Day 3 - Beijing tour

Monday, July 13, 2020
Beijing, Beijing, China
Day 3 ... Full day tour in Beijing - the major sights 
Today dawned very wet again with torrential rain early which settled down to a steady shower so my gear included my hooded raincoat, which was great for early wetness but a bit warm for later. I was down to the lobby after some dried fruit and juice for breakfast, and after checking emails was ready for the tour guide's arrival right on the dot of 6.45. A short walk to the bus and we were off. 
Tour then picked up people from other hotels which were much more upmarket than mine and in a part of town not too far from mine with top end shops an car dealerships selling Maseratis and Ferraris which felt and looked like many other large cities I have visited, but  this gave me cause to reflect how my experience of staying in a 3 star hotel amid Beijing people living their lives, really is a Chinese experience and I decided to be more relaxed about Fawlty Towers!
The days tour was then full on with Jacky - the guide's name and what he called the group  - if you want significant details you can google but in outline included Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum in the morning. Takeaway messages from hearing the history of the Emperors and their lifestyles were don't become a concubine (girls) or let your family hand you over to be a eunuch (boys) - both bad career moves! Still the infrastructure is quite something, but clearly at the expense of many 'ordinary' people who did things very tough for centuries.
Next we had the (annoying) obligatory tour commercial stop at a silk shop. What was interesting was to learn about the production from basics, including how silk quilts and pillows are made from the cocoons of twin silkworms whose threads are entwined so the can't be spun into single threads! A bit of pressure then to purchase something but I mostly resisted.
Then on to lunch - a pretty standard tour type of mass produced option, but pretty tasty. 
Next a short stop at the Temple of Heaven park - formerly a religious temple but now a park with plenty of use this Sunday afternoon by locals, and interest in the actual temple by tourists in the 3 story temple built with no nails to a formula incorporating 4 seasons and 12 months ...
Another annoying commercial stop at a freshwater restaurant pearl shop - the production was interesting and their stuff was lovely, but I have enough pearls - some I haven't worn! 
Final destination was the Summer Palace - a bit of a drive out of the centre of Beijing and we opted to pay extra and take a boat to the site, then another boat around the man made lake. All very impressive - noting that the emperor used to go by boat to and from here in the summer - but pretty indulgent for the head of state while i am sure the masses did things tough! The actual palace was comprehensive but I was running out of energy by then and a thunderstorm was imminent, so reaching the bus outside a nearby gate was a definite plus!
I was dropped near my hotel but got very confused and couldn't find anyone who could give me good directions - it is China after all and I have no Chinese words and my map was getting very soggy as the rain was quite heavy,  so I paid through the nose for a ride what turned out to be just around the corner. Still I was pleased to be back.
After a bit of as sit down I headed to the same restaurant as last night for dinner before setting my alarm for another early start and sleeping 8 hours. Note though that I am still on Canberra time which makes early starts very easy and early nights welcome, particularly as my eyes are too tired for reading!
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2025-02-10

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