China, Day 1: Tiananmen Square...and Rain!
Well, I am in China, and while I cannot say that I made it without a hitch, I can say that I am safe and sound. My flight was scheduled to leave at 9:40 am, so I woke up bright and early, excited about the idea of a full first day in Beijing. Unfortunately, upon arriving at Incheon Airport in Seoul, I was disappointed to find that my flight had been delayed until 12:30 pm...there went half my day!
After dawdling around the airport as best I could, I finally boarded my flight. Two hours later, we landed in a torrential downpour. And I was just thinking that the monsoon season was over! Yeah, right! Fortunately, my ride was waiting for me and an hour later, I was checking into my hostel. Once I paid for my room, reserved a spot on Monday's trekking trip to the Great Wall, and had the front desk chic book a spot for me on a train out of Beijing for Monday night, I headed back into the rain.
Rainy day in the Hutong.
Thanks to Air China's "maintenance problem," my 5:00 pm excursion into town was by far too late to see any of the sights...my original plan was to go to the Temple of Heaven, but it closed at 6:00 pm, and I wasn't going to pay for 30 minutes of running through the rain. So basically, I walked to the gate, turned around, and went across the street to the Hong Quia (Pearl Market).
As I walked in the door, I was bombarded with ruthless sales girls trying to show me their goods. There were rows upon rows of strands of pearl, opal, coral, and jade. The real stuff at unbelievable prices, might I add! I worked my bargaining magic and scored a deal on some necklaces. As I was waiting for the man to make the necklaces, I sauntered over to another counter to try on jade bracelets. My man-hands wouldn't fit into the bangles, so the salesgirl squirted some oil on them. I tried on the most expensive bracelet, thinking how low I was going to get her to take the price, and as I went to take it off, the sucker literally flew off (thanks to the lubrication) and smacked onto the counter, breaking in half. I felt terrible, chose a crappier version of the first bracelet, and meekly paid well over what I wanted. (Which was only about $10...how cheap am I?)
Tiananmen Square's Security Guard.
After the Pearl Market, I headed to the great Tiananmen Square. Of course, the rain was still falling in sheets, but it is a pretty dreary place enough as it is, so the weather did not ruin the experience for me. Of course, this was the sight of the great student protests in 1989. It is literally a really large square of concrete...however, it is quite impressive to think that it has held over a million people on various occassions...they had to have been crammed in there.
After I'd had enough of the square (and the rain), I decided to venture into the subway, which was the scariest part of the day. You have to buy your ticket at a counter, and a little old woman sits in a chair tearing people's tickets as they come through. The trains are extremely narrow, and the entire subway system is anything but extensive. I got lots of stares...I am guessing foreigners around here don't bother with the subways too often!
Wangfujing Food Stalls.
I got off the train at Wangfujing, a fabulous shopping and eating area downtown. I walked through to the end until I got to the best part of all...Donghuamen Yeshi. It's a strip of vendor after vendor selling everything from fruit kebabs to various meats-on-sticks (that are cooked right before your eyes!), to who knows what! I settled on a kiwi-kebab and some type of lamb/beef/your guess is as good as mine on a thick bread. As I was ordering, some crazy Chinese guy came up to me and shoved a fish head in my face. Of course, I squealed like a girl. Then he kept harrassing me, finally telling me he loved me (along with the other fellas at the stand) before rubbing his fish-gut hand all over my face. Of course, I had to take a picture with them!
My new food-stall boyfriends...
I finally hopped on a bus and amazingly found my way back to my neighborhood (which is a very cool place in the middle of one of Beijing's most historic areas). I first stopped at a fabulous little Bohemian restaurant/bar for a bit of planning for tomorrow's sightseeing before finally arriving at my hostel. Took a shower, did my blog (as I swore I would!), and now it's off to bed...but not before I check tomorrow's weather! If it is raining again I am going to wring somebody's neck!
After dawdling around the airport as best I could, I finally boarded my flight. Two hours later, we landed in a torrential downpour. And I was just thinking that the monsoon season was over! Yeah, right! Fortunately, my ride was waiting for me and an hour later, I was checking into my hostel. Once I paid for my room, reserved a spot on Monday's trekking trip to the Great Wall, and had the front desk chic book a spot for me on a train out of Beijing for Monday night, I headed back into the rain.
Rainy day in the Hutong.
Thanks to Air China's "maintenance problem," my 5:00 pm excursion into town was by far too late to see any of the sights...my original plan was to go to the Temple of Heaven, but it closed at 6:00 pm, and I wasn't going to pay for 30 minutes of running through the rain. So basically, I walked to the gate, turned around, and went across the street to the Hong Quia (Pearl Market).
As I walked in the door, I was bombarded with ruthless sales girls trying to show me their goods. There were rows upon rows of strands of pearl, opal, coral, and jade. The real stuff at unbelievable prices, might I add! I worked my bargaining magic and scored a deal on some necklaces. As I was waiting for the man to make the necklaces, I sauntered over to another counter to try on jade bracelets. My man-hands wouldn't fit into the bangles, so the salesgirl squirted some oil on them. I tried on the most expensive bracelet, thinking how low I was going to get her to take the price, and as I went to take it off, the sucker literally flew off (thanks to the lubrication) and smacked onto the counter, breaking in half. I felt terrible, chose a crappier version of the first bracelet, and meekly paid well over what I wanted. (Which was only about $10...how cheap am I?)
Tiananmen Square's Security Guard.
After the Pearl Market, I headed to the great Tiananmen Square. Of course, the rain was still falling in sheets, but it is a pretty dreary place enough as it is, so the weather did not ruin the experience for me. Of course, this was the sight of the great student protests in 1989. It is literally a really large square of concrete...however, it is quite impressive to think that it has held over a million people on various occassions...they had to have been crammed in there.
After I'd had enough of the square (and the rain), I decided to venture into the subway, which was the scariest part of the day. You have to buy your ticket at a counter, and a little old woman sits in a chair tearing people's tickets as they come through. The trains are extremely narrow, and the entire subway system is anything but extensive. I got lots of stares...I am guessing foreigners around here don't bother with the subways too often!
Wangfujing Food Stalls.
I got off the train at Wangfujing, a fabulous shopping and eating area downtown. I walked through to the end until I got to the best part of all...Donghuamen Yeshi. It's a strip of vendor after vendor selling everything from fruit kebabs to various meats-on-sticks (that are cooked right before your eyes!), to who knows what! I settled on a kiwi-kebab and some type of lamb/beef/your guess is as good as mine on a thick bread. As I was ordering, some crazy Chinese guy came up to me and shoved a fish head in my face. Of course, I squealed like a girl. Then he kept harrassing me, finally telling me he loved me (along with the other fellas at the stand) before rubbing his fish-gut hand all over my face. Of course, I had to take a picture with them!
My new food-stall boyfriends...
I finally hopped on a bus and amazingly found my way back to my neighborhood (which is a very cool place in the middle of one of Beijing's most historic areas). I first stopped at a fabulous little Bohemian restaurant/bar for a bit of planning for tomorrow's sightseeing before finally arriving at my hostel. Took a shower, did my blog (as I swore I would!), and now it's off to bed...but not before I check tomorrow's weather! If it is raining again I am going to wring somebody's neck!
posted by Tiffany Joiner @ 9:58 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Tiff!
Sorry to hear it was raining and tiannamen square was all concreted up. Fish in the face is an original come-on tact that I might have to try in the future, they've got over a billion people surely the fish in the face must have earned alot of men a wife and a babies.
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