With most of the major sites checked off the list we were simply left with the Summer Palace and the Great Wall. We had already planned our trip to the Great Wall for Friday so we spent our Thursday walking around the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is nearly an hour subway ride outside of the city and is set around Kunming Lake. It is suggested by most guide books to visit the Summer Palace as a get away from the heat but let me tell you we did not escape from the heat. It was so hot that day we could not take back enough popsicles and water to cool ourselves down.
While roaming around the palace we stumbled upon the Long Corridor which was a nice pleasant walk along side the lake. Walking along the Corridor we took breaks popping into the Tower of Fragrant Buddha and Garden of Virtue and Harmony. At the Tower of Fragrant Buddha we hiked up this long staircase which brought us to the top where we could over look the lake. I wish I could say the view was amazing but the smog was so bad it left this yellow haze over the lake and we couldn’t really see anything too clearly. At the Garden of Virtue and Harmony we lucked out to see a group of musicians play some ancient instruments. It ended up being a nice relaxing break listening to them play. After they finished we made our way out the east exit to begin our journey to the Beijing Zoo.
Since we weren’t close to the subway we knew we had to catch a taxi but what we didn’t know was that Beijing has VIP “black” taxis. Hopping into the first taxi we saw we made our way to the Beijing Zoo running every red light and seeing the meter quickly double, triple in price as we kept driving. Finally making it to the Zoo, our bill was ridiculously high and I absolutely wasn’t going to take this nonsense. After our exchange of unfriendly words we walked away paying half the total price which was still beyond more then what it should have paid. With this said, Beijing does have “black” taxis and one should never take them because it is a total scam. Always ride in the standard looking taxi because the price is reasonable and they won’t speed through red lights.
Getting back to our time at the Zoo…we went to the Zoo for one reason only, to see cute, cuddly white and black panda bears. All of us except Mark felt that our trip would not be complete unless we saw pandas while we were in China and so we paid our fee and visited the panda exhibit. Although we only saw less then a handful we enjoyed our time taking pictures of them and watching them lay calmly in the trees and on the rocks. After we had our fill of the pandas we quickly walked over to see the white tigers which I sadly regret doing. Walking over to where the tigers, leopards and lions live I was shocked to see what awful living spaces they were placed in. They were individual placed in these small jails and it was just depressing to see. I quickly walked out and called it a day. Tired from walking around the Summer Palace and beat by the heat I was ready for a siesta and so all of us headed home.
The day had come; we were finally going to go see the famous Great Wall. It was an early morning with a minor set back but after three and half hours of being in the car we finally arrived to Simatai Great Wall. As I have mentioned earlier, Mark’s friends had visited China before and suggested we visit this guesthouse that sits at the bottom of the Great Wall in Simatai. Mark had our hostel in Beijing call and arrange with the guesthouse (DongPo Restaurant) to have a car pick us up and take us to them. We arrived around noon time and were immediately taken back by the view of the Great Wall. Eager to start hiking we postponed lunch till after we were done walking the Great Wall.
Pumped and ready to go, we set out hiking the Great Wall with no one around. Simatai is soon to be undergoing renovations and so it has been shut down, but with our connection to the guesthouse we are permitted special privileges to hike in and around this area. The scenery surrounding Simatai is absolutely amazing with the endless watchtowers covering the entire hill side. Since we were in no rush we took our leisurely time walking from tower to tower, stopping to take all sorts of photos. There were countless times one of us would comment on how this is one of the greatest moments of our life. We were all just amazed to be out on the wall and look off into the distance and see it continue with no end in sight. After about an hour and half of walking we finally stopped and had a little cookie break before we made our way back to the guesthouse. It was truly amazing to be out on the Great Wall with no one in sight except for the four of us. I can honestly say, this is one of my top favorite traveling moments and I hope to return some day soon.
Before the girls made their long journey back to Beijing we all sat down for a late lunch at the guest house and had some of the best Chinese food we ever had. Taking the owners advice we went with the sweet and sour chicken, vegetable fried rice, fried cabbage and fried noodles. All of it was absolutely amazing, but the fried cabbage was hands down my favorite; it had tiny pieces of ginger in it and it was delicious. After our tasty meal, Mark and I said good bye to the girls and reconnected with them the following day.
We stayed a night at the guesthouse and had a great time. In desperate need of a rinse from all the sweat we headed down to the dam for a swim. Not sure if it was entirely allowed, we enjoyed our time relaxing in the water and getting a bit of a rinse. As for the rest of the evening, we spent it sitting outside drinking beers and simply admiring the beautiful Great Wall. Still energized from our hike I had it in my head that maybe Mark and I could wake up early and hike the wall again before leaving. Mark was on board depending on how he felt in the morning. Once morning time rolled around our idea ended up being stormed out. From nearly 5am to about 10am all we saw and heard was rain, lightning and thunder; it was an intense storm. Bummed about not being out on the wall we had a leisurely morning in our room and then proceeded to eat an enormous Chinese breakfast. The owner brought us two bowls of noodle soup, a big egg pancake, and a Chinese pancake; we were stuffed. Shortly after breakfast our driver arrived to take us back to Beijing and so we said good bye to the Great Wall.
With this being our last night in Beijing we felt it best to enjoy a nice Peking duck dinner. Not exactly sure where we were going but read popular reviews on this one restaurant we showed up to a fancier restaurant then expected. Doing our best not to be discouraged by this fancy restaurant we all had a nice/expensive evening enjoying Peking duck and steamed vegetables. After nearly emptying our bank accounts we headed back to the same bar we went to the first night the girls arrived in Beijing for a round of drinks and dice.
As quick as this week went by, it was a much needed vacation and I had an amazing time touring in and around Beijing. It was great to finally make it to the Great Wall and I am so happy I got to spend time with Mark, Alison and Beth. The four of us had an amazing time together and will forever share some wonderful memories.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Beijing, China Part 2
Unenthused about being up early Tuesday morning, it ended up turning out to be perfect. Beth and Alison were expected to arrive sometime this morning but I wasn’t exactly sure when. Without even planning it, as Mark and I leave the café I end up seeing Alison and Beth stumbling out of a Taxi. Excitedly I shouted and welcomed the two of them with big hugs. The girls had just arrived form Shanghai via an over night train and where a little out of it but once I told them about the free breakfast the cheered up and gobbled it down. Now that all of us had our morning cup of Joe and breakfast we decided to hit up the Forbidden City for the day.
To our benefit our Taxi driver dropped us off at the back entrance where it was a lot less crowded in regards to getting tickets. It however was intensely crowded inside leaving us very few chances of getting a good quality shot. The day was hot, and the girls were tired, so we found ourselves struggling to really engage in the scenery and history around us. Nevertheless, here is some info on the Forbidden City; it was once home to China’s emperors and holds 800 buildings with 9000 rooms spread out over 720,000 sq meters. I gather the palace received its name do to the simple fact that any an unauthorized visitor would be instantly killed, hence The Forbidden City. (Info given to me by Lonely Planet) We did however make are way through the palace visiting most of the Christmas colored main buildings while popping into the air conditioned gallery rooms to cool ourselves down. Upon walking from the north entrance to the south entrance we managed to work up an appetite and decided to enjoy a leisurely lunch near our hostel.
Intending not to eat too much at lunch but failing miserably we still energized ourselves to go meet Casey (coworker) and Will (friend of Casey’s who lives in Beijing) for dumplings. Since the beginning of meeting Casey she has spoken about her love for dumplings and tonight was the night we were going to finally get freshly made Chinese dumplings. To our benefit, Will’s roommate Bret is dating JoyLin, a Chinese girl, and she happened to know of a great local dumpling restaurant. Since JoyLin was the local, she took it upon herself to order and did a marvelous job at that. We had about 7 different orders of dumplings and each of them were absolutely delicious. After our massive intake of dumplings, Will and Bret took us to a bar they frequent and taught us a Chinese dice game, a bit hard to explain in writing but tons of fun. All of us had a great evening together over dumplings, beer and dice.
Anticipating to be woken up early it came to my surprise when Alison woke us up at nearly 9:30am. The four of us took our time sipping our coffee and eating our breakfast while we chatted over what we wanted to do for the day. After mentioning a few ideas it was decided that we would hit up this massive flea market. Pumped and ready to shop we were quickly let down by how few stands were open. Apparently the Jinsong flea market is best visited on the weekends. With few gift items in our bags we felt it best to return to our hostel and shop in and around the famous Hutong streets. Our hostel sits in the mitts of the Hutong streets and the main street is filled with little boutique shops and local bars. We also found a crowded Chinese restaurant and popped in for yet again a “small lunch.” Regretfully we walked away with stuffed upset bellies.
Doing our best to walk it off we were still all full by the time dinner time came around. Not letting this stand in our way we headed towards the HouHai Lake where we were told of a good Peking Duck Restaurant. Mark’s friends from home eat at this very restaurant nearly two years ago and raved about it, so Mark was determined to find it and try Peking duck. Alison being a lover of Peking duck was very excited and could not wait for dinner. The four of us had a lovely dinner sharing duck feet with spicy mustard, Chinese broccoli, tofu fried egg role, duck dumplings and Peking duck. Why we ordered so much when we were full to begin with was a little absurd but all of it was very good…depending on your taste. As expected Mark wanted to try duck feet so we ordered it and surprisingly both Beth and I agreed to try it. Preparing myself mentally to the fact that it was going to be chewy yet tasty with the mustard sauce I put the whole foot in my mouth and began chewing. Sadly and yet instantly I was grossed out and could not come to swallow the duck foot. On the other hand I am proud to say, Beth did manage to get her one foot down after some time. Mark once again claimed to enjoy it but both Beth and I will forever pass on duck feet again in the future. After finishing off our tasty meal we sat around enjoying our beers while watching a range of different performs put on a show for all of us costumers. The show lasted about 30 minutes and although we were sad it was over we decided it was time to head home. Both Mark and Beth enjoyed their first Peking duck experience, Alison was happy she was eating Peking duck and I was simply happy to be in such good company.
This concludes my blogging for today but I promise to finish the remainder of my week in Beijing tomorrow.
To our benefit our Taxi driver dropped us off at the back entrance where it was a lot less crowded in regards to getting tickets. It however was intensely crowded inside leaving us very few chances of getting a good quality shot. The day was hot, and the girls were tired, so we found ourselves struggling to really engage in the scenery and history around us. Nevertheless, here is some info on the Forbidden City; it was once home to China’s emperors and holds 800 buildings with 9000 rooms spread out over 720,000 sq meters. I gather the palace received its name do to the simple fact that any an unauthorized visitor would be instantly killed, hence The Forbidden City. (Info given to me by Lonely Planet) We did however make are way through the palace visiting most of the Christmas colored main buildings while popping into the air conditioned gallery rooms to cool ourselves down. Upon walking from the north entrance to the south entrance we managed to work up an appetite and decided to enjoy a leisurely lunch near our hostel.
Intending not to eat too much at lunch but failing miserably we still energized ourselves to go meet Casey (coworker) and Will (friend of Casey’s who lives in Beijing) for dumplings. Since the beginning of meeting Casey she has spoken about her love for dumplings and tonight was the night we were going to finally get freshly made Chinese dumplings. To our benefit, Will’s roommate Bret is dating JoyLin, a Chinese girl, and she happened to know of a great local dumpling restaurant. Since JoyLin was the local, she took it upon herself to order and did a marvelous job at that. We had about 7 different orders of dumplings and each of them were absolutely delicious. After our massive intake of dumplings, Will and Bret took us to a bar they frequent and taught us a Chinese dice game, a bit hard to explain in writing but tons of fun. All of us had a great evening together over dumplings, beer and dice.
Anticipating to be woken up early it came to my surprise when Alison woke us up at nearly 9:30am. The four of us took our time sipping our coffee and eating our breakfast while we chatted over what we wanted to do for the day. After mentioning a few ideas it was decided that we would hit up this massive flea market. Pumped and ready to shop we were quickly let down by how few stands were open. Apparently the Jinsong flea market is best visited on the weekends. With few gift items in our bags we felt it best to return to our hostel and shop in and around the famous Hutong streets. Our hostel sits in the mitts of the Hutong streets and the main street is filled with little boutique shops and local bars. We also found a crowded Chinese restaurant and popped in for yet again a “small lunch.” Regretfully we walked away with stuffed upset bellies.
Doing our best to walk it off we were still all full by the time dinner time came around. Not letting this stand in our way we headed towards the HouHai Lake where we were told of a good Peking Duck Restaurant. Mark’s friends from home eat at this very restaurant nearly two years ago and raved about it, so Mark was determined to find it and try Peking duck. Alison being a lover of Peking duck was very excited and could not wait for dinner. The four of us had a lovely dinner sharing duck feet with spicy mustard, Chinese broccoli, tofu fried egg role, duck dumplings and Peking duck. Why we ordered so much when we were full to begin with was a little absurd but all of it was very good…depending on your taste. As expected Mark wanted to try duck feet so we ordered it and surprisingly both Beth and I agreed to try it. Preparing myself mentally to the fact that it was going to be chewy yet tasty with the mustard sauce I put the whole foot in my mouth and began chewing. Sadly and yet instantly I was grossed out and could not come to swallow the duck foot. On the other hand I am proud to say, Beth did manage to get her one foot down after some time. Mark once again claimed to enjoy it but both Beth and I will forever pass on duck feet again in the future. After finishing off our tasty meal we sat around enjoying our beers while watching a range of different performs put on a show for all of us costumers. The show lasted about 30 minutes and although we were sad it was over we decided it was time to head home. Both Mark and Beth enjoyed their first Peking duck experience, Alison was happy she was eating Peking duck and I was simply happy to be in such good company.
This concludes my blogging for today but I promise to finish the remainder of my week in Beijing tomorrow.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Beijing, China
I realize there’s a lot to catch up on since my last blog post, but before I write about the end of my first semester of teaching let me tell you about my summer vacation. It has been just over a week since I returned from my one week summer break vacation and I spent it in Beijing, China. One of the main reasons for coming to Seoul, Korea to teach was so that I could travel and see more of Asia. China is a major country within the continent of Asia and I have wanted to travel to it for quite some time. So it was without question that I would spend my summer break in China. Having this in mind, I was excited to hear how on board Mark was and was happy he wanted to fly and meet me in Beijing. It had been five months since we last saw each other and it was a long day of waiting to great him in the Beijing airport but well worth it. Both of us arriving safely, we were greeted by our hostels airport pick up and taken to our fabulous Beijing Downtown Backpackers Accommodation, recommended to us by Mark’s wonderful friends.
Having been my usual self I arrived to Beijing with little planned but Mark being the researcher he is had a long list of things he wanted to see, eat and do. Since it was near dinner time by the time we arrived Mark suggested going to the Nigh Market where he could eat a wide range of strange foods. Me, trying to be supportive but having no interest at all in eating the unimaginable I quickly jumped on board and was excited to see the Night Market. Upon arriving I was quickly taken back by the new atmosphere surrounding me but also enthralled in the night market’s crowded, long and busy street of venders selling a range of foods from stirred fried noodles to dead cicadas on a skewer. Immediately, Mark started to see all the things he had seen on Andrew Zimmerman’s’ strange food show and before I knew it our fist purchase was snake skin, snake meat and silk worm larva. Having no interest in the larva because I have heard they are awful I did embrace my adventures side and took a bite of the snake skin and meat…chewy, little flavor but will pass in the future. As Mark finished eating is “hardy” food we were greeted and warned by this friendly French couple that we should be sure to haggle and count our money when we get our change back. Slightly taken back, it became more apparent as the night went on that these food stands rank up prices and blatantly don’t return your exact change. Thanking the couple and further chatting with them, we found ourselves to be a good match because, both the guys were in to strange foods while us girls, sat back with our beers and watched the boys swallow scorpion and cicadas. They also tried a few other things but one thing we all caved in and tried were these bizarre Jell-O looking sea mushrooms. Still unsure what exactly it was it tasted like garlic and had a gummy bear chew to it, wasn’t too bad. After shutting down the night market the four of us took a nice stroll around the Forbidden City and they shared with us some of their traveling around China stories and offered good friendly advice.
For our first full day we ventured to the worlds largest most crowded square, can you guess what it is… that’s right, Tiananmen Square. Not realizing how early Beijing’s sites close we were short of time to step into Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, but in all honesty I was okay with passing. It was however fascinating to walk around this massive square and see all the people. Walking around Tiananmen Square, seeing the Chinese flag hang high and Chairman Mao’s face hang proudly over the square I become slightly fascinated yet baffled by the love and admiration the Chinese have towards this man. Upon arriving Mark and I read a memoir called Wild Swans by Jung Chang and she tells her family story of three generations which paints a very detailed picture of the communist evolution in China. By the end of the book it is quite clear that Mao is nothing but a crooked political murderer. And yet, all over Beijing and my guess all of China, there are posters and charms of Mao’s face that hang in these people’s houses and they say, “Good man.” Why might I ask…why? :(
Drowning in our own sweat from the heat, smog and sun we headed towards another market with strange and bizarre foods. Before arriving we did stumble upon a cute, quaint and quite river park called Changpu River were we took a brief rest from the sun. Embracing my next encounter to strange foods, Mark kindly passed on eating the dead seahorses do to my request and instead went for baby pigeon. Clamming pigeon meat is tender and good yet bony I enjoyed my nice bowl of mixed fruit. We also tried a few more traditional items but none of it was outstanding.
Upon our walk back from the market we stumbled upon a sushi restaurant and a tea shop just down the street from our hostel. So after our brief siesta it was with out question that we would hit up both of these places that evening. Our Taiwanese tea experience was a little pricey, unusual, yet overall very good. We went with a pot of green tea and in watching the server prepare our tea he pored the tea into these shot glass type cups and then covered them with little tea cups and proceeded to flip them upside down. Unsure as to why or what was going on we went along with it. Taking back our first cup, Mark pored our second cup of tea straight into the little tea cup. Trying to be tea tasters, we quickly noticed this round tasted a bit bitter and so for our third round we reenacted what the server had done and our third cup was much smoother. Mark and I figure, that in doing this tea cup flipping, air gets filtered through the tea to make it more aromatic. Either way it was a fun experience.
Going a long with Mark’s list he was excited to venture out to Olympic Park to see the famous Birds Nest Stadium and The Cube. Unsure as to what either of these things were I went a long with his enthusiasm reminding him that I was not around during the Beijing Olympics but instead traveling through Mexico and that is why I was un aware of these famous buildings. In favor of taking the subway, it ended up dropping us off right in between both of these buildings which was perfect. The haze and smog that day was so bad that if we had been just a few streets away the chance of us not knowing which way to walk would have been very likely. Although I am being a bit dramatic, the smog here is absolutely horrible and it wasn’t till we went to the Great Wall where we could actually see the blue sky and the yellow sun. Getting back to the Olympic Park I have to say the Birds Nest Stadium really does look like a birds nest. Since we were both money careless, we paid the ridicules fee to get inside and walked around briefly. I think Mark really enjoyed it and may have taken a moment to remember watching the track and field events air on TV at home. I on the other hand sat and rested my feet for a bit before walking over to the not so impressive Cube. Sadly it seemed to be under renovation so we couldn’t go inside but, I imagine it to be more admirable to see on the inside then it is on the outside in comparison to the Birds Nest. The look of the Birds Nest is all on the outside.
With it being lunch time and Mark full heartdly believing that this Donkey restaurant he saw Anthony Bourdain eat at to be close by we made our way out of the park and into a taxi…eventually. Mark the prepared one he is had the address and telephone number to the restaurant. Earlier that morning, we asked the hostel to please write the name and address in Chinese for us so we could give it to a taxi driver, which is exactly what we did. However, the taxi driver wasn’t sure where exactly where it was located but the kind man called the restaurant and got better directions. Once again, thinking it was close; we ended up sitting in the taxi for almost 45min driving to who knows where, getting slightly lost and paying nearly 80 Yuan nearly 12 dollars. Nevertheless, we did finally arrive and can assure you that very few if any foreigners make it out to this Donkey restaurant. Ready for a beer we kindly asked for two beers but instead got an estranged look. But don’t worry, I saw some empty beer bottles in the corner and walked the server over to them and said two with my two fingers. Sipping my beer, Mark took his time looking at the massive menu and picked out his two donkey dishes, green onion donkey skin salad and donkey hotpot stew. I went for some tofu spring roles and a spice tofu dish. Over all the meal was good, it was and adventure to get to and it was especially rewarding eating at a restaurant that no foreigners make it too.
Before leaving Mark was able to get across that we wanted to know the closes subway station to the restaurant. Having the server circle the subway station we hopped into a taxi and headed towards the subway station where we proceeded to travel back into the city. Having no jet lag and forgetting Mark is still coping with the time difference I suggested we go to the Temple of Heaven, which is exactly what we did and yet maybe should not have. Our time at the Temple of Heaven was good but Mark was a bit sluggish and could have gone for a siesta since he spent most of the time tripping over his own feet, poor guy. The temple sits inside this massive park which given more time would have been fun to explore. Doing our best to stay energized we explored all three parts of the Temple of Heaven and the best is the color décor and architecture of the three tiered circler temple, it is quite a marvel.
This completes our first few days, I will write more tomorrow. Promise!
Having been my usual self I arrived to Beijing with little planned but Mark being the researcher he is had a long list of things he wanted to see, eat and do. Since it was near dinner time by the time we arrived Mark suggested going to the Nigh Market where he could eat a wide range of strange foods. Me, trying to be supportive but having no interest at all in eating the unimaginable I quickly jumped on board and was excited to see the Night Market. Upon arriving I was quickly taken back by the new atmosphere surrounding me but also enthralled in the night market’s crowded, long and busy street of venders selling a range of foods from stirred fried noodles to dead cicadas on a skewer. Immediately, Mark started to see all the things he had seen on Andrew Zimmerman’s’ strange food show and before I knew it our fist purchase was snake skin, snake meat and silk worm larva. Having no interest in the larva because I have heard they are awful I did embrace my adventures side and took a bite of the snake skin and meat…chewy, little flavor but will pass in the future. As Mark finished eating is “hardy” food we were greeted and warned by this friendly French couple that we should be sure to haggle and count our money when we get our change back. Slightly taken back, it became more apparent as the night went on that these food stands rank up prices and blatantly don’t return your exact change. Thanking the couple and further chatting with them, we found ourselves to be a good match because, both the guys were in to strange foods while us girls, sat back with our beers and watched the boys swallow scorpion and cicadas. They also tried a few other things but one thing we all caved in and tried were these bizarre Jell-O looking sea mushrooms. Still unsure what exactly it was it tasted like garlic and had a gummy bear chew to it, wasn’t too bad. After shutting down the night market the four of us took a nice stroll around the Forbidden City and they shared with us some of their traveling around China stories and offered good friendly advice.
For our first full day we ventured to the worlds largest most crowded square, can you guess what it is… that’s right, Tiananmen Square. Not realizing how early Beijing’s sites close we were short of time to step into Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, but in all honesty I was okay with passing. It was however fascinating to walk around this massive square and see all the people. Walking around Tiananmen Square, seeing the Chinese flag hang high and Chairman Mao’s face hang proudly over the square I become slightly fascinated yet baffled by the love and admiration the Chinese have towards this man. Upon arriving Mark and I read a memoir called Wild Swans by Jung Chang and she tells her family story of three generations which paints a very detailed picture of the communist evolution in China. By the end of the book it is quite clear that Mao is nothing but a crooked political murderer. And yet, all over Beijing and my guess all of China, there are posters and charms of Mao’s face that hang in these people’s houses and they say, “Good man.” Why might I ask…why? :(
Drowning in our own sweat from the heat, smog and sun we headed towards another market with strange and bizarre foods. Before arriving we did stumble upon a cute, quaint and quite river park called Changpu River were we took a brief rest from the sun. Embracing my next encounter to strange foods, Mark kindly passed on eating the dead seahorses do to my request and instead went for baby pigeon. Clamming pigeon meat is tender and good yet bony I enjoyed my nice bowl of mixed fruit. We also tried a few more traditional items but none of it was outstanding.
Upon our walk back from the market we stumbled upon a sushi restaurant and a tea shop just down the street from our hostel. So after our brief siesta it was with out question that we would hit up both of these places that evening. Our Taiwanese tea experience was a little pricey, unusual, yet overall very good. We went with a pot of green tea and in watching the server prepare our tea he pored the tea into these shot glass type cups and then covered them with little tea cups and proceeded to flip them upside down. Unsure as to why or what was going on we went along with it. Taking back our first cup, Mark pored our second cup of tea straight into the little tea cup. Trying to be tea tasters, we quickly noticed this round tasted a bit bitter and so for our third round we reenacted what the server had done and our third cup was much smoother. Mark and I figure, that in doing this tea cup flipping, air gets filtered through the tea to make it more aromatic. Either way it was a fun experience.
Going a long with Mark’s list he was excited to venture out to Olympic Park to see the famous Birds Nest Stadium and The Cube. Unsure as to what either of these things were I went a long with his enthusiasm reminding him that I was not around during the Beijing Olympics but instead traveling through Mexico and that is why I was un aware of these famous buildings. In favor of taking the subway, it ended up dropping us off right in between both of these buildings which was perfect. The haze and smog that day was so bad that if we had been just a few streets away the chance of us not knowing which way to walk would have been very likely. Although I am being a bit dramatic, the smog here is absolutely horrible and it wasn’t till we went to the Great Wall where we could actually see the blue sky and the yellow sun. Getting back to the Olympic Park I have to say the Birds Nest Stadium really does look like a birds nest. Since we were both money careless, we paid the ridicules fee to get inside and walked around briefly. I think Mark really enjoyed it and may have taken a moment to remember watching the track and field events air on TV at home. I on the other hand sat and rested my feet for a bit before walking over to the not so impressive Cube. Sadly it seemed to be under renovation so we couldn’t go inside but, I imagine it to be more admirable to see on the inside then it is on the outside in comparison to the Birds Nest. The look of the Birds Nest is all on the outside.
With it being lunch time and Mark full heartdly believing that this Donkey restaurant he saw Anthony Bourdain eat at to be close by we made our way out of the park and into a taxi…eventually. Mark the prepared one he is had the address and telephone number to the restaurant. Earlier that morning, we asked the hostel to please write the name and address in Chinese for us so we could give it to a taxi driver, which is exactly what we did. However, the taxi driver wasn’t sure where exactly where it was located but the kind man called the restaurant and got better directions. Once again, thinking it was close; we ended up sitting in the taxi for almost 45min driving to who knows where, getting slightly lost and paying nearly 80 Yuan nearly 12 dollars. Nevertheless, we did finally arrive and can assure you that very few if any foreigners make it out to this Donkey restaurant. Ready for a beer we kindly asked for two beers but instead got an estranged look. But don’t worry, I saw some empty beer bottles in the corner and walked the server over to them and said two with my two fingers. Sipping my beer, Mark took his time looking at the massive menu and picked out his two donkey dishes, green onion donkey skin salad and donkey hotpot stew. I went for some tofu spring roles and a spice tofu dish. Over all the meal was good, it was and adventure to get to and it was especially rewarding eating at a restaurant that no foreigners make it too.
Before leaving Mark was able to get across that we wanted to know the closes subway station to the restaurant. Having the server circle the subway station we hopped into a taxi and headed towards the subway station where we proceeded to travel back into the city. Having no jet lag and forgetting Mark is still coping with the time difference I suggested we go to the Temple of Heaven, which is exactly what we did and yet maybe should not have. Our time at the Temple of Heaven was good but Mark was a bit sluggish and could have gone for a siesta since he spent most of the time tripping over his own feet, poor guy. The temple sits inside this massive park which given more time would have been fun to explore. Doing our best to stay energized we explored all three parts of the Temple of Heaven and the best is the color décor and architecture of the three tiered circler temple, it is quite a marvel.
This completes our first few days, I will write more tomorrow. Promise!
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