China: Part 3 + Ladies' Movie Day

Saturday, April 24

What a day! Christy and I met Hillary, one of her coworkers who lives in the same complex, at the gate and got a cab to the city. We stopped to pick up another coworker, Ingrid, and then we went for breakfast at a restaurant called, get this, "Grandma's Kitchen!" They had western style breakfast and decent coffee, which we all needed that morning.

My breakfast, a veggie omelet, hashbrowns and toast + 2 cups of coffee!

After breakfast Ingrid gave us a sort of walking tour of Beijing. She's from South Africa, but has lived there for around 10 years now. I so enjoyed getting to talk to her and learn about her experiences. The first place we came to was the Confucius Temple. After going through another security checkpoint we walked around the temple and just enjoyed the peacefulness. There were so many people the day before at the Forbidden City and Lama Temple, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of people at Confucius Temple. If I lived in Beijing, I could imagine taking a book and sitting in the temple yard and enjoying a nice sunny day reading in peace!

After the temple we just walked through the streets and popped in and out of shops and enjoyed the sights.

Dumpling containers.

This is part of a "hutong." Go here to find out about "hutongs." The concept seems pretty interesting to me.

NUTS!! And some sweet potato chips which were pretty delicious.

There were tons of these little three wheeled vehicles driving around. A couple even stopped to ask if we wanted a ride around. The streets of Beijing were scary enough in a car, not sure I could handle it in a three wheeled buggy thing!

Ingrid showing us the electrical system on the streets of Beijing. That can't be safe in the event of a thunderstorm, right?

This man was making shapes out of this toffee stuff. I didn't buy one, but thought they looked cool.

The first "hutong" area we visited was so quiet, not too many people, kind of an authentic experience. This one however, thanks to that guy you see with the big speaker on his table, sounded more like a night club and was full of people.

There were so many people and this man was just sitting there taking it all in I guess. I snapped this picture before crossing in front of him at which point I noticed a sign that said "Don't take my f***ing picture. I need my privacy." Whoa!

This shirt amused me, not for political reasons, but just because it was funny.

The window displays were so cool. I loved how pretty this one was with the flowers and the painting.

We stopped for coffee at Ingrid's favorite place and apparently we became the cool window decoration. There were so many people that stopped to take our photo. Some were obvious about it, others tried to do it inconspicuously, but of course we usually noticed them and would smile or wave which embarrassed them. It was quite amusing!

After coffee we were standing outside the shop waiting for Ingrid's daughter and boyfriend and this little girl rode by singing at the top of her lungs. As she passed me we made eye contact and she immediately quit singing. I have the same affect on children in China as I do in Japan apparently.

Next we headed to see the Drum & Bell Towers. This was the Drum Tower.

And the Bell Tower.

After the towers we took a cab to go for dinner. I saw this sign and snapped a photo while driving by because I think it's so true!

Dinner :) Peking duck!

They bring the duck up and cut it in front of you.

To eat it, you put the duck, some leeks, cucumbers and sauce on this crepe type covering (for lack of a better word), fold it up and eat it.

And it was so good! I'm sure it couldn't have been too healthy because there was a lot of fat, but it was so delicious.

After dinner Ingrid wanted to take us to get "blind massages" but sadly they were booked through closing time so we gave up. We were near Ingrid's place so we parted ways and took a taxi back to Christy's place.

And that was my busy Saturday in Beijing. Tomorrow I'll write about Sunday and Monday and then I'll finally get to my favorite part of my trip!

Today I went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D with Kazuko. Wednesday is ladies' day at the theater so we get to go to the movies for 1000 yen (about $10). I was worried about the 3D making my head hurt, but it didn't at all. I saw the preview for Toy Story 3 - 3D, which I kinda wanna go see! I enjoyed the movie, I love Johnny Depp! It's always a little awkward seeing movies here because I laugh more than the Japanese people do. I think part of it is because most people are reading subtitles and you know what they say about things being "lost in translation," well it's totally true! Some things just don't retain their humor when translated!
We had a great day shopping for English textbooks, having lunch, seeing the movie and then going grocery shopping. I got home around 5pm and it's almost 7pm now. I'm going to do my strength workout for today and then make dinner.
Have a great day!