Advertisement
Beijing
Probably the fastest way to get around the city I arrived in Beijing on the 29th (I'm a day ahead of you all, but 8 hours behind); there's a ton of construction going on in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. I spent the first day walking the entire city, well not really, but it felt like it! Beijing is huge, so a few blocks on a map can take almost an hour to walk! I went to Tian'anmen Square, famous for the brutal killings, and the largest square in the world, and a couple of other sites, temples and towers. Beijing is one populated city! There are so many people on bicycles, but the driving is insane, I'd be scared to death! When someone honks their horn, it's not to avert an accident, it's to say, "Hey, I'm coming through!" Bicyclists have no fear, they go where they want, and cars stop for whoever's first, another car or bike, but not for pedestrians! They come last.
And the air pollution! Yikes! Half the cars are pretty old and spew dark fumes. Along with the humidity, smoke from cigarettes (mostly unfiltered-and a huge percentage of the population smokes), and the sand from the desert, my eyes stung every day!
Beijing
Tian'anmen Square - the cab drivers know it as "Tian'men." There's a new campaign to prohibit smoking in public areas, but the Chinese are fighting. The tobacco companies aren't required to write large warning labels on the packs of cigarettes, but they are required to do it if they export them, to Australia, for example. They also claim that if China enforced such a ban, their economy would fall apart! And because of smoking, people, men and women, feel free to spit (and I mean from the lungs) on the street at anytime! It seems that healthwise, they're in the 50's, but social wise, maybe the 1800's. I won't miss the spitting '
preparation' sound when I leave China!
The trip to the Great Wall was about 120 km from the city, and was amazing! It rained all day, but we all just put on our plastic ponchos and climbed hundreds of steps. The views were great, despite the visability. We were actually in the clouds, and in some of the towers that are situated along the wall, you could see the clouds blow through the doorways and windows. I went on an organized tour, and met some nice people, from France, the US and England. Lunch was included; I
Beijing
Apparently, brushing you teeth in the street is OK. But, why not? Spitting is! This guy had toothpaste foam running down his face. I tried to bracket this photo with others of the area, so he didn't know the subject was him! tasted a tiny bit of each dish...and paid dearly that night and the next day. I managed to leave the hotel (I had to!) to pick up my passport from the Vietnamese Embassy (for my entry visa) and then had my hair washed and blow dried again (I really didn't want to do it myself the way I felt) for a whopping $2.75 US. And, both times I had my hair done, they managed to make my hair nice and straight and swingy, with NO hair product! I have to figure this one out when I get home! Fast foward to today, and humidity destroyed my great hair!
I left Beijing this morning, for Shenzhen, a city just across the border from Hong Kong, where I'll go tomorrow. Shenzhen has an artsy/design type of atmosphere, so I'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow. I'll update in Hong Kong, which is supposed to be beautiful!
Enjoy your weather everyone! It's been either raining, or extremely hot & humid every day.
Love you!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.14s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 58; dbt: 0.0595s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
