"I am sending an
angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I
have prepared."
Travel
Day 3
Saturday, November 6, 2004 - Tour Beijing
We had an interesting breakfast buffet with rice, mini spring rolls, congee
and "oal" meal - whatever that is, not exactly oatmeal but in the same
food category. It also had pancakes, pastries and various other items that I
wasn't real clear on. Lunch was a traditional Chinese lunch, served on a
lazy-susan for the entire table. Many of those items were unidentifiable. Some
of the group didn't eat at all, some picked and others (like Dale) found they
were able to eat most all of it. And, for dinner we had a traditional Tai
dinner. The Tai are a minority group here in Beijing. The food was delicious.
Also served lazy-susan style, the same people did not eat at dinner either. I
guess they will be losing a lot of weight. But, at dinner, they spoke a little
English and told us what the food was: pork, chicken, fish, fried duck, more of
something else & whatever the something else was...I think I ate the entire
dish and mourned it's loss when it was all gone. The restaurant had girls
dancing traditional dances on a stage and around the tables. We have not had to
resort to our oatmeal and crackers stash, nor to running across the street to Mc
Donald's.
Today we visited The Forbidden City, where the Emperor lived and worked: 3
offices & 3 houses and beautiful grounds. It was much larger than I
expected. I would say it took up 4 to 5 city blocks. After lunch we walked to
Tiananman Square. Chairman Mao stood on these steps and declared a new China in
1949, so this is a very popular place, not to mention it's US publicity for
another incident. Next we went to The Temple of Heaven, where you are to go to
pray for good harvest. It's very high with a few round temples, all hand painted
wood beams on the interior and this was our first introduction to squatty
potties. But, we were able to find a western toilet. But, at dinner their were
only squatty potties. Very interesting and not as traumatic as I envisioned it
would be. After dinner Dale and I and a few others in our group went to the
acrobat show. We kept falling asleep because we were so tired but what we did
see was very good.
We are getting more used to the smell of the water. But, the smog in the city
is so bad and you can constantly taste it on your tongue. It's very dense and
dries out your eyes and skin. You have to drink bottled water all day long.
Many of you have emailed back. I have read them but have not had time to
respond to them all individually. Please keep them coming. We love hearing from
home, home being anyone in the U.S! :-)
Oh, one more thing...I did see a little boy with split pants today. It was
funny to see them in person, with his little rear-end sticking out
Well, Dale is fast asleep, as I should be. So, more tomorrow on Beijing.
Dawn
*Click the images for enlarged photos*
Forbidden
City
Lunch
Lazy-susan style
Tiananmen
Square
Groups
of elderly play instruments and mahjong outside the Temple of Heaven
Street
vendors as we make our way to the pearl market
Making
the strands of pearls as you order them, at the pearl market
