I`ve been waiting to write more in part because I wanted to have the energy to add photos and mike it all nice (and rather shortish, but intersting)--as it turns out, after my fresh awakening at 7 am in th morning to gt started early, no technical supply in this hostel will recognise neither my camra or my iPod, so alas; no photos yet.. But I`m still happily away, so her ar a few words trying to convy the ongoing cultur shock/exprience I am in:
Tusday started early with a trip to the famed Great Wall of China. And it was great... I went ther with my newfound Scottish mates Peter and David, and a bunch of other people from the hostel. The trip to get there was long, with surprisingly civilised driving compared to other countries I`ve been to, and after a few hours of bumping along we picked up our 72-year-old Chinese guide. He, obvioulsy, only spok one nglish word; ok!--with an xclamation.. W coudn`t figure out his name, but he guided us up th hills to a section of the Great Wall that was rather rugged and worn-down. The weather was rather crap too--foggy and a bit og rain every now and then--so I found myself expecting little fun. Howver, the fog cleared up somwhat, and as we walked along the wall for som two hours its condition got better, as did its greatness. Seing it strtching into the horizon in front of me was simply breathtaking! I`ve alrady decided to do an additional trip to a differnt section whn I come back to Beijing in December.
Wednesday. I was exhausted from all the travelling and walking, and my Scottish friends had left for Xi`an--so in lack of company and the mood to aquaint new people I caved in early on Tusday and sleep lat on Wednesday. Amazing! Then, as I was eating breakfast, contemplating what tempel to see, an American guy (Mark) offered me some fruit and recommended the cheap and lovely massages offered next door. I went along, and despite my stiffness and ticklishness making the girl say "please relaxe" in Chinese all the time it turned out to be a wonderful start to my day :) Walking out I found Tian`anmen Square just up th strt from where I live. Seing that it`s a 40 hectar square, I have to say I found it rather small and disappointing. It was filled with Beijing 2008-flower-stuff, Chinese pople taking photos of themselves in front of the Great Hall of the People, and a humonguos mausoleum for Mao. To me, the best thing Tian`anman offerd was a decent view to on of the few remaining Mao portraits, and an excuse to dive into Chinese history.. I proceeded to the Temple of Heavens (where the Long Corridor is, Maja)--rushing through the buildings in only 2 hours befor closing time wasn`t all that relaxing, but the park was stunningly beautiful, and the temple buildings were vry impressive and beautiful. However, the best fun was the Long Corridor, where old Chinese people were playing cards, singing, kicking small featherd "smurfs" (i.e. "somthings") around between them that looked like "basse", listening to the radio, reading, meditating...the corridor and surrounding park had it all!
(My apologies for any lacking e`s--they`re hard to get from this keyboard..)
Tusday started early with a trip to the famed Great Wall of China. And it was great... I went ther with my newfound Scottish mates Peter and David, and a bunch of other people from the hostel. The trip to get there was long, with surprisingly civilised driving compared to other countries I`ve been to, and after a few hours of bumping along we picked up our 72-year-old Chinese guide. He, obvioulsy, only spok one nglish word; ok!--with an xclamation.. W coudn`t figure out his name, but he guided us up th hills to a section of the Great Wall that was rather rugged and worn-down. The weather was rather crap too--foggy and a bit og rain every now and then--so I found myself expecting little fun. Howver, the fog cleared up somwhat, and as we walked along the wall for som two hours its condition got better, as did its greatness. Seing it strtching into the horizon in front of me was simply breathtaking! I`ve alrady decided to do an additional trip to a differnt section whn I come back to Beijing in December.
Wednesday. I was exhausted from all the travelling and walking, and my Scottish friends had left for Xi`an--so in lack of company and the mood to aquaint new people I caved in early on Tusday and sleep lat on Wednesday. Amazing! Then, as I was eating breakfast, contemplating what tempel to see, an American guy (Mark) offered me some fruit and recommended the cheap and lovely massages offered next door. I went along, and despite my stiffness and ticklishness making the girl say "please relaxe" in Chinese all the time it turned out to be a wonderful start to my day :) Walking out I found Tian`anmen Square just up th strt from where I live. Seing that it`s a 40 hectar square, I have to say I found it rather small and disappointing. It was filled with Beijing 2008-flower-stuff, Chinese pople taking photos of themselves in front of the Great Hall of the People, and a humonguos mausoleum for Mao. To me, the best thing Tian`anman offerd was a decent view to on of the few remaining Mao portraits, and an excuse to dive into Chinese history.. I proceeded to the Temple of Heavens (where the Long Corridor is, Maja)--rushing through the buildings in only 2 hours befor closing time wasn`t all that relaxing, but the park was stunningly beautiful, and the temple buildings were vry impressive and beautiful. However, the best fun was the Long Corridor, where old Chinese people were playing cards, singing, kicking small featherd "smurfs" (i.e. "somthings") around between them that looked like "basse", listening to the radio, reading, meditating...the corridor and surrounding park had it all!
(My apologies for any lacking e`s--they`re hard to get from this keyboard..)
1 comment:
The Long Corridor is one of my favourite places in all of Beijing. It's where I plan to grow old.
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