Today was meant to be a day of rest and of course it did not turn out to be so. We were up and out by 9.30am as we wanted to go and absorb the atmosphere in the local park. It is just amazing to walk around and see so many people enjoying the outside space. They are enjoying many different exercises whether in groups or alone. We saw Diablo groups, music groups, dancing groups, people doing Thai Chi, people swirling swords, swirling ribbons etc. They were of all ages and all abilities all having fun and getting exercise in the fresh air, so nice to see. I had a go the Diablo and the men were quite surprised when I flipped it in the air and caught it three times!
We then went to the Temple of Heaven where the emperors used to come to pray to the heavens. We wandered in the surrounded gardens where there was more of the same but also people playing chequers, cards, and knitting all in groups. Very sociable. We then walked back to the hotel to check out at noon but the walk always seems to be so much further than the map implies. Don’t know if I mentioned previously that Beijing is the size of Belgium! We saw a man living in a tent airing his washing on the centre of a roundabout. We took a taxi to the Happy Dragon Hostel in the local part of Beijing. It is down a tiny alley with interesting smells wafting around.
When checking in despite having reserved a twin room we were given a double with no alternative. We dumped our bags and it was at first a bit of a shock compared to the 4 star Tiantan Hotel we had just left. We went straight out for a walk to find lunch which just confirmed that we are in the locals area. We struggled to find anywhere that we fancied and opted for McDonalds! I know that’s really bad and typical of foreign tourists but it was like a clean haven we could not resist. We then decided to jump on the underground and attempt to find our way in Chinese to the Olympic park to see it up close and in better weather. It turned out to be very straight forward. It has obviously been very westernised for the Olympics in 2008.
We walked with the masses through the Olympic park taking photos of the amazing birds nest stadium and the water cube swimming pool building which was like a load of bubbles, apparently it was designed from someone looking at fairy liquid. It was quite a structure and we paid to enter it and have a look around. You could actually go and sit in the stadium and see the diving boards etc. To be honest it was nice to be in a clean place with a seat and a western loo!
Back on the underground we headed back to the hostel but got side tracked by a bakery café that was at the end of our alley. We grabbed a coffee and a hot chocolate with jelly surprise cubes and sat on the comfy sofas upstairs listening to school kids speaking very loudly and sitting next to a DIY cake making shop, such a good idea. We should have these at home. We sat here too long and missed our opportunity for a snooze at the hostel as we had to be at the theatre at the other end of town by 7pm for our Kung Fu show. Having now mastered the underground we made our way then had to walk for a good half hour to a restaurant next to the theatre as we arrived a bit early. We had a quick drink and did a few puzzles.
We watched the Kung Fu show which was brilliant. It was a story of a young boy being left at a monastery to learn Kung Fu and become a master. There were young boys doing back flips with no hands just using their heads! They were testing the strength of their bodies by breaking wood sticks and metal poles on various body parts. Lots of spiny kicks and flips which they made look so easy, very good and gripping to watch. To make our way back to the hostel we waved down a taxi but he just turned his nose up at our address so we took the underground back again.
We stopped in a 24/7 for snacks and a restaurant where we guessed at orders. The rice was delicious but the meat on kebabs was either meat balls, not sure if they were minced balls or the alternative…! Also, flavoured gristle, chicken hearts, chicken tendons etc. We ordered a few but when they came I just had rice! Back at the hostel the central bar in our courtyard was well into party mode but we just crashed as it was 11pm and we have another early start tomorrow. Jon opted to sleep on the floor so I had a double bed all to myself. We kept getting wafts of loo though which could have something to do with the bog brush hanging on the wall? Dad would be impressed with the electrics hanging in the shower area!
No comments:
Post a Comment