Before there was the Great Wall of China, there was me standing transfixed on a little Chinese boy taking a dump on the Dome at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Much to my amusement of the defecation happening in front of my eyes, I tried my best to catch the eyes of Yuey & Dez, fellow temple trekkers, so that i could further get but 2 more like eyes to stare at the temple turding.
Bar from that, The Temple of Heaven had a lengthy walk way , followed by a sacrificial dome and the centre of the Temple area .Armed with the translating walk-man in ear, a camera and backpack, we wondered about for about 2 half hours in the smoggy afternoon.
We grabbed a short cab ride then over to Tiananmen Sqaure, a reminder of the lost souls gunned down and run over . Being a Monday , I could not unfortunately enter the museums nor see the body of Mao Ze Dong, though I was told he looked nothing more than a wax figure in the distance.
One thing that was particularly interesting, was the bag checks before entering Tiananmen Sqaure. As a foreigner, they didn’t bother check our bags and let us through. Through out the day, the constant blanket of smog sat above us, creating a sense of seriousness and grim despair.
Beijing was a greater mix of the Old vs Brand sparkly new but both similar in exaggerated new found wealth. I Love china, for everything it is and everything it is not. Mad city, where rules were made to be broken.
Mission: Teach Claire to speak Chinese!
CLAIRE JEDREK
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