Tiananmen Square
Pictures: Craig's / Mary's
After a great sleep on our bunks, we had an amazing western breakfast in the hostel restaurant. Eggs, French toast, sausages, juice....yum. The best breakfast we've had in a long time!
Our first goal for the day was to get some Chinese yuan so we could repay Steve and Rachel. We found the Bank of China without much trouble and did the exchange. Weather was perfect, although the winds did pick up a lot of the sand lying about and throw it in our eyes. This was our first daylight view of Beijing, and it's huge! The streets are even larger than in Seoul...6 lanes in each direction. The traffic is a mix of cars, buses, and even more bicycles. Most people seem indifferent to us, not many stares, but those that are trying to make money give us lots of attention, always yelling 'hello'. Trying to sell watches, Maoist bibles, personal tours, etc. Saying 'No thanks.' is automatic now when someone approaches.
The second goal was to secure our tickets to Mongolia. En route, we skirted around Tiananmen Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City. We had a bit of trouble finding the Beijing International Hotel which contains CITS where we wanted to buy our tickets; but some help from a friendly hotel porter and we found it - tickets purchased for September 13th, 7:40am!
We took a taxi back to the square for a closer look and a bite to eat. McDonald's was the nearest restaurant that the taxi driver stopped at, so we gave into temptation.
Afterwards, we crossed the street and toured Tiananmen Square. It was a great first full day in Beijing.
After a great sleep on our bunks, we had an amazing western breakfast in the hostel restaurant. Eggs, French toast, sausages, juice....yum. The best breakfast we've had in a long time!
Our first goal for the day was to get some Chinese yuan so we could repay Steve and Rachel. We found the Bank of China without much trouble and did the exchange. Weather was perfect, although the winds did pick up a lot of the sand lying about and throw it in our eyes. This was our first daylight view of Beijing, and it's huge! The streets are even larger than in Seoul...6 lanes in each direction. The traffic is a mix of cars, buses, and even more bicycles. Most people seem indifferent to us, not many stares, but those that are trying to make money give us lots of attention, always yelling 'hello'. Trying to sell watches, Maoist bibles, personal tours, etc. Saying 'No thanks.' is automatic now when someone approaches.
The second goal was to secure our tickets to Mongolia. En route, we skirted around Tiananmen Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City. We had a bit of trouble finding the Beijing International Hotel which contains CITS where we wanted to buy our tickets; but some help from a friendly hotel porter and we found it - tickets purchased for September 13th, 7:40am!
We took a taxi back to the square for a closer look and a bite to eat. McDonald's was the nearest restaurant that the taxi driver stopped at, so we gave into temptation.
Afterwards, we crossed the street and toured Tiananmen Square. It was a great first full day in Beijing.
posted by Unknown | 9:08 PM
1 Comments:
dave says you remind him of Marco Polo....hmmm...make that Mary Polo!! Craig, your pictures and text are fantastic...we're going to enjoy this trip as much as you guys!!
mo
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home