Beijing was another city of great contrast.......but very different to Ulaanbaatar! It is huge, we only saw a small fraction of it ...........and it is very well organised with an excellent road system. We found it easy to find our way about as most of the street and road signs and the maps are written in our alphabet as well as the Chinese characters. The weather was warm and humid a full 10C higher than Mongolia.
On the first evening we familiarise ourselves with the hutong area we were staying in. The hutongs are the old narrow streets which originally formed the whole of Beijing. Over the years most of them have been demolished to make way for the high rise modern buildings and the highways. Our street was full of lovely small shops and restaurants and the side streets were still occupied by old one story courtyard dwellings hidden away behind high walls and gates. There were a lot of public toilet buildings and we assumed that many of the houses did not have their own sanitation. Amanda took Orlo into one, she said it was a real experience, no privacy at all! We stayed at the Beijing Downtown Backpackers hostel, which was great! The staff were very friendly and helpful and there was a great mix of guests, from 'oldies' like us to young backpackers at the start of their gap year experience. They had a very good selection of rooms from double and twin with en suite to dormitory accommodation. It was extremely good value and very well located.
The following day (Saturday) we set off to explore further afield, the Forbidden Palace being the main object for the day. We walked to the Drum Tower and through parks with beautiful lakes where many residents were enjoying the weekend. Some had set up a dance session, others having a swim, yet others just wandering along enjoying the views and the warm weather. It was very picturesque and relaxing. We eventually made it to Tianamen Square and then to the Forbidden City, having had lunch at the streetside cafe on the way. Please note: Michael is using chopsticks!!!!!
We bought our tickets and audio guides and entered the Forbidden City along with hundreds of others! It was very hot by now. Amanda & Orlo went their own way so that Orlo could have a run round but we followed the main route. It was so hot and busy that we could not do justice to it all, there are so many temples. We spent two hours there and one day i would like to return as we did not have time to see museum collection. After walking back to the hostel we found somewhere to eat and then went out to an acrobatic show. The show was very good with an excellent juggler, amazing acrobats and a great clown!
