Adventures in Beijing

After returning from our tour of the wall we had some actual free time for the first time in our trip (not counting being on the boat for long stretches) and so a bunch of us decided it would be a good idea to go find something to eat. A lot of people would up getting McDonalds since there was one near our hotel, but I'm rarely in the mood for a quarter pounder with cheese, even when I'm at home, so I decided to try my luck and buy whatever other food I could find, first I stopped at a little bakery, and bought a jar of cookies, which weren't very good, then I wandered down the street a little farther and found a place that was selling little pieces of food on sticks which were being boiled in some sort of sauce. I picked up a few random ones, and I have no idea what I ate, all I can say about the experience is that the thing that looked like a few slices of hot dog, definitely was not. After that I stopped into the Jazz club right next to our hotel, The Hot Cat, because there was a live band playing. I have to say hearing a Chinese cover of Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry was a unique experience.

The next morning our whole group set off to the forbidden city. The sheer size of the place is amazing, it really is the size of a small city, and I don't really understand how it could have been built to accommodate one person, it's mind boggling.

Photos and Sketch at the Forbidden City

After seeing the Garden's behind the City I set off with Rob, Kat, and Sean towards Tienanmen square, On the way there we met a woman who had art on display at a gallery across the street from us so we followed her and had a look around,the artwork in that gallery was amazing, and after shopping there for a while I left with two ink paintings.

Not the Paintings I bought, definitely the best in the gallery

After that we stopped for lunch before heading into the square, it was pretty funny to try and order a full meal without someone to translate.

Tienanmen square, while pretty cool, is basically just a big square with a few monuments in it, and some cool buildings around it. It didn't really have the grandness of the forbidden city, but it was definitely cool to walk through.

Sketch and Photos from Tienanmen square

After that we headed into Pearl Market, the Largest marketplace in Beijing. It was very fun to wander around and be able to haggle the prices on pretty much anything.

Sketch and Photos from Pearl Market

The next day was our last in China, but our cabs to the airport didn't leave until almost noon, so after a quick Chinese-style breakfast burrito thing Eric, Abbie, and Myself decided to go take a look at the Golden Lama Temple which was very beautiful, and a great way to end our trip, in my opinion.

Outside of the Temple

Petting the turtle for good luck