Beijing

So, it was a little difficult to post irreverent comments about the People's Republic when actually still in it, so I thought that I would wait until I was back in Tokyo (which is where I am now...) Beijing is an awe-inspiring place:

The place is huge - and the monuments are really quite spectacular - nothing really prepares you for the size of Tiananmen Square and the picture of Mao at the end of it...

The smog is simply overpowering - you can't see anything further than a couple of 100 metres for the haze and the grime that is covering the city

Driving licenses seem to be optional - people have transferred their obstacle avoidance skills for the cycle onto a car, and sometimes there are mishaps. Some of the things that we saw beggared belief - anyway, we are here in Japan, so that is all that matters :-)

On Saturday, we went to the Temple of Heaven where we saw the population of Beijing undertake their morning exercise. One elderly gentleman (who died his hair a la Berlusconi) came up to us and told us that he had lost 15 kilos, just by coming to the Temple of Heaven and practicing something that looked like a cross between beach tennis and the Egg and Spoon race - anyway, he was a spritely fellow so we all had a go as well. There were also people trying to sell us feathered hackysacks as well, but we resisted :-)

The guide (we decided that this was a wise plan for such a HUGE city) then took us through the temples which you can see here in the picture to show where the Emporer prayed to the Gods - it was quite a huge location and one that showed just how important the emperor was! After that, we drove to Tian'anmen Square, and expected the guide to completely blank the details of 1989, but she did bring them up - a great location and one that takes your breath away (that and the smog) - the famous picture of Mao with the inscription on the wall got much photography, as did the MASSIVE Chinese flag in the middle of the square...

Mao's Mausoleum is huge and very lavish (unlike the man himself) and having rushed through that at high speed needed a picture to remind us of the instigator of the Cultural revolution, it was time to take in lunch... We went to an amazing restaurant, not only for the food, but also for the decoration that was the original American embassy in Beijing. The design features were quite incredible, and the burger stuffed with Foie Gras was also great...

After lunch a trip through the Forbidden City or as it has been known since 1925 the Palace Museum. It's not so forbidden any more, so that's why they had to change the names... There were some incredible architecture erected by the emperors during the ages and pictures do not do it justice - GO, and experience it!

Finally a spot of shopping for China's finest - I am bringing presents home, so I can't say what they are, but it was great quality!