regarding beijing

First of all, our three measly days were not enough. Secondly, it was
much easier to find our way/get around 北京. For one, Beijing accents
are easier to understand and for two, it is less necessary for me to do
so, as the city has loads of English in its sterilized, post-Olympic state.

And tourists! Relative oodles of foreigners of every ethnicity from dozens
of different countries. That's fun. But of course we had to point out to
everyone we met that we are NOT tourists and we live in China, thank
you very much. We were very comfortable in Beijing as a result.

Our hostel, Beijing City Central Youth Hostel International or whatever,
was a good one. Much like its 10元 Chinese buffet breakfast: bland but
solid. For those interested, ♥ the location, fair accomodations, travel
tips/directions distinctly unhelpful.

Anyways, post check-in/sprawl-out, we threw ourselves into the thick
of it and went to Tiananmen Square. It's the biggest city square in the
world and cool as heck to wander around in. So we did. A lot.

We returned on Saturday to see the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. It
was packed! But Kristy Kay and I were determined to go, so we braved
the Mao-crowds to have a peep at the man himself, and were of course
waylaid.


Apparently he's a pretty popular guy. But we queued up with the umbrellas
and lurkers to wait it out in a line reminiscent of Disneyland's. (Best line
I saw in China, actually. One of the only.)

It was supposed to be about a thirty-minute wait and the line was
surprisingly just that. (Beijing time ≠ China time.) We shuffled around
the building, past the statues of burly peasants and determined-looking
soldiers, and showed some ID. Then we were herded into the shady,
quiet building where ushers shot death glares at laughing people and
Kristy and I meekly gave up our curious-stalker-evasion maneuvers.

First up was a Lincolnesque white statue of a giant seated Mao. You
could buy a white rose to bow and place at his feet and buy yourself
another minute in the entrance, or be swept out of this first room into
the next, which featured...

The man himself. Chairman Mao. It was around this point that I had the
sudden urge to yell "Falun Gong!" and go home early, but I checked it and
kept shuffling forward.

At first glimpse I thought, "Mao is an alien! That explains a lot!" but no, it
was just odd lighting. The man was literally aglow and looking rather yellow
in his illuminated state. But, as we tiptoed closer he looked more human, just
like a sleeping old man. He looked at peace, and as we shuffled out into the
museum, I wondered if he was, and made a silent goal to see as many of
these well-preserved Communist dictator goons as I could.

And so we were out of the Mao-soleum and back into the blinding sunshine
in less than five minutes. We ran and retrieved our checked bags (looooong
story) and walked across 天安门 to see the Forbidden City.

This, the emperor's old home, is also very cool. And big. HUGE. Epic in both
scale and detail - a massive, elaborate compound requiring hundreds if not
thousands of workers to simply run the place all for just one guy. One person.
One. No wonder Mao looks jealous.

And a tad disapproving, I think.

Anyways, the place was packed. Tourists out the wazoo from every
country imaginable. So we wandered in the hot sunshine with throngs of
other travelers: tours with matching hats and flags, Chinese families with
umbrellas and cameras, solo Westerners with hired guides... among tiled
roofs and painted ceilings and enormous walls over stones and steps,
reveling in the symbols and detail and taking millions of pictures.

Thus we walked, guided by whim and Jen's audio tour, so we were for
the most part lost but well-informed.

New length record set and more still to come. Love you!