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Published: September 14th 2006
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Tiananmen Square
Entrance to Forbidden City 8/18 - 8/21
Jaime and I had spent 6 consecutive weeks traveling Southeast Asia with close friends of mine from my childhood. Now that they were all on their way home, we could now start a new chapter in China...with my closest friend of all. My mother arrived in Beijing on August 18th, set to join a "China Focus" tour, which would take her all over China for about 2 1/2 weeks. We decided to join the tour for the first two destinations, and spend some quality time with my mom while on the road.
My moms tour covered all of her expenses, including transportation, food, and accommodations throughout China. It was a bit pricey compared to the thrifty Asia hagglers Jaime and I have become, so we kind of picked and chose where we would join. I fondly remember approaching the check-in desk, trying to negotiate a room as cheaply as possible at my moms hotel on our first night. My scruffy beard and backpack helped set the scene. As the woman quotes me an absurdly high price for China, I start to shake my head, only to have my mother leap in front of me insisting "That's
my Son! He's the one I told you about!". Like these people need nothing more than to know that I am part of the well off tour group visiting China. After calmly explaining to her that she is not helping my cause, I got her to stand a solid 5 steps behind me, before I skillfully managed to get the same room for half the price (which is still a lot of money to be spent on one nights stay in Beijing). Anyways, my mom's tour group was made up of 10 adults, mostly retirees, with one high school student and his parents helping to keep the average age closer to 50. Everyone was pretty nice and we didn't mind being the kids of the group too much. Jaime and I were able to join the tour day by day, and it did prove to be a very interesting and efficient method to cover the city.
The breakfast buffet at the hotel was quite memorable. The food was ok, but it was our first opportunity to see my Mom adjust to Asian life (like we had 2 months prior). "Did you see how much grease they use!?!" My mom
would love to complain that the server at the omelet station, who couldn't speak a lick of English, didn't understand "no oil please." She's the best.
Our first morning out was a tour of Tiananmen Square. We got to walk past Mao's tomb, where he (like Ho Chi Minh) is embalmed, but we did not get to stop in and have a peak. The square leads into the Forbidden City, which offered bonafide Chinese majestic architecture, with several open courtyards and buildings that housed effects of past Chinese emperors. Our guides were quite knowledgeable, and it was an unusual experience for Jaime and I to be given expert insight as we toured historic monuments. The guides were also able to provide us information on way of life and the move from traditional Chinese culture to present day Capitalism.
We spent the next few days seeing the major sights of Beijing including the Hutong and Temple of Heaven, which all offer a great taste of Chinese culture, truly distinct artwork and building structures. We also managed to drive to a portion of the Great Wall. The section we stopped at offered a 1,700 stair ascent to the top of
the nearest hill. It took Jaime and I about an hour to get to the top. As time passes, I need to stop and realize how much we have truly bonded on this trip. Our climb to the top of the Great Wall was just another step closer for us, with Jaime now comfortable to tell me whatever she is thinking, including the extent of her thirst, exactly how badly she needs to use the bathroom, and without hesitation to what extent her legs are bothering her. Envy me.
On the whole Jaime, my mom, and I had a lot of fun in Beijing with some jam packed quality time together exploring such an exotic place. Jaime and I decided to book our flight to Xi an, and stay on with the tour, to view the Terracotta Warriors and spend 2 more days with my Mom.
On a side note, we had a bad experience in Xi An (next blog) and as a result the photos here are not from our camera, but from a friendly traveller on my Mom's Tour.
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