Beijing is a strange mix of the old and the new. On the way back to the hotel tonight we drove through what looked to be incredibly poor neighborhoods which were across the street from modern steel and glass buildings.
We’ve been having a fabulous time. Our guides, Lina and Michelle, have been wonderful. Last night they arranged a traditional dinner (ten courses with locally brewed beverages) for our group with all the fixings – the tab came to about $3 a person. We couldn’t believe it.
Today, we visited the Summer Palace and the Beijing Zoo. I’ll post some pictures from both. The most interesting thing that happened at the zoo was that a large group of school children gathered around me and Roy and began asking us questions, “Where are you from?” “How old are you?”
This afternoon we went to the Pearl Market. What an experience. Pearls as far as the eye can see. There’s no such thing as a firm price in China. Bargaining is expected. We came away with quite a few goodies. The sellers of the goods at the Market spoke very good English so we had no problem understanding one another. The people here are very kind and very friendly.
Our group transportation has been arranged by our guides; however, we’ve taken a few side-trips by ourselves and let me tell you traffic in Beijing is just harrowing. Cars come within inches of pedestrians, other cars, and bicyclists. Yielding is done at the last minute and only when there’s no way to avoid it. It is kinda crazy. We’ve witnessed a few minor traffic accidents and, in my estimation, came pretty close to being in a few. The great thing about the taxi cabs here in China, however, is the cost — a ride all the way across Beijing only costs a few dollars. It’s all relative, I suppose.
Tomorrow we will visit the Heavenly Palace, a Beijing kindergarten and the Hutong area, where we will go inside the home of an average Beijing family and spend some time with them. It promises to offer a more realistic portrayal of life in China. Two more days and we fly to our daughter’s province, Jiangxi.
