Today was our first trip to Beijing; our plan was to visit The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We had an enjoyable ride on the bullet train and took the underground to Tiananmen Square. Though we thought we had arrived quite early it was already heaving. To start things off it took us about 10 minutes to walk 15 meters just to get through security into the area. Once through a bit of the walk, we saw queues for tickets and security and people everywhere. It was 10:00 am we were hot and tired already and made an executive decision to rethink our plans. We stopped by a tour agency and booked in for a bus tour this Friday. For 300 RMB ($48/£28) a bus will collect us from our hotel take us to The Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven and includes an English guide and lunch. After our experience this morning it is well worth the money for a day of sightseeing.
So our amended day began with a stop in our favourite art shop. Our friend was there and we picked up another moon festival painting, Sarah got two paintings for herself and her name written in Chinese characters. From there it was on to the shopping mecca know as YaShow market in Sanlitun. Shopping galore where bargaining rules. It was an afternoon filled with entertainment and good deals. It all began with 2 bags and a wallet, first price 640 RMB, final price 251 RMB ($40/£23)!
On the way out I spotted a little bagel shop with authentic New York bagels so we had a little snack. And finally ate late lunch at one of our favourite places: Great Leap Brewery. With burgers and beers in our tummies we made our way back to the train station and home to Tianjin.
Another fantastic day, my FitBit says we walked over 19,000 steps; thats nearly 13km!
Until tomorrow,
-Mrs T
Turners Abroad 