We took breakfast where a glass of orange cordial an egg on toast and a slice or two of watermelon steeled us for a little look /see along the fabulous Hutongs before braving the heat and the Beijing bus system to get our way to Tiannamen square and the Forbidden Palace.
The Melbourne Met system could take a leaf out of Beijing's who used some unique methods firstly the employment of a 2nd conductor who's only purpose appeared to be continually shouting in our ears to move to the back of one very crowded bus !
The second innovation was the ditching of the need for a Myki system - you paid by simply passing your money along a line of/strangers who in turn paid the conductor and returned your change or what was left if it !
We fell out at Tianamen square and took an emotional look in the significant heat before heading across the road to the amazing walled forbidden City with an incredible array of 900+ buildings and palaces - the home of the Emperors of China for over 500 years !
Wed thought ourselves lucky to have scored an enthusiastic guide Cyndi who proudly told us of the city's history and Chinas love for peace !
Cyndi's enthusiasm continued all the way through to the Tsingtan temple and gardens overlooking the incredible city walls - our bodies had now fortunately been replenished by noodles and dumplings and as a result our brain cells now captured every 3rd word rather than the odd one or two prior when wilting in the heat !
We nearly succeeded in leaving Cyndi on amicable terms until she took us into a Chinese tea room (without asking) and then became offended when freeloader Henley and tight arsed Litchfield decided they did not want to buy anything !
Our only escape was to promise to Cyndi wed recommend her and the Tea Rooms to every Australian we knew (about 2 dozen between the 3 of us) give her fake email addresses and get the hell out of there !
With her still hanging on our arms and now offering instead to sell us the Mona Lisa or the Sydney Habour bridge (couldnt quite understand as it was in Chinese!) we wrested her away and took off back on our favorite sardine bus system to the Hutongs !
Blasted by the sun and dust and one very over exuberant tour guide it was with great relish that we celebrated the end of our 2nd day in China with some alcoholic sustenance and some very good company !
Come on team. Its high time you got yourselves a selfie stick!!
ReplyDeletehttp://selfiesticksaustralia.com.au/
And because you're in China, you can get them directly off the manufacturer at discounted rates (minimum order 10,000).