First Full Day in Beijing

We were up at 3:20 am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Maybe it was because we went to bed at 8 pm last night! So we got up at 5 am and went down to eat breakfast at little after 6. We explored the hotel a bit and then came back to the room. We couldn't remember whether we were to meet Penny at 9 or 9:30 so we decided to be in the lobby by 9. We decided we were tired again (jet lag does funny things to a body!). We laid down and set an alarm for 8:45 am. We actually slept till then! We went down to the lobby and Penny came a little before 9 and said it was really 9:30 so we got an early start today.

We drove basically straight north to the Olympic venues of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube. We worked our way around the outside of the Bird's Nest and finally found the place to buy tickets to go inside. That place is awesome! They have video of the Olympics playing and they have a couple of the inflated Fuwa in the middle that people were having their picture taken in front of. Penny is willing to take our pictures in front of and with anything. We even brought a World-Herald that we are showing in some pictures! We sat down in front of 5 stuffed Fuwas for a picture. You basically just have to push your way in to take your turn.

Next we made our way over to the Water Cube. Penny told us that the place to buy tickets was about a 15-minute walk away. We decided to walk with her. The ticket place is in the OPPOSITE CORNER of the premises from where the entrance is. So we walked ALL the way around the Water Cube to get the tickets and then back to the entrance. Security is tight and bags are put through X-ray at both venues. At the Water Cube they also wand you. Tony forgot about his pocket knife in his pocket. He had to have Penny translate some things. They kept the pocket knife while we went into the building and she had to go back with a claim check after we were done.

The Water Cube is really impressive. We got to see the pool area, take pictures, and Penny took our picture there, too. After we left the building, Penny told us to "wait here" while she went to get the knife. We were just hanging out watching people when 2 gals came up to me and, I thought, wanted me to take their picture. NOPE! That's not what they wanted. One gal had the camera and the other gal pushed me backwards a bit and told Tony to come over (all of this with no actual words). She wanted HER picture taken WITH US! I thought that was funny! I couldn't stop laughing! So we just stayed there waiting for Penny. Next thing we knew, a guy wanted his picture taken with us! THAT was hilarious! We started realizing we were the only non-Chinese people in the area! Before we knew it, there was a "line" (in China, a "line is more of a "grouping") of people wanting to have their pictures taken with the stupid Americans! We couldn't believe it! There were a couple of guys that only wanted Tony in the picture with them! Some gals and ladies only wanted me! Soon, one of the security guys came over and broke things up! Whew! Apparently Penny had come back and told him to tell us to come out of the gate. She says that happens a lot!

So we met up with the driver again and he took us all to a traditional Beijing restaurant. Penny ordered and we had a chicken dish, salad, and eggplant/mushroom(fungus)/green pepper/bamboo shoot dish along with rice and Tony got noodles. We practiced using our chopsticks and ate plenty.

After lunch we went to a silk factory and saw how they get the silk and make bed quilts out of it. They also have all kinds of clothes to buy. We bought 3 sizes of outfits for Beibei to wear as she grows. I tried on jackets but decided I didn't need to spend that kind of money.

Our next stop was the Pearl Market. Penny took us to a store she knew would give us a good price. We ended up getting a string of pearls for Beibei which the clerk "made" right in front of us. She put the clasp on and put knots between all the pearls and finished it right up and it all took about 5 minutes. We'll give the pearls to Beibei when she's older and can appreciate them. I also got a kind of unique pendant necklace for myself.

Then we were dropped off at the hotel. We'll meet Penny again tomorrow for the next day's touring.

We decided to venture out to the Wangfujing Market. There's all kinds of shops and stores and there's also a "snack street." We've been told it's a good photo op but to not eat anything. So, we exchanged some money and set out. We made it over easily without having to cross a street. We did have to cross a busy street, though, to get to the pedestrian only part. We walked into one store that looked like it had cheap sourvenirs. EVERY person we encountered the first few feet wanted to sell us something. We're not even sure there were any other customers in there! I said "Let's get out of here!"

Supposedly there are a couple of stores in the market area that sell Olympic stuff. The one we found was all torn up being remodeled. Then we found an interesting-looking entrance. It ended up being the snack street. There were scorpions on-a-stick (still moving!), seahorses on-a-stick, some kind of bug on-a-stick, starfish on-a-stick, some other things we couldn't tell what they were on-a-stick. One thing we'd seen previously but didn't know what it was ended up being strawberries with a heavy sticky candy/glaze all over it on-a-stick! Then we made a turn and...more stuff! Looky, looky! Want to buy something? Don't touch anything or show an interest in anything! Just keep walking! We bargained for a couple of things and one applied quite the pressure! She started off saying she wanted 85 Yuan per piece (I wanted 8 pieces). I kept saying NO and tried putting the items back several times. We ended up agreeing on 120 Yuan for ALL 8 pieces -- and she gave me a "free" one to boot!

We were glad to leave the market area. We walked back to the hotel and on the way found a "supermarket" and bought water and Mt. Dew. We ordered room service and will turn in soon.

Riding around Beijing for a day, we've made some observations about driving in Beijing. Here are

TONY'S TIPS FOR DRIVING IN BEIJING

#1 - DON'T!

#2 - Lane markers and red lights are only a suggestion.

#3 - Turn signals have been replaced by horns.

#4 - Don't use your turn signal unless you are actually TURNING (not for changing lanes).

#5 - Cars, not pedestrians, have the right of way (just run 'em over!).

#6 - There are as many bicycles as cars on the road.

#7 - If you think there is at least 2" of space to the side to change lanes, go for it.

Even so, amazingly we haven't seen any accidents -- yet. Maybe it's because EVERYBODY drives like this!

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