10:37 PM
Monday, March 30, 2009
Day 2: 30 March 2009
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An early rise and shine to day 2 of our GC trip and we were greeted to a delicious buffet breakfast. Many students were caught helping themselves to multiple helpings. "We need the energy anyways" they would say. However, to my surprise, there was no chili sauce. we tried asking for chili sauce and got some other type of chili instead. I guess some of us would have to live without our beloved maggi chili sauce for this trip.
After a bus ride and a short walk, we found ourselves in Tian Anmen Square. The crowd at the huge square made it look small. With so many people there, it was no surprise that you could find many street peddlers around selling their goods. We took lots of photos including a group one, hopeful not to catch the stare of one the many guards stationed at the square. What stuck many of us as odd, was that there were like 4 or more guards guarding a picture of Mao Tse-Tung. We wondered why they were standing guard in front of a picture. The tour guide could be found promoting the group photo at the square for 50 yuan a-piece. He was busy encouraging people to buy 2 copies so that he could get a bigger commission. (we think)
Walking under the picture of Mao Tse-Tung, we entered the Forbidden City. Even with such a mysterious name, the Forbidden City didnt seem forbidden in the least bit. Huge crowds with many cameras could be seen entering together with us. It was a huge effort on the part of the tour guides and tutors to keep the group together. A few of us found the Forbidden City overhyped and not much of a big deal. It was overly touristic & commercialised for some of us. We had hoped to be inspired by the charm & history of the place but wound up leaving there feeling a wee bit empty inside. This was another huge clash with our pre-conceived notion about the place.
Lunch stop was at a restaurant near the great wall. The food was not too bad but it was not good either. The huge shop below the restaurant was obviously targeted at tourists. All the ornaments and items for sale were so dangerously put on the edge that it looked like 1 touch would send everything crashing to the ground. It looked much like a ploy to force people who break stuff to pay for them. One of our classmates even accidentally dropped something and was very quick to rush to the scene to look for any damage. It was as though she was purposely waiting there to see who would end up dropping something. To our luck, and roy's smart thinking, there was no damage done. We were starting to feel the temperature drop. Could tell we were near the great wall - away from the city.
After a bus ride and a short walk, we found ourselves in Tian Anmen Square. The crowd at the huge square made it look small. With so many people there, it was no surprise that you could find many street peddlers around selling their goods. We took lots of photos including a group one, hopeful not to catch the stare of one the many guards stationed at the square. What stuck many of us as odd, was that there were like 4 or more guards guarding a picture of Mao Tse-Tung. We wondered why they were standing guard in front of a picture. The tour guide could be found promoting the group photo at the square for 50 yuan a-piece. He was busy encouraging people to buy 2 copies so that he could get a bigger commission. (we think)
Walking under the picture of Mao Tse-Tung, we entered the Forbidden City. Even with such a mysterious name, the Forbidden City didnt seem forbidden in the least bit. Huge crowds with many cameras could be seen entering together with us. It was a huge effort on the part of the tour guides and tutors to keep the group together. A few of us found the Forbidden City overhyped and not much of a big deal. It was overly touristic & commercialised for some of us. We had hoped to be inspired by the charm & history of the place but wound up leaving there feeling a wee bit empty inside. This was another huge clash with our pre-conceived notion about the place.
Lunch stop was at a restaurant near the great wall. The food was not too bad but it was not good either. The huge shop below the restaurant was obviously targeted at tourists. All the ornaments and items for sale were so dangerously put on the edge that it looked like 1 touch would send everything crashing to the ground. It looked much like a ploy to force people who break stuff to pay for them. One of our classmates even accidentally dropped something and was very quick to rush to the scene to look for any damage. It was as though she was purposely waiting there to see who would end up dropping something. To our luck, and roy's smart thinking, there was no damage done. We were starting to feel the temperature drop. Could tell we were near the great wall - away from the city.
Our next stop was definitely the highlight of our trip - THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! Though some of us were exhausted from the climb to the top, the experience was indeed fulfilling and you could tell that by the look on everyone's faces. This part of the trip was a personal favorite for many students. Unlike the Forbidden City, the Great Wall was not overly commercialized or touristic. However, some students did encounter some rude sales staff at the gift shop. The climb to the top was fun yet physically straining. But through determination, perseverance & lots of encouragement, the few who did climb all the way to the top were greeted with some of the best views of China. The Great Wall really left an impression on me about how hard working the Chinese people must have been in order to build such a magnificent monument.
We were exhausted, but the tour had to go on! so we grudgingly alighted at our next stop, the Tea shop below the Lao She Tea House. We watched an interesting demonstration on how to make and drink tea. We also learnt about the different types of tea and a lot of us ended up buying some back. The tour guide must have earned a lot of commission! We were impressed with the quality of the english translations that accompanied the demontstration.
Next was dinner. With all the physical effort needed today, we were all starving. and the tour guide didn't disappoint us, bringing us to probably the best meal of the trip. We were treated to a western food buffet. However, the tour guide said this was one of the more expensive meals...but TOTALLY worth it!
We had a mini-debrief at the hotel after dinner and you could tell the staff were unhappy about opening the breakfast room without any prior booking. We thought they would have been a bit more flexible and have better customer service.
Our after-party plans included a trip to Wallmart, one of the nearby supermarkets. We thought it would be similar to the Wall Mart in the USA, but it was huge in its own right. There we even found tortoises on sale! Some of us were quite appalled at there being tortoises in a supermarket for sale. Not your usual sight in Singapore. There was also a lot of variety in the products found there, mostly international brands. Didnt feel like a China supermarket, but an international one. The staff were also quite impolite, rushing customers at closing time and putting their personal interests first. We were also tricked by the price of the bananans. Reading it as 3yuan for the entire bunch, we eagerly grabbed one only to find out at the cashier that it was actually 3yuan for 100grams.
Nights!
