Wonder of the World 2: Great Wall of China and Beijing Memories

day 2

we were blessed with sunshine on thus day.thank god!



on the way to the subway (which was just a few minutes away from the courtyard hotel that we stayed in) we passed by this chica hair salon.bonggacious.

this was also where i almost got hit by a moped.yes, a freakin' moped! i'm telling you, i always have run-ins with bicycles, motorbikes.i don't know why.probably because i would always stand in their way? haha.





beijing subway



we went to this mall where i was able to haggle and get some clothes for really cheapo prices ha.it pays to be asian when you're in an asian city.heee...



we realized we were hungry as it was almost lunchtime so we went to the nearest restaurant that we saw.this was the restaurant.we had no idea what it's called. we found this by pure luck and we could not be any happier! we had the best chinese food ever.seriously.



again we just pointed at photos in the menu.

best hot and sour soup evah!



best beef with cashew evah!



decors...so real! haha



we then walked towards the summer palace and one of its gardens.we did not get to see the entirety of it as we had to see some places as well.sayang nga.



i remember that we passed by an area called the "long corridor." duh.

there were so many things going on.

old people playing musical instruments



dancing



playing some board games



and lotsa dancing



door in the middle of the corridor



and look who came along! yessiree, from london to austria to beijing this li'l baa baa had tagged along



we then went to the temple of heaven, a complex of taoist buildings









then on to the historical tiananmen square, the largest city square in the world!















afterwards we just kept on walking and walking and walking, marveling at this ultra-modern yet historical city.it just had so much story to tell!

we passed the time resting on this bridge when a young girl tried to scam us to buy artworks.ahaha.sorry, we had heard about you, you young scammers.



next...forbidden, forbidden!

**

day 3

this was the day that would be known as the longest day ever with endless trips and dashes ala amazing race.

we passed by a nice park first

before being greeted by this

the forbidden city - previous home of 24 emperors and the largest palace complex in the world

lion guard

rock carvings

i will not even dare to describe this palatial structure.one has to experience the magnitude of this breathtaking complex in person.

with our appetite for amazing imperial chinese architecture finally sated, we hailed a cab to go to another tourist attraction. of course the driver could not speak a trace of english.and get this, he was screaming at me as he wanted me to speak a chinese dialect. i tried in vain to explain (and gesture) that i could not speak his language.he got so frustrated, pointing and screaming at me, as if accusing me of pretending not to be chinese.so mr t and i just got off the cab and walked again to god knows where, just following other tourists.

mean cabbie driver!

so many parked motorcycles!

we found ourselves admiring this lake with willows gently bowing alongside the bridges.

. .v

then we followed some tourists and reached a beautiful place.i found out later that this was called hou hai lake, one of beijing's hippest neighborhoods.

more on this park and the 2008 summer olympics..next!