Day 5, Power Tourism

100_2652
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

On our 5th Day in Beijing (Sunday if you're somehow trying to keep track) W and I split up to accomplish important Vacation Goals for ourselves. I wanted to go out and see some more sights, and W wanted to rest. And since it was just the 3 of us including Francie, we could actually do what we wanted. So Francie and I mapped out a route plan and got rolling around 9. Our first stop was the Lama Temple, a place Madhura had highly recommended we visit since we had tourist time. We took a cab directly there and spent an hour or so marveling at it's architectural details, Admiring the Giant Sandalwood Buddha, and choking on all the incense that was being offered up by worshipers there. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed of the giant Buddha, but you can find some here. Ready for more adventure and some fresh air we jumped on the subway ($.50 for both of us) to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden Palace. It was so busy in the square that I only got offered a Mao watch one time, I was (almost) disappointed.

I gave Francie the abbreviated tour, and we even found a part that costs an extra 10 RMB each that W and I missed on our first trip there. It had beautiful pieces of Jade and Gold artwork and the enormous official seals of the emperors. We took a quick cab ride back to the hotel to meet up with a rested and happy W and then were ready to Go check out the lake district and the old summer palace. We were starving by that point and decided to detour to the lake district first to find a little lunch. We found a great restaurant with some outdoor seating that served wonderful regional dishes served over a Sterno burner. It was a picture perfect day, so we rented a little electric boat and cruised around the lake for an hour.
We only got rammed by another boat once, and that was mostly because the wind was a little stronger than our piddly electric motor and the other boat's human peddle power. We continued our journey around the lake and were constantly accosted by peddi-cab drivers offering a Hutong tour. We found a cute little bar with comfy couches and settled in for a beer and a review of the maps. and then cruised off for a massage. I went along for the ride and sat comfortably in a chair watching tv and grabbing a little nap. I watched the most ridiculous state media coverage of the events in Lhasa, and have never been so angry at the TV before. I won't say too much about it here, since I do intend to go back again and would prefer not to be arrested in customs as a dissident the next time I visit.

Time for Reflection
Originally uploaded by jrherron

But some day ask me what the internal news coverage looked like. Oddly enough in the same news coverage there was news about the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war that I completely agreed with. It was crazy juxtaposition. We went back to the hotel and rested from a busy day, and to mentally prepare ourselves for our last day in town.