My Life In Focus

Tienanmen Square – Beijing, China
Local Time: December 24, 2008 – 11:00AM

Right in front of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square where the infamous portrait of Chairman Mau is located. Some may remember that Tiananmen Square is also the largest outdoor gathering area (is that what they call it?) or “square” in the world. This was where so many Chinese students gathered to rally and protest only to be rushed and ran over by tanks to keep them under control.  So many lives were lost in that rally.

The capital building is located right next to the square and on this particular day (as with most days as we were told) there were hordes and hordes of people gathered about from other tour groups along with locals and officials who guard the capital building and general area. It is comparable to visiting the White House in the United States – which I have yet to visit in my lifetime.

I was told by our tour guides that an average of 80,000 people visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square on a daily basis. 80,000 people!!! That’s crazy!

The Forbidden City – Beijing, China
Local Time: December 24, 2008 – 9:30AM

The official kick off to the China Tour began with a visit to the infamous Forbidden City located in the heart of Beijing. The Forbidden City is best known as the home of the emperors through various dynasties in China’s history. It was erected during the first dynasty and served as the primary home of the emperor.

A feeling of amazement washed over me as I walked through the property and slowly took everything in. This place has existed for over two centuries and it still looks extremely grand. This place was definitely built and fit for a king. The single-most impressive thing about the Chinese is their careful attention to detail and that talent was definitely reflected in the building. Every last piece of material has meaning, right down to the trim. Even if much of the property has been restored for tourism, a good portion of the property has also remained intact due to the diligence of the local volunteers who help to maintain the property and it’s cultural relics. Although the whole site may seem extremely lavish – even for the greatest of the emperors – much of the intent in building the site was also practical. The design and layout of the Forbidden City was also meant to keep the emperor and his kin safe from invaders.

The opportunity to walk through this historical site may have been short, but it is definitely unforgettable. Pictures from the visit are now uploaded into my photo album for those who care to take a look.

Crown Plaza Hotel – Beijing, China
Local Time: December 23, 2008 – 11:45PM

I am finally here! I’m sitting in the newly opened Crown Plaza Hotel in Beijing. It’s an extremely nice hotel with very nice facilities. I can easily see why it was ranked a 5 star hotel. It was a good feeling to finally climb onto the bus after having to bare through all the drama of the flight changes and such.

At the airport, we were greeted by our tour guide, June, and as I stood there waiting for her to gather up the rest of the people that was a part of the tour group, I noticed that many of the people were a part of families. There weren’t many people there that were around our age and even if they were – they certainly weren’t the sociable type. It’s probably too early to tell, but that’s my feeling on it. After rounding everyone up, we were quickly ushered off to dinner before checking into the hotel. Dinner was decent, but I think we were all amused by the fact one of the dishes was French fries. It was sort of a welcoming dish… and not a very popular one at our table.

After settling in at the hotel, we set out by foot to explore the local shops in hopes of finding some local treats in the area. The hotel is new so it’s pretty tucked away, but we did manage to run into some street vendors that served interesting food. I think they were really amused by us Americans trying to fit in with the local crowd. I should get credit for even trying.

Then it was back to the hotel for a nice rest before we start our big day tomorrow. Included on the agenda are the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and Summer Palace.

Hong Kong Airport, China
Local Time: December 23, 2008 – 10:45AM

So we made it to Hong Kong and found out that they found us a new flight because we missed our connecting flight due to the delay. Now we’re about three hours behind schedule. Tired and hungry, these guys walked all over the terminal in search of the food court and couldn’t find it so we settled in at this café-style restaurant. I think the bright colors and sofa style seating got the better of us. The food… was disappointing to say the least, but I’ve been told that it is to be expected of airport foods – lousy and overpriced. Speaking of which, one of the first things I came to encounter was the fact I didn’t have my calculator with me. Why is that critical? Because I couldn’t do all of the conversions in my head. I left my phones at home because they would not work properly here and until I get to Beijing, I won’t be able to pick one up for a reasonable cost. So note for all those who travel, remember to bring a calculator of some sort, especially if you know the conversion rate. Hong Kong just happens to be approximately 8:1 (or somewhere closer to $7.70 HK Dollars to $1 US Dollar).

Now that we’ve figured out our new flight, our next immediate concern became whether or not our tour guide will be there to pick us up because we did not make our originally scheduled flight. Since all of us were without a phone, we decided to worry about that once we reach Beijing. So our adventures are a bit delayed, but we are all well on our way, even if it’s 24 hours later than expected.