It's my first full day in Beijing and I'm starting to have new life. Not only is my hangover gone but I'm feeling much better. I still have this cough as I think I caught a cold, but nothing is going to slow me down today. Joanna and I wake up and I decide it's time to try the local Micky D's that's just around the corner for breakfast. I head out and grab the usual breakfast if I was to eat at McDonald's (pronounced "My Don Lau" in Mandarin)...or so I think. The truth is, the McGriddle's don't exist here in china. Looks like I'm out of luck on that regard. So I order a Sausage Egg McMuffin with cheese and a coffee - and wouldn't you know? The coffee tastes just as bad here as it does in America. It's like wood chips with coffee flavor. I suppose if you're eating at McDonald's you probably don't know what good food or coffee tastes like. But I'm stereo typing here and I'll refrain from further comments. Everything else tastes just like it does back home. Once again, McDonald's delivers on it's promise to be consistent no matter where you are in the world. I note a few items I don't usually see on our menu at home. A few of these include an extra spicy chicken sandwich of some sort that looks to be Asian in nature. Joanna and I hit the metro system and decide to hit some brief shopping before venturing to our target area for the day - The Forbidden City. We hit out first stop off the subway line at Xidan. This place is alright. Not quite as magnificent as I was expecting.
We depart for Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden city. For you history buffs, Tienanmen Square is the largest open urban square in the world. This place is MASSIVE! There's a picture of Chairman Mao still hanging on the wall of the Forbidden City just across the street. A tribute to his legacy and I understand his body is still on display in a building here. I figure he's in no hurry to go anywhere so I'll catch up with him next time. I imagine tanks and military rolling in to squash the democratic movement with blood in 1989. My tour book says that no one died that day (at least in the square), but I find that really hard to believe. Joanna informs me that they were mostly intellectuals and university students or professors who were protesting at the time. Wow.
We make our way across the street to the entrance to the Forbidden City and I am already in awe by the size of this complex. It is massive. And to think that for hundreds of years this place was only occupied by the Emperor and his family, his qui-fei (concubines), and his troops. Such a shame that this place was limited to so few people as it's big enough to fit a small university of students and people comfortably. We pass through gate after gate and while my Kanji from my Japanese days isn't as sharp as it used to be, I try my best to translate one of the gate names. "This is the cow gate!" I say triumphantly after trying to translate the kanji. Joanna lets out a big laugh. Apparently I'm way off base. The ACTUAL translation is "Meridian Gate". Like Noon or "halfway". Oh well. They're really close in appearance (at least to me) but this has now actually become the day's running joke and Joanna reminds me of it the entire time we're in this place.
It is gorgeous in here. I'm imagining the battle fought in the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower" at this location. If you haven't seen this movie I highly recommend it. Joanna tells me that the life of an Emperor isn't easy. If his own family (specifically his sons) isn't ready and eager to take his post, he's got more than a thousand people he needs to be looking over his shoulder for. Not a life I want to have. I snap a lot of photos in here. It's serene and beautiful and a MUST see for Beijing.
After the Forbidden City we get back on the subway and head to Wangfujin. I remember this place from Andrew Zimner's bizarre food's episode where he tastes some exotic foods such as seahorses, scorpions, beetles and crickets. We follow the crowd to the main strip and actually find the food alley he was actually at. The vendors are busy hawking their warez and pushing their products. And while I've been pretty adventurous already at this trip at the four Chinese banquets where I have dined, I look around a see no one eating seahorses or the other exotic foods on a stick. This may be a good sign that I shouldn't take the risk. We opt for a small restaurant that serves a variety of foods and the dumplings are our main draw to the place. We order a big plate of dumplings and of course I order a beer. It's after noon so I don't feel it's a big deal. Remember, it's only beer or tea that's fit to drink and being the beer geeky guy that I am, I opt for the carbonated and "safe" beverage. The men at the table next to use are complaining about how much food they've ordered. I don't think they expected the lamb kabobs to be quite as big as they are. I think they ordered 5. But I can't say I blame them. At less than buck each it's deal either way. Joanna asks them if they are any good. One gentleman offers one to her, "We've got too much food really! You should try one." But Joanna declines their offer. At the table next to them is a group of coworkers munching away at some kabobs and soup. "CHECK!" one screams in Chinese and Joanna is all tickled at his delivery and massive volume. I agree. He was so sudden and loud that his call to the staff made even me jump!
With a full stomach we head out to do some shopping. Our first stop is a watch store. Apparently Wangfujin is known for it's watches and I'm itching to find a Rolex but I'm doubtful I'll find a cheap one here. We make our way up an escalator to the watch store on the main drag. All the watches look great, and while they do have Rolexes, they are Far out of my budget. We head back down to the street and Joanna points out a hundred year old fabric store that specializes in silk. "This is a reputable vendor!" she exclaims. And if it comes from Joanna with such high regard I know their silk is REALLY silk. We enter and make our way to the back counter where you can get custom Chinese (Qui-pao) dresses made. There is nothing more sexy than a woman in a Chinese dress. While I'd like to have one made for Joanna, we just don't have the time to have it fitted and tailored. Joanna leaves the day after next and that's not going to be enough time. My intentions shift to one of my other favorite women, my mother, who spends a lot of her free time and passion on quilting. I decide I'd like to pick up some fabrics my mother can use if she wants. Being a guy, my tastes in colors and patterns vary considerably from a Chinese woman, and probably from my mother as well. (Mental note to self: Ask mom how much fabric it takes to make a quilt so I'm not stuck in a debate with the shop keepers regarding how much fabric I need to purchase.) I'm clueless as to how much fabric I need to pick up so we go with the shop keeper's recommendations for yards. It is very expense stuff but think the quality warrants the purchase. I pick out two lovely fabrics and we depart the store.
We exit a metro stop and make our way down a street in the direction that we feel is in the direction for the restaurant Joanna's sister wants to meet us. Apparently we don't quite know our way and no one we run into knows where the restaurant is either. Joanna calls her sister and gives her a few landmarks so she can meet us and I am hopeful we aren't far from where we need to be. Eventually Joanna's sister meets us on the street and we start to wander around aimlessly. It is apparent that not even Joanna's sister knows where she made the reservation for dinner. It's cold and I want to be inside. We walk around for a while and try to catch a cab but to no avail. It's rush hour. Finally we catch a cab and the taxi driver knows where we're supposed to be. We get out and arrive at an upscale hotel restaurant pairing. Joanna doesn't do a good job of translating and while I know she's catching up with her sister as it's been a good year since they talked in person, I'm feeling a bit out of the loop for the two hours of dinner. We order a few dishes and they are quite good. The highlight of the dishes is a chicken and red pepper dish. Dinner is good and we catch a cab back to the hotel and pass the Silk Market on the way back. It's smaller and closer than I had imagined. We fall asleep as I am tired as it's been a long day indeed. We have the Great Wall scheduled for tomorrow!
