to have anywhere else! These split into the good, the bad, the ugly, and the sublime…
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