« Monday Night | Main | Wednesday »
May 05, 2009
Tuesday
Authored by John
Well, we both woke up at like 7:00 am with no alarm ... the time difference still hasn't caught up with us. Breakfast still ceases to amaze us. But it was only the first of several amazing meals throughout the day. We departed on the bus at 8:30 am to go to the Forbidden City. We posted some pictures of this amazing place - but here are a few fun facts about it. First, it was built in only about 14 years, using over 1 million people in the early 1400's. If you sleep in a different room each day of your life, you will be 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN!) years old when you finally sleep in every room. There were 24 Emperors who lived there over about 500 years or so, through 2 dynasties. Each Emperor had about 3000 concubines, who ranged in ages from 11 to 15 years old - and it was considered a huge honor to serve the Emperor (for most of them never had the privilege to see him again after their "term" per say. It is 73 square hectors (and our tour guide, June, said there are about 2.5 acres in a hector. It is HUGE!
With 32 people in our tour group, it was hard to go fast, and we stopped several times for extended periods. But overall it was fun and took about 2 hours to get from one side to the other. We posted pictures of the day on Picasa. We then went to Tian Anmen Square, where there have been many protests and demonstrations throughout the years, and it is extremely big as well. It is just a lot more open space. But we ate at a place called Peking Duck, and it was unbelievable. They cut the duck in front of us, but that was after about 20 appetizers which we shared at a table of about 10. They start with cold dishes, and put them on a rotating circular table which sits at the center of a larger table. Then, each person spins the smaller table with all the dishes on it, which is how every place in China operates. Anyway, we had pig ears, some pork, chicken, and many different preparations of duck. We then took the bus (as we digested) to go to the Silk Market - one of the craziest things I have ever experienced.
So, the Silk Market in Beijing is basically a legalized China Town in New York. It offers 6 floors of haggling, arguing, bartering, yelling, persuading, misleading, reading the opponent, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. Either way, they give you a price which is about 10 times as much as they would settle for, and expect to end up somewhere in the middle. At least JM is from New York - I was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. There are just hundreds of little shops clumped together and they literally grab on to you and try to get you to buy their clothes. Here are some of their catch phrases:
"You handsome man you want jean?"
"You need underwear? How bout for girlfriend?"
"I give you good price, I give you special price!"
"This is real cashmere! 100%!" (feels like wool)
Anyway, it was a little exhausting, but we went around and figured out that they all DO have a bottom price. I bought a custom fitted button-up shirt for 100 RMB (about 14 dollars) and we went around to find the best price for a Che shirt, which ended up at 20 RMB (less than 3 dollars). They start off the bargaining at about 200 for every t-shirt. It is basically all fake stuff and the quality varies from store to store. We left on the bus to go to an acrobatic show, but ended up at a random local restaurant, which June Bug picked out for us. It ended up being so delicious, and we tried a shot of the local liquor, which was absolutely terrible... An acquired taste perhaps? But the food was great, and JM and I shared Kung Pao Chicken, beef, rice, and steamed broccoli (which we decided we will get for every meal). So far, we have not experienced any stomach indigestion, so that is good.
Finally, the acrobatic show was insane. It is similar to Cirque de Soleil, where there are basically teenagers doing things that don't even make sense. Girls have no spine bone in the show, and guys jump up and stand 3 people high, doing backflips off each other, and just many other crazy stunts. I was literally in awe the whole time. The last act they did involved 12 girls getting on one bike. It had pegs, but it was just ridiculous. Anyway, the bus took us back to the hotel after the show and we passed out right after a shower. The day was long, but it felt good to continue our experience in China with a culturally packed tour.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Fryback3688/Beijing2009#
Posted by jfavorit at May 5, 2009 07:50 PM