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Beijing, China
I have never been very good at writing but I suppose that I will give this a try. This is my first entry although I have been to many other places in my adventures.
We flew into Beijing from Seoul, South Korea on a balmy Tuesday morning and immediately realized it would be a week of nothing but sweat. The temperature and humidity proved to be an incredible obstacle that could only be overcome by ample amounts of water and b****ing. But as any good traveler does, we didn't let he weather stop us. We arrived at out discreet, out-of-the-way hostel named Leo Courtyard in mid-afternoon and were immediately in awe. Our hostel was located in a few offstreet/ alley's that you could barely fit a small car through, however the location was amazing. We were sleeping maybe a 10 minute walk from the famed Tiennamen square (spelling is way off) and maybe 20 from the mysterious Forbidden City. After strolling through the square and aquainting ourselves with our current surroundings we decided to grab a late afternoon lunch. To our great advantage the food was incredbile and infanitily inexpensive. We managed to get a filling and delcious meal for three, paying the same price that you would spend for one in McDonalds. Needless to say, we knew at this point that we would be eating a lot in China. Finished eating it was time to brave the heat again, armed with a bottle of water we started back to the square. We cruised along it waiting for dusk and then we went back to the hostel to cool down and clean up. After a one day in China's heat your realize that you need at least 2 showers a day, sometimes 3.
The next day we started our adventures with blazing heat once again. This day was very interesting filled with shrine after shrine, building after building, and me not quite knowing for sure what it all was. We went to the Forbidden City, which was a site to see. It was massive, it truely was the size of a small town within a much larger Beijing. It actually reminded me of Vatican City because it was a seperate walled city in which everything is done and maintained in a special, cared way. We took the better part of the morning and afternoon strolling through the buildings and courtyards enjoying the sites, taking in the crowds, and laughing at pleasant/unpleasant inside jokes. Once we finished up in the city we walked to a hillside that ran parallel to the city and climped it. It was hot and steep, but well worth the epic view. We saw the Forbidden City in its entirety, the way the clouds saw it, without obstruction, save the thick smog. After climbing down, we decided it was time for a hearty lunch. We tucked into a little restaurant with no frills, bells, or whistles and treated ourselves to a lunch of truely epic proportions. We ate until we couldn't move, all the while sitting in the air-con chilling and talking. The meal was amazing, sweet pork, fried noodles, dumplings, fried rice, and a tall TASTY brew. The best part of it all was the cost again, such a small price for such a large amount of food. I am truely confident that the price of our beers in America would have equaled the sum we payed in total for the meal. After this we retired back again to the hostel, to shower, nap and cool down. I believe after this we just went out and did a little evening walking, taking advantage of the SLIGHT temperature difference.
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