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Published: September 6th 2009
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Hutong Life
One of the little alleys in the Hutong. Not the prettiest place in the world, but really interesting Ni Hao!
Yesterday and today were basically the same so I thought I would combine them both into the same blog and save your minds from melting in boredom. I just did a bit of exploring by myself because Susie’s just recovering from the cold thing she’s had forever, and just trying to sleep it off. Pretty much all fixed now so we’ll be able to have stack of fun together tomorrow!!!
So anyway, yesterday I wanted to try to see how I would go on the subway so I went to the Lama temple. It was really easy, go there no troubles at all and had a bit of an explore around. I was there by myself though and I didn’t know if I was allowed to go into the temple or not, and there were signs saying that you needed incense to go in which I didn’t want to do - although turns out that’s only for people on a pilgrimage Kate reckons. Not to worry, still another 6 and a half weeks to check it out if I feel like it!
Then I walked around the block. One of the streets is just full of
Garbage Man
If it can't be done on a bike, it's not worth doing...apparently shops selling incense and Buddhas and that sort of thing, but there’s a little alley that leads off into the traditional hoses and shops which called a Hutong. They’re really awesome, they’re a complete community basically all contained in a very small area. The streets lead everywhere, there are houses and doors at every possible angle, and people on every corner just having a chat or making something to sell at the market. I really liked walking through there, it’s nice to see something really traditional here.
Today was pretty much the same, although I learned to trust that Lloyd knows more about China than I do. With the celebrations for the anniversary of China coming up, the city is almost in a shut-down mode, because there are rehearsals going on everywhere. I wanted to go to Tiananmen Square but he said it would probably be closed so I shouldn’t bother. What would he know? But he was right in this instance, so I just walked the opposite direction down a street they rushed to open for the Olympics and is still not completely finished, but it’s really cool. It’s a huge, wide avenue with shops down the sides,
Llama Temple Station
Massive gold fresco thingo on the wall in the station some of them are really traditional ones, and some of them are really modern.
But if you go into one of the side streets you really find some cool stuff. Lots of Mao memorabilia, heaps and heaps of shops selling chopsticks and silk (massive shops selling silk), plus a million restaurants with varying numbers of diseases on offer. So I wandered around there for a couple of hours looking at what they had. Then I went back out to the main strip and got to the end and the police were putting barricades up to stop people getting in or out. I got there in time to slip out of the barricade, then realized that the subway station I needed was on the other side, but the next street up was open, so I went up there and that led back to where my station was. But, being stupid, I wanted to check out another street I had seen back the other way.
When I was finished checking them out, they had barricaded EVERY street off, so I was basically cut off from the side of the city that I needed to be at. I had to walk
Fighting Kids
These two little guys were having a fist fight in front of the incense shop until they got distracted by something. The kids here are so cool about ¾ hour east to get to another line, but it ends up that was one that I needed to be on to catch dinner with the others, so it didn’t matter too much.
Anyway, that’s my day. I hope everybody is well, we’re doing just fine, we seem to have managed to avoid any of the dodgy stomach bugs that come with the city, but we haven’t even been here for a week yet, so we won’t get too cocky!
Like I said, Susie’s just about 100% now, so the blogs will stop being just about me!
Bye!
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