We got up at stupid o'clock and got ready in the pitch black darkness. We were at the station in good time and soon onto the train where thankfully we had seats. The train took a couple of hours and was a very good quality train, with upstairs and downstairs, and people selling us stuff. Whenever we get a T (tebie kuai, or very rapid) category train we get total tack sold to us. But *slaps wrist* we couldn't resist buying these magic, gravity-defying spinning top things.
Arriving at Beijing was like a homecoming! We both love that city so much! However our taxi to Templeside Hostel Shop Number 1 (there's two), where we stayed in summer, from the underground taxi rank cost a mint! At Shop Number 1 I saw the kittens who had now grown up a fair bit. They took us to Shop Number 2, as it was off-peak season and so they only kept Shop 2 running then. It was very nostalgic walking through the same old hutongs with our bags on their cart, just like when we'd had to switch hostels with our suitcase in August. At the hostel we opted to stay in dorms as it was much cheaper at 60 kuai for off-season. We were told two people should be turning up later. After dumping our bags in the dorm room (6 bunk beds) and choosing our beds (2 of the lower bunks) we went on the internet to find the address of a nearby Subway. The 'restaurant' (I use the term loosely) that is, not the mode of transport. We weren't sure of the best address so we asked Bobby (who runs the hostels) and he told us one was near a subway line if we got off at Yananli. Stupidly we did not think to ask him where we should get on, so we spent ages walking until we gave up and got a taxi to Yananli which, we discovered, is where Beijing's famous Friendship Store is. The Friendship Store was part of the opening of China to foreigners program and is still the focal point of Western souvenir shopping. Around the area, on the Old Silk Market Street, there are also loads of other western stores and restaurants. Subway was completely empty when we first got there and we got our yummy subs. The only customers the store got were foreigners! From my seat by the window, I was perfectly positioned to look out onto the pavement and see that virtually everyone that walked past was a laowai. We foreigners who live here have a weird superiority thing; we think we're better than just tourists. I was disheartened to see Beijing being taken over by idiot tourists who were only sticking to the western bits! Now Liam and I were a different kettle of fish, because we don't get any of this western stuff over here so we take our chance while we can. But these people come over to China for like two weeks and still insist on eating western food. Idiots.
I am so judgmental.
After our subs it seemed sensible to go into the Friendship Store round the corner and look for books. I could've easily spent a bomb in the department store, but after the book bit I restrained myself and decided not to even look around, thus cleverly resisting temptation. Next we went over to Baskin Robbins next door and had delicious sundaes. The ice cream shop shares its space with a French patisserie, actually owned and run by an Italian, who made me the most amazing hot chocolate - it was like white chocolate syrup. Wow.
Feeling decidedly full and awful tourists, we went off to see some of the bits of Beijing we missed in summer. We climbed Qianmen, the only remaining Ming Dynasty gate in Beijing, and looked around the museum there. We took the obligatory Tian'anmen Square photos (this time without scaffolding!) and climbed the Gate of Heavenly Peace and looked around. We had to check our bags in to go into the gate, but weren't allowed to leave valuables, which was stupid as Liam's only contained an empty bottle of water and some tissue once he'd taken his camera and phone and wallet out. Pointlessness, pointlessness! As well as the gate itself, we had wanted to see the Museum of the Revolution and the Hall of the People, the two long buildings on the east and west sides of the square, and Mao's Mausoleum, at the bottom end. The buildings were closed until 2008 (seeing as it WAS 2008, I presume by this they basically mean, if you want to see any of our sights, you have to come to the Olympics, so there.) Mao's Mausoleum was open but only until 12pm, and it was well into the afternoon by now, so we decided to come back the following morning.
Next we walked down to Wangfujing - Beijing's modern shopping street and also famous for its food markets and night market. We didn't see any sign of these, but according to Tobin, the market is really well hidden in a side street. He only told us this once we'd come back home, so at the time we were a bit unimpressed. The Foreign Languages Bookstore is on Wangfujing Street; Liam and I both had to seriously restrain ourselves. I ended up buying three more fiction books to add to the two non-fiction I'd bought at the Friendship Store. Trust me, it could've been more. But I remembered I'd be the one that's have to carry them round the country for weeks on end!
After this, though it wasn't late, we were pretty tired and returned to the hostel. We took the subway but got off somewhere in the Financial District by accident. We walked back for about an hour and got to see some of the biggest, flashiest buildings in Beijing. Not as flashy as a photo Paul showed me of a pavement somewhere in the same district with a covered ceiling, the ceiling entirely consisting of a GIANT HD Digital LCD screen. Trying to be the next Dubai, eh.
In the hostel, a guy called Simon from Canada had showed up. We ordered dinner (sweet and sour chicken, chaokao rou (which they interestingly call 'Special Flavour Meat') 2 rice and 2 drinks) and then sat down to watch the film Swordfish with Simon. It was the only film of acceptable quality/language we could find, fairly good but a little confusing especially as I could barely hear it over the cackling of the Chinese contingent. I know it's their home though, not just a hostel, so I can't really complain. I went back to the dorm and chatted with Simon a bit, who then fell asleep in the weirdest position: he just said, I'm going to sleep now, and lay poker straight on his back, then just fell asleep. Like, within 30 seconds. Added to that, he didn't change his position once in the night, and in the morning just got straight up like a robot. Weird sleeping style, but nice guy.
Qianmen.
Me with the memorial to the laboriousness of the Communist people outside Mao's Mausoleum in Tian'anmen Square.
Me and Tian'anmen (Heavenly Gate).
Wangfujing Street... i can has food markit peez?
No comments:
Post a Comment