Summer Palace

Somewhere halfway through our journey, I started being so lazy that I forgot to write anything for the blog. So now that I'm back and have access to Blogger again, I'll post some more. I'll keep this entry a bit short, since it's a bit late.

I want to give you an overview of the Summer Palace. It was the residence of Empress Cixi, and a very beautiful place. The Empress liked luxury, and that was obvious judging by the size of her palace and how beautiful everything was. Ornaments and paintings covered the whole place, and there was barely an inch on walls or columns that wasn't covered in bright colours.

It's a place I definitely want to see again and spend some time exploring. The park was huge, and we didn't really have time to see it as a whole, since we had a guide and a schedule that didn't leave a single second to spare.

Stay tuned for the next post, and see you soon!

Climbing (or at least trying) the Great Wall

Hello again!

I know I should be updating this blog a lot more, but since I don't have access to Blogger from here, I'm having a dear friend of mine post everything for me. I have no means of uploading pictures either, so that just makes everything more difficult, because I have to write a text document with what I want to say, send her the pictures and tell her exactly where to put them.

So, here, have a somehow big update. We climbed the Great Wall a few days ago and survived to tell the tale, and while we were at it, I recorded a few videos. These are the first two, only in Spanish because when you're there, the last thing you think about is translating your thoughts of "I'm dying, someone carry me".

I hope you enjoy the videos, stay tuned for more updates, hopefully soon, since I have caught a horrible cold (yes, in the middle of summer) and I stay at the hotel a lot of time, resting.
Good bye!

Confucius & Earth Temple.

I've been a few days without updating the blog, so I'll make up for it now with some tourism talk. We had only been to markets and such, so yesterday we decided to visit the Confucius Temple and Academy, and the Earth Temple in Ditan Park. It was raining quite a bit, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the view of the huge temple and building.

The street is a rather big one if you take into account that youre in a hutong, and streets there are always more narrow than wide. As you get closer to the temple, a lot of little shops start to appear, selling inciense and figurines of whatever pseudo-deity you might be looking for. Finally, you get to the gate of the temple. It's absolutely huge and beautiful, full of colors and with an astonishing gold glow. As you enter, you're greeted by some minor buildings on the sides hidden between trees that stand there protecting everything from the tourists.

We kept walking and passed by a statue of Confucius himself, crossing the Gate of Great Fortune and pausing to take some pictures and chek the exhibition halls that told us the story of Confucius, his teachings, his doctrine and his disciples. I already knew most of it, since I have studied Asian religions, but it was intereting to learn it from their point of view.

We then had lunch and visited the Temple of Earth, situated in the middle of Ditan Park. The park was so beautifully kept that I wished I had some hours to get lost in it. But it was raining and we had to go back eventually, so I didn't get to explore it as I would have liked. The garden was a beauty in itself, I wish I had taken some pictures of it, but it had started to rain and I didn't want to take out my camera with such a weather.

A bit of sweetness

Today, we've visited a bakery and bought some pastries that ended up being our dinner. I chose something that looked like a Japanese dorayaki, because I'm curious and want to see how it tastes and something that I think was white chocolate mousse on top of brownie, with two strawberries, almonds and a hazelnut. It was delicious!

We also bought chocolate cake and fruit cake, which looked and were delicious as well. And they looked so cute! Also, more white chocolate mousse and brownie.

Finally, we bought something that first looked like chocolate cake but was actually a brownie. It tasted different though, more... Chinese. And this egg dessert as well.

First articles I've bought

When we first went out, I convinced myself that I needed an umbrella or parasol urgently. The sun is merciless, and even if I'm used to it, I don't want to burn my face, so I started looking for one in Qianmen. They were really expensive though, so I kept looking around until we came across a nice library where I bought a panda book (I love pandas!), some panda postcards for a friend who loves pandas as well, and two sets of anime poker cards. One of them is for me, and the other one for a good friend as well.

At 768, I found two really really nice pocket watches and bought one for me and another one for my brother. The black one is mine, I love the patterns on the front and back! And what drove me to buy them was the fact that you can see the inside of the clock.

Finally, at the market I found an umbrella I immediately fell in love with, as well as a pair of really nice and soft tights with a pattern of ribbons on them and some cute, lacy socks. I can't wait to wear them!

 

Eating at a nice restaurant

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of our first Chinese meal, because we were so exhausted and hungry that we didn't stop to take photos.

But I took a while to take some of our second lunch! It was absoutely deicious, but we still haven't got the hang of ordering and ended up asking for more food than we could eat. We ate noodles (which were absolutely delicious!), fried vegetables (also really good), beef, spicy pork, rice and some chicken. Everything was delicious, but when they say something is spicy... Oh, it really is. I also drank my very first Chinese Coca-Cola today! The taste was no different, so... Nothing to add here.

Also, I tried the strawberry and cream Pocky I found yesterday, and ended up having Pocky for dinner. I actually finished the box a few minutes ago. Yummy!

Second day

Hello again!

Today, we've visited quite a few things. We had the vehicle and guide at our disposition the whole day, so we've been able to move to different spots of Beijing rather quickly. First of all, after a rather scarce breakfast, we set off to visit Qianmen, a very long and huge group of streets full of shops, restaurants and tourists. We walked along the main street and stopped occasionally to have a look at some of the shops.

After that, the driver picked us up and we went to the 768 District, which used to be a factory for the army until it closed and the artists began to set there their workshops. Today it is a huge complex of shops, bars, restaurants and galleries of all kinds. Also, there were all kinds of art there, from modern to abstract and traditional as well. It definitely was an interesting experience.

After that, we decided to have a look at one of the many imitation markets of Beijing, given that some of us wanted a few suits custom made and the rest had things to buy. It was a very good decision, but we ended up exhausted. You have to argue so much with the salesmen and women... And they don't even let you walk past them without trying to attract you to their part. I found some good deals though, so I liked the experience.

Finally, we went to a massage centre and due to me being rather special, I ended up having a manicure done while the rest of my group received full-body massages. Apparently, the lady who was in charge of the nails section wasn't there, so I have a feeling they called the first worker who said they knew how to paint nails to do my hands. So, I had to pay a high price for something I could have done myself... I didn't want to complain though, so I let it pass.

We went back to our hotel and had a drink at a nearby café before actually returning to our rooms. I have absolutely no idea about what we're going to do tomorrow, since the biggest part of the group will start their acupuncture advanced course and my father and I are the only ones with free time.

See you tomorrow!

Flights and first day.

Hello!

Finally, I am in Beijing and able to sit and write for a second before going to sleep. The journey has been incredibly tiring, and I've found myself going 48 hours with barely three of sleep. On the other hand, I've also discovered that London's airport is incredibly boring if you have four hours to wait and are not feeling that well.

The flight from London to Beijing in itself was quite fine, since I got to see a few films and relax for a while. And also, sleep. I didn't sleep more than one hour in intervals of fifteen minutes, but well... At least I got some rest. When we finally arrived after the most horrible breakfast I have ever had the displeasure to taste, Beijing's airport was a gate to hell. Suffocating heat and crushing humidity, added to my asthma... Does not give good results. We waited for a while in a long queue that could have lead to customs or to Narnia, we weren't exactly sure, and finally picked up out luggage and met the guide who drove us to the hotel. He was pretty nice and told us a few curiosities about Beijing, such as the population, the number of bicycles and the fact that , to buy a car in Beijing, you have to win something like a lottery. Also, depending on the last number of the plate, you can't use your car a certain day of the week.

We finally got to the hotel and, though it was exactly as described and showed in photos, I was not disappointed with neither the hotel nor the neighbourhood. We're staying at Hua Qiao Beijing, in a hutong neighbourhood. It is indeed an interesting sight and way of life, since everything seems so common and taken out of the last century.

When we left our suitcases in our rooms, we immediately went back down to  have lunch without any rest. We had lunch at a rather fancy restaurant and took a walk around the main street of the neighbourhood, crowded with vendors, shops and people in general. After that, we finally went back to the hotel to get some well-deserved rest at around 3.30pm, until 6pm. 

After that, we went out again and visited Xidan, which left me astounded. Never have I seen so many shops, advertisings and huge shopping centres in the same place. Everything was rather expensive though, so I didn't buy a thing. I've seen a huge lot of things I like though, so I'll keep looking for similar clothes a bit cheaper. When we went back, I made the discovery of the day, that actually wasn't such, because I knew if its existence, but... I did not expect what I found inside.

We decided to have a look at the 7 eleven that was on our way back to the hotel, and I was pleased to find some milk at a good price (yay for midnight tea!), facial products to which I am yet to identify their use and... Pocky! It was the last thing I expected to find here in China, and two boxes for only 14 yuan... It's my dream made true, I know what will my suitcase be filled of when I come back. 

So, that's all for today, I'll try to make a post about today's and tomorrow's food and purchases as soon as possible.

I hope you enjoyed this, and see you soon!

Pre-travel

As the first post of this blog, I want to talk about how pre-flight preparations are going and a bit of what I'm packing for my stay.

I forced myself to start packing my suitcase this afternoon, and so far I have only grabbed some underwear, a few T-Shirts and a pair of trousers. Yes, I know, I am so prepared for my journey. Anyway, I don't want to pack a lot of things, since I plan to buy most of the clothing and essentials I'll need when I'm there (I am in desperate need of a change of wardrobe). I still have to decide which shoes I'll bring, and which books. 

Also, I'll have to look for the chargers of my multiple devices that need to be charged, aka mobile phone, PSP, DS, laptop, iPod... I hope I don't forget any of them.

I've started to take a few pills regularly to assure my well-being in my stay. One of them is a natural pill which functions as a repellent of insects and also helps your hair and nails grow. The other is Omeprazole, for my stomach. I have a very delicate stomach, and overly spicy or hyper caloric food can keep me sick and without being able to leave my home for days. So far, it is working and I haven't had any problems.

I'm geting a bit nervous, since we're finally making so many preparations and I barely have time to stop and sit. My mother and I are going tomorrow to Decathlon (a sports shop) to buy some nice walking shoes, since it's probably going to rain and we'll need them.

So, that's basically all for today. I might update something from London's airport on Friday, it depends if I'm able to sit for a while and take out my laptop.

See you!