A real Asian experience: Part III... Beijing

And the bad part of my trip begins.

Day 1

After a hard night on what they call a "soft-sleeper", I arrived in Beijing at 7:30am. Since I couldn't check-in until noon, I stuffed my bags in a locker and went for a cold walk. I first came across a park that was filled with older people doing tai chi, playing badminton, and rehearsing for some kind of dance performance. And then there's me, bundled up in my scarf and hat, huddled on a bench, reading a book! I then continued my wander to Tiananmen Square and after having a quick look between Tiananmen Gate and the Forbidden City, decided I was too cold and tired to go in. I decided to head back to the train station, pick up my stuff, and go to the hostel. As I was leaving, the craziest thing happened: 5 Chinese men in black leather coats jumped the guardrails and charged the guards along the moat. You can imagine what happened - a mad rush of police arrested them and hauled them around the back to an office. Then other police, who I SWEAR are required to be at least 6 feet tall, pushed the crowd way back, yelling what I can only imagine to be, "Hey! What are you looking at?! Get back! There's nothing to see here! Move it!" (but as you can imagine, that only drew more of a crowd!) Meanwhile, a slew of other police had climbed down into the moat to fish out whatever it was those guys had tossed in. It was kinda scary and exciting at the same time. I made sure to keep my distance 'cuz I SO didn't need to get arrested under suspicion of involvement! You can bet that there was NOTHING in the news about that later that night! After the excitement had died down, I made my way to the train station, then to the hostel. Another 3 hour nap later, and I was ready to go find some dinner. I ended up at the Downtown Cafe where I ate vegetarian lasagna and downed a bottle of water. That accomplished, I was ready for a proper night's sleep.

Day 2

Another day of rain and muck. I ventured out around noon, only to wander around my area NE of the center and end up spending most of the day in coffee shops and malls. I still hadn't seen the Forbidden City but wasn't too heartbroken about it, as I was totally looking forward to visiting the Great Wall the next day (my last). That evening I splurged for a fancy Italian restaurant which cost an arm and a leg but was divine. After planning for my big final day, I hit the hay at 10:30pm.

Day 3

I got up, packed a day bag, and made my way to the bus station. Thus begins my last and worst day in China. They wouldn't sell me a ticket. And I refused to pay 40x the bus ticket to hire a taxi there and back. I then made my way to where the tour buses were, only to find that they had all already left for the day. What a letdown, as this was really the only reason I'd planned to come to Beijing. I must admit, there were a few tears and a couple sobs. Not to let the whole day be a waste, I spent 2 1/2 hours in the Forbidden City, which unfortunately is under massive renovations for the Olympics in the summer of 2008. Although I did get some satisfactory photos, it was nothing like what I'm sure the Great Wall would've been. What a disappointment. I went back to the hostel, finished packing, and went to bed.

I hate Beijing.