Living Life to its Fullest: 10/12/10 – Day 17

Today, we were up bright and early (6:30). We had a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel that was included with our night’s stay. They had an Asian section, as well as a more Westernized section. We boarded the bus at 8:00 a.m. and were off to Tiananmen Square, the world’s largest public square. This was interesting and really gave me the feel of being in a communist country…in a sense nothing straight out wrong or out of place, but in another sense, it was all wrong. This square was built as a place for people to gather, and do they ever gather. There were crazy amounts of people around! At one end of the square was a ginormous picture of Chairmen Mau, the guy that supposedly turned the country from communism and into a “Republic.” At the other end was a museum honoring those that have served in China’s military. We didn’t go in the, as the line was at least 2 hours long. Then, in the middle of the square, there were two massive TV screens with beautiful and incredibly enticing propaganda playing (people’s eyes and ears were glued to it). The city hall sat on one side of the square and a museum on the other. People were everywhere…along with video cameras and policemen. It gave me the “Big Brother is watching” feeling of George Orwell’s 1984.

We spent about 45 minutes at Tiananmen Square before heading to “The Forbidden City.” (All of this was a little more fun because of recently viewing the new Karate Kid movie). The Forbidden City was where the Emperors lived and was called such because common people were forbidden to go in. However, now it’s just an old place that tourists (both foreign and domestic) visit when in Beijing. It was OK and I’m glad I went, but nothing overly exciting for me. However, I did have a good time “shopping” from all the street vendors. I learned that for the most part, anything they are selling can eventually be gotten for a dollar…everything from postcards to hats to fake Rolex watches. However, be forewarned that once you show interest, they are like a leech and follow you until finally agreeing on “your price” (which was usually a dollar or two, even though they started out around $20 for some things). Between my parents and I, we probably spent $30 and you wouldn’t believe all the junk…I mean, the wonderful souvenirs we got. We quickly learned the Chinese phrase “Boo Yow” which means “I don’t want it.”

After the Forbidden City, we headed to lunch at yet another Chinese restaurant. Once again, served lazy susan style. However, I didn’t care much for this meal. I didn’t know what I was eating, and found myself not wanting more than the little bite used to sample most of the dishes. However, for dessert, we had halves of local mandarin oranges and they were delicious. I finished up the plate of those that were left over after everyone had taken what they wanted. Next on the agenda was the “Temple of Heaven,” which was the place that the emperor came to pray. It was a beautiful park that led to an amazing round building that was the actual “temple”. The coolest thing about their ancient buildings was that they didn’t use nails. Instead, they interlock the wood together to make the structure. And, these ancient buildings have stood soundly through many an earthquake, which is quite impressive. Once again, people were trying to sell us stuff left and right. I guess we had North American tourist written all over us. I finally gave in and bought 2 “Rolex” watches from a guy for three bucks each, which isn’t bad for any watch that actually keeps time, right?

We once again loaded up the bus at 3:30 in preparation for the 2-hour trip back to the ship. Overall, we had a very nice time. So far, I’m not as big of a fan of China as I was Japan. And, I have discovered that the people and cultures of Japan and China are very, very different. The Japanese were very “spiritually” focused and the Chinese are very government focused. The Japanese are very patient and proper, while the Chinese seem to be pushy and very much in a hurry. In Japan, they formed a nice line when waiting for something, and here, in Beijing, people just push, push, push. Anyway, we got back to the ship just in time to head to dinner before setting sail.