Outside the gates of Forbidden City
Kids were tired last night, so they stayed here at the hotel and ate on their own in the hotel restaurant. The food is quite good, especially the dumplings, which are a Beijing specialty.
Lianna and I headed out to the Szechuan food area, known for its spicy dish restaurants. After getting out of the cab, we realized we only had a little bit of money. We walked around, and found this very cool restaurant filled with young people and a great atmosphere, so we ventured in. On the tables were large shallow metal pans, which were suspended over another pan holding hot coals. In the pans were whole fish, smothered in chiles and other wonderful items.
Our waiter - and every waiter there - spoke nadda English. We looked at the menu, trying to figure out what 38/500 meant, and eventually it dawned on us that it was the price by weight. When you order a fish, they bring it - live - to your table in a net, for inspection. The catfish he brought was not that appealing, so I went to the back with him and asked in sign language for a different kind of fish, which he eventually brought out. However the fish was going to cost more than we had, so back to the table we went. All the while the owner, behind the counter, is yelling at the poor guy, and he now has no idea what we want. I show him my money, trying to tell him we have very little, but he is unimpresed, and does not understand. Finally I point to what I think is a chicken dish. The price is 38/500, with a 1000 minumum, which is fine, as we have enough for that. I cross off the two fish dishes he wrote down, and point to the chicken. OK. All is good.
L and I sit back and enjoy the atmosphere, looking at the great fish dishes everyone is eating. Finally our food comes. It's the fish we couldn't afford. We look at each other, and dig in. It's too late to do anything about it at this point. And no, they don't take credit cards, which is standard for most restaurants. The only thing I can think is that I have some emergency US cash in my wallet. We eat, enjoying the fish tremendously, and as we do so a white guy comes in with two Chinese girls. I looke at him as we eat, smiling to each other. I'm thinking "Dude, you will be my saviour". The bill comes, and it's 206... we have 184. And the fun begins. I go to the white guy, asking him if he speaks English, which he does, as well as Chinese and French, as he's from France. Turns out the owner won't take the US cash - claims he doesn't know the exchange rate. Right! Like anyone in China knows that. So the French guy offers to buy the US cash from me. Thank you mister French man!!! We leave there without having to wash a single dish.
At home the kids are in bed reading. They had a great meal in the hotel. It was a great day. In the afternoon L & A and I went for a bike ride to the Forbidden City, which we then toured around. Caleb was tired and stayed at the hotel, break dancing and talking on Facebook, although he said he wanted to catch up on homework.
The Forbidden City was actually immense. We rented some autoguide recorders and strolled through, with about a million Chinese tourists. It was quite fun, and very impressive. The place dates back from 1492, and is a maze of walls and doors and rooms - 9,999 rooms to be exact. The Temple of Heaven has 10,000 rooms, and it was thought nothing should have more rooms that it, so they stayed one room shy.
Images around Forbidden City
Across from the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square, which is immense as well, and is flanked by two immense buildings the size of the Hapsburgh Palace! In Tiananmen Square is Mao's tomb - in the tradition of the old emporors. So how far had China come with Mao.... Lots of Mao paraphernalia around, and lots of people waving flags, but Mao's reputation is quite mixed, with many hating him, and many loving him. There are these great Mao-era paintings avaiable, showing usually revolutionary girls dressed in army garb, holding Mao's book. Will probably purchase one. Please let me know if you would like one of these cool retro reminders of the excesses of fanatacism.
Tiannamen Square
And finally, I have spent the day getting our trip to Tibet and Nepal organized. It's incredible to believe that I can go to an ATM here in Beijing, stick in my card, and withdraw money from my account in Canada!!! And we wonder why this banking crisis is international... we are living in a very small global village indeed, which I considered after purchasing a coffee at Starbucks for 3 bucks CDN afer taking out money from my account.
Looks like the trip is coming together, and we will take an overnight train to Xi'an from here (12 hours in a first-class sleeper for 70 bucks each), and then see the famed Terra Cotta warriors, after which we will take a first class sleeper to Lhasa Tibet. Tour Lhasa for 3 days, and then have a driver drive us to the Nepal border. You cannot be in Tibet without a guide at all times, and it's actually quite expensive, but well worth it we think. So we will be leaving Beijing on Friday, 17 October, and arriving in Nepal about 10 days later. If we lose contact during that time, fear not, we are well.
Some quick notes on Beijing:
- it is a national pass-time to hork and spit like crazy. People think nothing of taking a huge hork and spitting it out on the street. This seems to be particularly so in famous places like the Forbidden City, where many Chinese tourists come, probably from the country. Not seen in chi-chi Beijing society yet.
- same goes for blowing one's nose - saw a guy do this in a restaurant, albeit not a very fancy one!
- people are quite friendly, and the city is very safe
- cars stop for no one, not even on cross-walks, not even when the pedestrian light is green and one is on a cross-walk. Big double busses make huge sweeping U-turns on red lights, so crossing the street is nightmarish, as the distance from one side to the other is like a chasm. Strange thing is, despite insane driving, crazy large boulevards and seemingly free-for-all driving methods, we've yet to see an accident or even a close call.
- food is very good and very cheap. All restaurants, even cheap greasy spoons serve good, hot, tasty food
- there is a decided lack of street food of any type, as well as noodles: Beijing is not a noodle city
Also, check out our Flickr photos, which are being slowly updated here: www.flickr.com/photos/travelallplanes
More to come... Love Mark
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