Our whirlwind tour of Beijing starts today. Judy and I taxi over to the Courtyard Marriott where the kids are staying. We meet at 9:00 am in the lobby with our tour guide, Jonathan, from Stretch-a-Leg Travel. They specialize in custom tours. Judy traveled with them with a school group during “BISS On the Road”, back in late September, and loved the way everything was handled. We all climb into our Mercedes van (this is the way to travel in a small group), and off we go!
We took this pix of the CCTV building last night while we drove around Beijing.
Our first stop is Tiananmen Square. It has to be seen and walked to appreciate the vast size. At one point, while we’re listening to Jonathan talk about some of the history, we turned around, and Judy was in the middle of a picture-taking session with a Chinese family. This happened to all of us (except me) at some point during our tours today.
Tiananmen: Monument to the People, and Mao’s Mausoleum in the distance
Tiananmen: It’s a big area, supposed to be able to hold 1 million people.
Forbidden City Gate, looking across from Tiananmen.
Then we walked over to the Forbidden City. IT’S HUGE! Again, it has to be experienced to appreciate it. Everyone enters under the big Mao portrait at the front gate, and then you wander through, all the way to the back. It’s not a straight shot. Lots of jogs left and right, through various rooms and temples until you cross the moat at the rear.
Forbidden City: It’s big! This is just a small section of the front half.
Glenda having her picture taken with a Chinese family.
Our driver is waiting for us at the closest point possible, and we load up, headed to lunch. Jonathan has set up lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant. The food is great, and we get to try lots of different dishes.
After lunch we drive over to the Temple of Heaven. It’s another huge complex of temples and gardens. Jonathan has great information about how the complex was used. Walking it makes it even more meaningful and real.
The rock we’re standing on was considered by the emperors to be the “center of the universe”
The Temple of Heaven – main site of worship for many emperors.
We get dropped at the hotel and apartment around 4:30, with plans to meet later for dinner. We settle on Indian food at Taj Pavilion in Lido Park, near the kids hotel, walking over around 6:30. Shannon and Dom are waiting for us. We have a fun dinner with Shannon and Judy recounting Beijing stories and recollections from BISS. We head home around 9:00, and sleep happens really quickly. We’re beat and there are two more heavy days of tours ahead.