So far, for my 1st day in Beijing, I have made 10 purchases.
1 bag, 1 cap, 1 map, 3 poker card decks (I am not ashamed to say that I have another
4 more in my suitcase) and 4 stickers (for decorating ez-link cards with).
9 of the items I bought today (map not shown here)
With these items, I believe that I can use them to tell my tale of today.
Now cast your mind back to the start of today…
Prologue
After a previous day of frantic packing/ stuffing of necessary items into
our bags, we had to sleep early if we were going to be up and waiting for the
bus at 6.45am. Most of us woke up at 6am and had a rushed breakfast before we
headed down to the hotel lobby with our bags and/or suitcases.
The tour bus that we were going to take to Beijing
By 6.45am, we were shepherded up the tour bus and
ready to go to Beijing. I believe none of us expected the journey to take SO
long. We slept in the bus for about 2 hours, waking up occasionally and
observing that we were still in Tianjin. I took a few photos when I was inside
the bus but I can tell you that majority of the landscape along the way to
Beijing looked similar- A few tall buildings and a good dosage of greenery
every now and then.
After about another hour in the bus, the tour guide
told us that we were heading to the Summer Palace. There were a few other stops
along the way we would sightsee at before we would reach the hotel in Beijing.
Chapter
1: The Map
Once we reached the Summer Palace, we got down from
the bus and walked to the main entrance of the Palace. There, we saw several
people selling goods such as watches, toys and most especially, hats. They were
very persistent in selling their wares to us but we were not interested.
After the tour guide bought our tickets and allowed us
to go into the Summer Palace, we were free to go wherever we wanted to.
However, we had to come back in an hour’s time to a particular spot. We all
agreed enthusiastically and left on our separate ways.
I followed some of my friends who were walking to the Tower
of the Fragrance of the Buddha. Despite being very sunny and bright, the wind
blowing by was cold. I can’t believe that some of my classmates were wearing
only 1 layer of shirt and pants and yet they felt fine. I, on the other hand,
was wearing 3 layers and I STILL felt cold! Perhaps they have some
cold-resistant gene that I haven’t got… Oh well.
But still, with such beautiful scenery by the lake and
lovely weather, I wasn’t surprised that in the past, the royalty used this
place as a villa in the summer. Appended below are some pictures I took at the
Summer Palace.
Regrettably, my classmates and I did not walk as far
as we intended because we were so busy snapping photos of everything around
us. And by the time we realized this
fact, it was time to return to the meeting point.
While we were waiting for the rest to return, I saw a
booth selling maps and renting automatic guides. At first, I did not think much
about it until I saw one of our lecturers buy a map. When unfolded, the map
reveals its beautiful illustrations. In addition, it is printed on brownish
(but good quality) paper, giving it the look of ancient parchment. And so, I
bought it. (Now I have an “ancient” map of my own to boast about.)
The map in its original envelope
The
map when opened
Chapter
2: The Cap
Our next stop was at a hotel restaurant (but it is not
the hotel we would be staying at) where we partook our lunch. It was an
enjoyable lunch and after we had finished our meal, we went over to the
aquarium outside to see the fish, crocodiles and crabs they had for sale (for
eating).
Small
crocodiles and crabs on display
The 2nd sightseeing stop was at Tian’
anmen. It is said to have the largest square in the world and I must admit it
took us pretty long to walk from one end to another. But with the sun beating
down fiercely on us, it was hard to see or walk properly without having a beam
of light shoot straight into our eyes.
As such, some of us resorted to buying umbrella hats
or caps. My cap cost me 10 RMB (about S$2) and it has pixilated grey and black
prints on it (I love camouflage prints- they look so cool). So far, it has been
very useful in shielding the light from my eyes and hence allowed me to enjoy
the walk while avoiding the furious glare of the sun.
Here are some pictures we took at Tian’ anmen.
At
Tian’ anmen Square
Bryan
(in black shirt) and Bernard sporting their newly bought umbrella hats!
Chapter
3: The Bag
After our walk through Tian’ anmen, we needed to walk
out further so that we could wait for the tour bus. While waiting, a woman
approached us and asked her to buy her chopsticks and handbags. I bought a
handbag as my sling bag looked as if it was going to burst at its seams soon.
My “fortune-telling” skills were not wrong. After
having a delicious dinner of roast duck, my sling bag’s strap snapped. Now I
have a new handbag to tote around and the best part? The colour matches my
sweater and even when this trip is over, I can still use it when I go and buy
groceries (since the supermarket does not provide any plastic bags). Now that’s
what I call a double bonus!
Chapter
4: The 3 Poker Card Decks & 4 Stickers
Our last stop for the day before we would (finally)
reach the hotel was a night market. The road was rather dark and dimly lit.
Fortunately, the shops were brightly lit and we could see the goods they sold.
From silver accessories to clothes, bags, caps, mousepads and toys, there were
just too many shops to browse through. However, I exercised as much
self-restraint as possible and only bought the items mentioned on this
chapter’s title.
The
night market streets and shops
After an hour of browsing in the night market (which
to me, was insufficient time), we trudged back to the bus and slept as it took
us to the 4-star hotel called the Zhong Yu Century Grand Hotel.
The
hotel sign, photo taken from the tour bus
We checked in at about 11pm. Once we reached our
rooms, we were able to quickly take a shower and go to sleep. However, I must
say that the beds here look so luxurious compared to those in our room in the
Tianjin hotel that we stayed in. I’m going to miss them (the Beijing hotel
beds) when we leave this place.
Check
out the room and the bed!
Now
compare it with ours in Tianjin…
Now that I have finished my tale, I feel pretty
exhausted. Today was only the 1st day and tomorrow is going to be a
new day (hopefully with new stuff to buy!).
Good night dear reader, sweet dreams!
Best regards,
Marianne
Marianne
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