sleepless in beijing
on this second trip to china in 2 weeks,
i was hit by insomnia.
it was a trip marked by tossing and turning in bed,
channel-surfing and lousy telly programs,
swimming in the icy hotel pool,
and exploring the city alone.
i set off early in the day and just missed the peak hour jam.
armed with a "please take me to..." card given by the conceirge,
i hopped into a cab and made my way to the forbidden city.
after shelling out RMB60 for admission, and RMB10 for an english map,
i entered through the gate of spiritual valor
(shenwumen aka the north gate/backside of the city)
and trooped down the "middle route"
that brought me past different halls and palaces of
heavenly peace, tranquility, purity, and harmony.
bronze lions, grand architecture, tourist-filled gardens,
musky halls, sprawling grounds and some construction sites later,
i emerged unscathed (but for a slight sunburn)
through the meridian gate (wumen aka the main entrance).
i learnt that many chinese cannot take good photos,
and that even more are rather unfriendly.
walking on, i took a snapshot with chairman mao,
gazed at a very sunny tiananmen square from across the road,
and padded down a tree-lined street to my next destination:
quan ju de peking duck restaurant!!!!!!
compared to da dong restaurant (went there on my first beijing trip),
quan ju de's duck's more tender, fatter and much yummier.
da dong's grander though, with proper queues and cheongsum-clad waitresses,
while quan ju de had hollering dian xiao ers and a rather fastfood feel.
i shared a table with a pair of chinese parents and their brat of a son,
and enjoyed a leisurely lunch before heading back to the hotel.
it's quite fun traveling solo
and i foresee having to do it quite often
seeing that every other crew seem to have been to each place a million times before
and all they want to do is sleep in their hotel rooms. hrmph.
i am a tourist hear me roar!
on this second trip to china in 2 weeks,
i was hit by insomnia.
it was a trip marked by tossing and turning in bed,
channel-surfing and lousy telly programs,
swimming in the icy hotel pool,
and exploring the city alone.
i set off early in the day and just missed the peak hour jam.
armed with a "please take me to..." card given by the conceirge,
i hopped into a cab and made my way to the forbidden city.
after shelling out RMB60 for admission, and RMB10 for an english map,
i entered through the gate of spiritual valor
(shenwumen aka the north gate/backside of the city)
and trooped down the "middle route"
that brought me past different halls and palaces of
heavenly peace, tranquility, purity, and harmony.
bronze lions, grand architecture, tourist-filled gardens,
musky halls, sprawling grounds and some construction sites later,
i emerged unscathed (but for a slight sunburn)
through the meridian gate (wumen aka the main entrance).
i learnt that many chinese cannot take good photos,
and that even more are rather unfriendly.
walking on, i took a snapshot with chairman mao,
gazed at a very sunny tiananmen square from across the road,
and padded down a tree-lined street to my next destination:
quan ju de peking duck restaurant!!!!!!
compared to da dong restaurant (went there on my first beijing trip),
quan ju de's duck's more tender, fatter and much yummier.
da dong's grander though, with proper queues and cheongsum-clad waitresses,
while quan ju de had hollering dian xiao ers and a rather fastfood feel.
i shared a table with a pair of chinese parents and their brat of a son,
and enjoyed a leisurely lunch before heading back to the hotel.
it's quite fun traveling solo
and i foresee having to do it quite often
seeing that every other crew seem to have been to each place a million times before
and all they want to do is sleep in their hotel rooms. hrmph.
i am a tourist hear me roar!
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