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Published: April 11th 2009
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Lily ended up not being able to make our date for the Forbidden City, and a little forlorn at the prospect of not having a friend I hung around the hostel to see if there was anyone I could force to be my friend. Sitting in the common room, I started to fire out comments and creep into others conversations. I soon discovered that a British lady, Juliet, was headed for the Forbidden City and she graciously accepted my offer of accompanying her.
The two of us trekked off in the direction of Tiananmen Square, and both experienced the spooky goosebumps that occurred while crossing that ill-fated place, and imagining the hordes of students that had been struck down and butchered there.
We followed the masses of tour groups heading towards the Forbidden City and I discovered that Juliet's siblings and her were all named after Shakespeare characters! (Yes Logan, she has a brother named Benedict!) I was thrilled to learn this and our conversations quickly dissolved into all the unfortunate Shakespearean names they could have been tagged with. She said she wouldn't have minded the middle name, "Puck". Juliet is in her late 40's and during the course
of the day was often mistaken for my Mama. (We sometimes played along). In an attempt to avoid the large queue of tourists, we entered through a side gate that lead into a garden, and then got ourselves totally muddled up and lost while trying to find the Forbidden City. Eventually (after following a pack of stern/bored looking soldiers) we found our way. I cannot begin to describe the Forbidden City. It seems endless. There is a point where when to stop and look all around you, you can only see rooftop, after golden rooftop of the city. It was magnificent. We got a kick of all the translated names. The palace of Heavenly Purity was a great one. We walked and walked and walked and got hopelessly lost in its great maze of corridors. We tried to imagine what life would have been like for the numerous concubines who resided there. To be confined in all its splendor. Like a magnificent jail. After a couple hours we decided to try and find a place to rest and made our way to Beihai Park. Even through the hazy afternoon, it was lovely to be by the large lake and view
the numerous weeping willows encircling it. We happened upon a man drawing water calligraphy onto the path. Stopping to watch him in wonder at the simple beauty of his quick creations, he surprised me by glancing up and then quickly painting my face into the cement. (I was delighted). Then he motioned me over, and proceeded to sketch my face onto paper. A huge crowd gathered around, and though I couldn't understand a word that was spoken, I have never seen a group moved to such hilarity. EVERYONE was giggling madly and this one little Chinese man was just letting forth a stream of commentary that must have been very witty indeed. He kept motioning to my nose ring, then slapping his knee and laughing. In the end I paid him five yuan for the picture to keep as a memento of such fun in the park.
After this bought of endless walking, we relaxed and rewarded ourselves with collapsing into cushions and indulging in the happy hour mojitos. Funny fact: all along the bar district huge comfy chairs and couches are laid out. Different colors separate the different bars, but it must be Beijing's latest fad. All down
the street couch after couch is set... it was really neat and very tempting!
Juliet and I met up with her friend Paul and attempted to dine out for Peking Duck, but alas, the restaurant was booked solid... we have a reservation for tomorrow (very excited!) but we managed to find a great meal at this little hole-in-the-wall just up the street from our hostel that plays loud Cantonese Opera on the tv while you dine. Very amusing.
Made friends with the Danish boys staying in my room... they are Nathan's age and I have adopted them as brothers. They have been out traveling on their "Gap Year". I really enjoyed hearing about their adventures. We all lay in our bunks and chatted... it was nearly a sleepover! Haha.
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