Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 1, Beijing here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 2, The Great Wall here.
My
Crazy China Trip
Day 3
The Forbidden City
This
morning I booked a tour of the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple
of Heaven, plus a free lunch. Never pass up a free lunch, that’s my motto.
I got picked up by a bus full of tourists and
off we went.
On the way in to the Forbidden City there
were stalls selling souveniers and postcards.
I decided to buy a set of postcards of Beijing. ‘How much?’ I asked. ‘40
yuan.’ said the shop assistant. ‘Tai gui
le.’ I said, ‘Too much’. My sister’s friend taught me that. Ok, 35 she
said. I decided 10 yuan was fair. 10 I said, 30, 10 25, 10. No 25 she said. I
said 10 and she shook her head. I decided to leave it and walked away from the
counter. After I was out of sight I heard a shout. “Ok, 10 yaun” she said. I
went back and she was laughing. As I walked through the gate I saw a
Singaporean lady from the bus. She had some postcards too. ‘3 yuan.’ she said.
I thought mine looked better.
The palace was impressive. So many
great old buildings. I liked the yellow tiled roofs and little animal statues
they put on them. There was a big dragon wall too, to protect the emperor.
At once stage I wandered between two
buildings looking for some good angles to take photos. I climbed over a little
fence and then I saw a group of people standing around watching a kung fu fight. I walked up to them and tried to stop the
fight. They were surprised and a bit angry. Then everyone laughed. It turns out
it was just filming for a TV program. I felt terrible but everyone thought it
was funny and smiled at me. They let me stay for a while and watch. I even a
got a photo of the stars getting ready for a scene. The English actress was really
pretty and friendly too. I hope I get to see it on TV one day.
When I went back to find my tour group they
had gone. I went on through the palace wondering if I had fallen behind until I
reached the exit. Then I went back to find them but they’d disappeared. I
looked and looked through lots of the old buildings. There are only 9,999 rooms
in the Forbidden City so they had to be somewhere but I just couldn’t find
them.
Eventually I walked all the way to the exit
again and there was still no sign of them. We were supposed to go to the Summer
Palace and the Temple of Heaven. I knew the Summer Palace was a long way away
so I decided I would meet them later at the Temple of Heaven.
I went out of the gate and found a
taxi. That was easy. I was almost trampled by drivers trying to get me into
their cars – and I went to the Temple of Heaven. It was great.
The building is round and it has blue roof. And
there is a curved wall behind it where you can whispers from the opposite side
of the building. After a while I needed to go to the toilet. There was no
toilet paper in there but luckily I had my own supply. My sister gave me lots
of little packets of tissues before I left which were perfect for the job.
I took lots of photos and waited all
afternoon for my group. But they never came.
I don’t know what happened. I hope they’re not still looking for me!
Eventually they started to close the gates so
I had to go. Outside I saw a rickshaw driver. He asked me where I wanted to go.
I said my hotel name and he said a price. I said ok and off we went. He must
have been mind reader because he decided to take short-cut through some
hutongs. I asked him to slow down so I could take photos and he stopped to let
me see inside one of the courtyard houses. I was pleased I got to see the
hutongs after all, even if it was by accident.
When I got back I was exhausted and hungry,
since I didn’t have my free tour lunch. I waved to the lady in the hotel travel
office. She looked surprised to see me.
Since it was my last night in Beijing I
decided I would eat the famous Beijing roast duck for dinner. I got a taxi and used my phrase book to ask the
driver to take me to a duck restaurant. After a half an hour ride to who knows
where I got suspicious. The taxi meter said 100 yuan already. He said it was a
ring-road. I reckon he was just going round in circles. When we stopped for
some traffic lights I gave him 50 yuan and ran. After about an hour and half
walking I found a KFC. I decided Chinese fried chicken and roast duck had to be
pretty much the same. It was delicious.
Before I went back to hotel I
watched I watched the flag lowering ceremony in Tian’anmen Square where some
soldiers march up and take down the flag each night at sunset. There were lots
of people watching. It’s very popular. I started out near the front of the
crowd but people kept pushing in front of me and I ended up near the back.
Lucky I’m tall.
Some students were there watching
the flag lowering too. Two girls said hello to me. They told they were planning
to go to Canada to study at university next year. They invited me to go to
McDonalds to chat. I wasn’t sure about them at first so I thought about it for
a few seconds but they seemed nice and so I said I didn’t want tea but wouldn’t
mind a chat. They said ok. We had a nice time talking. They spoke good English
so I think they will do fine in Canada. I hope they like maple syrup.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 1, Beijing here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 2, The Great Wall here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 4-5, Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors, here.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
********
MORE STORIES:
Beijing Private Eyes - Drama, Romance, Karaoke, Kidnap! A foreign teacher in Beijing meets an attractive stranger and offers to help, then things get complicated. (A long story in 8 parts)
Tell him he's dreaming - An engineer has an environmental epiphany but things don't work out as planned.
Trial by Fire - When a woman in Tibet self-immolates two witnesses face a dangerous dilemma. (4 parts)
Arrested Development - A development consultant in China finds life getting out of control. [Rated R]
Love at First Flight - A foreign teacher arrives in China and falls in love with a local, but the path of true love is anything but smooth. (5 parts)
Entries in the post-industrial / peak oil short story competition:
NEWS - My story 'Promised Land' has been selected for the forthcoming anthology "After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis". You can read the other entries here.
A previous set of stories was published in 2012 in a book entitled After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, available from Amazon (Amazon) or in Australia from Fishpond (Fishpond).
Stories set in China:
Winds of Change – In 2022 a migrant worker struggles to realise his dreams and fulfil his family obligations.
Outside In – It's 2050, the country and economy have changed. A recycler studies for an exam to improve his prospects, and an indentured servant plans her escape.
Seeds of Time – (Sequel to Outside In). In 2055 rural China prospers again after a period of dramatic changes, then things are complicated by a strange visitor and a hidden object.
Stories set in Australia: A North Queensland Trilogy
Robots on Mars – 2025. A space-mad city boy adjusts to life in the country and tries to solve a mystery. (Note: no actual robots or Martians involved)
Promised Land – (Sequel to Robots on Mars). It’s 2050 and development threatens the rural district. Is it what they really need and if not, how can they stop it?
Heart of Glass - (Sequel to Promised Land). The year is 2099, high school graduates prepare to step into adulthood and the community prepares to celebrate the turn of a new century.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
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