Beijing 2+3

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Final Days at Beijing

This morning we went to a crepe place that was next to our hotel for breakfast. Mom and I split the banana and chocolate crepe which was delicious although I can't say it is very Chinese. We then went to the Summer Palace. Mom and I were expecting one large palace type building that we would walk through...wrong! The Summer Palace is virtually a museum of traditional Chinese gardening that uses rocks, plants, pavilions, ponds, cobble paths and other garden styles to create a poetic effect between different scenes. It was used by the imperial family as a vacation spot during the summer and each emperor added their own touch to the grounds. The grounds were really beautiful for us to walk around; however, we felt that it had become very touristy with many people trying to sell us stuff everywhere we went. If we had had more time we would have liked to have taken a boat ride across the lake as there are many temples dotted along the edge of the water.

We didn't really have any plans after the Summer Palace so we decided to go to the Beijing Zoo. After getting there however we decided the line was way to long and we would just go exploring in the area. Somehow we ended up in this indoor market that is apparently only used by the Chinese people to buy their clothes. We were the only foreigners in the building and everyone was looking at us like we were crazy

We decided to eat our last dinner at the number one recommended restuarant on Trip Advisor at the time: Dali Courtyard. When we asked how to get there from our hotel, of course they said only by taxi...but in typical Ross style we decided to take the subway and find it on our own. The subway system here is really easy to use once you are on it, its once you are off that things get difficult. When you exit the subway system there are no signs telling you which direction to go. Occsionally there has been a large map, however it is only in Chinese and impossible for us to decipher. So we walked the wrong way for about 15 minutes until some kind person told us to turn around and get a taxi. Still we believed we could make it on our own walking...at this point the sky is black and the thunder is rumbling. The restaurant is located on a Hutong which is our equivalent to an alley way. We think we finally locate the alley way it is in, but seriously, we are walking past sketchy buildings and dark corners. We see a red latern hanging from a street lamp that says "Dali" but we see no evidence of a restaurant. We don't know what we have gotten ourselves into...We enter through a door in the wall that takes us to the "restuarant" which is basically a courtyard in the back of a house. The server tells us it a set menu and asks us if we have any allergies. We say no, and eventually end up with 10 different tapas size dishes. The first dish was probably the most questionable with clear jello like cubes as the main part. All the dishes were unique and good in their own way, very traditional Chinese, but they were so SPICY!! The restaurant makes their own beer and I had to drink quite a lot to cool down the fire in my mouth that seemed to last all of dinner. Luckily I was able to convince mom to take a taxi back to our hotel as it had gotten quite dark and rainy. I recommend this restaurant but not to the beginner and make sure you tell your waiter to tone down the spice unless you love that kind of thing.

On our last day here we woke up early to go to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. The best buildings are the Circular Mound Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. Each building symbolizes different things and different areas to make sacrifices to the Heavens. Here, early in the mornings, the elderly population of Beijing comes and does exercises such as yoga, organizes dances amongst themselves, and gathers to play games such as cards, checkers etc. It was really neat for us to see this particular population have fun and one group of about 30+ people had started to sing traditional Chinese music. The only downside was that it was pouring down rain the entire time we were there which made it hard for us to enjoy the beautiful grounds.

Some more things we noticed:
-KFC and 711's are on every block here and I would say they are more popular here than in the US.
-They don't drink cold water at meals, instead they pour you a cup of hot water
-The kids aren't in diapers here, instead the parents have cut a slit in the back of the pants/shorts whatever and whenever the child has to go, the parents just props them up on the side of the road...

We are definitely going to miss Asia, but we have made some wonderful memories that will last us forever! See everyone soon!!!

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