The sun was out and the sky was blue, apparently all the pollution had come down after the rain and it was absolutely amazing. I looked out the window and realised there are mountains not very far away at all. Shows you how thick the pollution can get. If only Beijing could be like this all the time. The weather is bearable, much like an Aussie summer, with a tad more humidity.
Today we got on the bus and headed into the city for the Newcastle Alumni Lunch. The meal was so tasty, hen hao che! Everything was great and I am getting much better at using chopsticks.
Me, Manda and Em at the Alumni Lunch.After the lunch we went to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower which are the towers which woke the people of China of a morning.
They have been rebuilt but are in the same position as they have been for hundreds of years. The stairs were really steep and slippery but the view from the top was well worth the effort. We even got to see them play the drums.
Paul then decided that those who wanted to go back on the bus could and those who wanted to explore Beijing a bit more could do what they wanted. We decided that since we were near the city we would go and visit Tiananmen Square. We took a taxi, but he dropped us off at the Forbidden City instead! It was too late to go in there as it was about to close so we caught another cab to the right destination. What a rip! I was with Steven, Pippa, Brooke, Em, Liz, Amanda, Lester, Lucas, Josh, Marie and Abby. Steven also made friends with a Chinese guy who we named Freddie since he didn’t have an English name. Freddie was lovely and was happy to take us around and show us the sights. He even took about ten pictures of us in front of Chairman Mao’s red building, which quickly drew a crowd.
Chairman Mao’s resting place was closed but we still walked around and were reminded of the day that thousands of students died on the very ground we stood on. While we were there, we were somewhat a spectacle. It seemed that every Chinese person wanted to take a picture of us, and we were asked by several if they could have their photo with us. It was a bit crazy. Every time we turned around there was someone else taking a picture.
We decided we would give the subway a go to get back, and it ended up being pretty damn easy. For 2 RMB you could catch the subway anywhere you wanted. All the trains were lovely and clean, and on the new ones the windows flashed with Olympic advertising! Crazy!
That night we had dinner at the Stairway to Love (or Lurrrrve as everyone likes to say). I hate to say it but I had pizza. I was hanging out for a greasy meal! The people there were so nice, which seems to be a bit of a dichotomy in China. Either they love you or they hate you. I’ve had both, and I don’t really understand what I’ve done for either.
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