Not much on the agenda this morning. Grabbed some muesli and yogurt at the hostel (tasty), and then headed to Tian’anmen Square with Constantine. There was a small market street, apparently the oldest in Asia, that we stopped at first. Lots of souvenir shops, which is par for the course in China, it seems. We headed to the square next, and wonder of wonders, it was open for visitors. Walked around the square, but sadly the Mao Tse Tsung mausoleum was closed, due to the Congress Meetings. I parted ways with Constantine and headed to the Air China building next, and arranged my flight to Singapore for Saturday.
Planned on taking the bus back to the hostel, but took the wrong street north, so I was stuck walking the route instead. Worked on this journal for a bit at the hostel, and had a bit of a nap (although if you don’t actually sleep I’m not sure it’s really a nap), before heading out again.
Jeff (an American staying at the hostel and planning on living in Beijing for a while and opening a bar) recommended an art gallery area called 798, so I took the bus there. Had to switch buses on the way, which was tough considering the language barrier, but I managed okay. The galleries were cool – mostly modern, and unique. Not as Asian influenced as I thought they might be, but still nice to see. I took the bus back, and again managed okay. Long bus ride though, which is never fun. Lots of traffic, and on the otherside of the city.
Magley was back at the hostel, waiting to leave and catch her train to Xian. She wanted to grab some food, so we headed up a nearby street and ducked down another side street and picked the restaurant that looked the busiest. The entire menu was in Mandarin, so we simply hoped for the best and pointed at three dishes. For 30rmb (Less than $4 Canadian) we had lamb and potato stew, some vegetarian dish (kimchi-ish), and some radishes. Not too bad for a shot in the dark – although one can only eat so many radishes.
Headed back to the hostel and got caught up on my journal, and uploaded some pictures. Tomorrow a few of us are off to the Summer Palace (if Constantine doesn’t drink too much this evening).
