Day 40: Beijing: Parliament of Sorts and a Train

Today was my last day in Beijing, and unfortunately it was a Monday, so almost everything was closed. Luckily, the Great Hall of the People was open - the building used by the government to set agendas and make laws.

The building was really quite beautiful, with a room designed for each province. My personal favourites were Shanghai which looked like it was straight from a Star Wars set, and a painting in the Hunan province room.

After the parliament visit, it was time to catch a train. It took about 14 hours, but it was actually pretty great! Shared the cabin with a family of 4, but they were all well-behaved, and in the morning, for just $4AUD I got a coffee and chocolate cake brought straight to my bed.

Tomorrow, Xi'an xx

Day 39: Beijing: A Day Off

Today was great. I honestly did nothing all day then went out and got some street food with a couple of people I met at the hostel. 

Also got to see snow for the first time here, walking home in it!! 

Tomorrow, a long train ride xx

Day 38: Beijing: 798 Art District

Today I had a bit of an artsy day. Up in the north east of Beijing, there used to be a big industrial site with warehouses and manufacturing, but over time, the area became disused, and the artists moved it.

It was about 4 blocks of random warehouses and derelict buildings, all covered in graffiti and falling apart, but inside were the most amazing galleries.

Even some of the graffiti was pretty awesome! It was cool walking through an old, disused building, cracked and crumbling, just to stumble upon a white, brightly lit room decorated with incredible pieces of art.

Out on the street, people were selling their wares as they made them, but no one was forcing you to buy, like in the normal streets. There was also a bit of a trend towards some of the art being quite anti-China which I thought was odd, like statues of kids with face masks and a headless Chairman Mao.

I ended up spending all day there, about 6 hours, just meandering through the maze of rooms and hallways! Loved it.

Tomorrow, nothing, because I officially have a cold and no voice xx

Day 37: Beijing: Mao's Mausoleum, The Forbidden City, and Parks

Today was really full on. By 7am, I had already gone through 5 different security checkpoints and was waiting in line with hundreds of other people with a yellow flower to visit the final resting place of Chairman Mao.

It was one of the weirdest things I've ever done. Despite his death in 1976, his body was embalmed and is on display even today. There was a VERY strict no camera policy though, so I really can't explain how odd it was.

The Maosoleum was in the heart of Tienanmen Square though, so it was a good place to start my adventures for the day.

After getting my bags out of the security check in, and going through another 3 security checks, I was finally inside The Forbidden City.

I wish I had spent longer inside there, because there were just so many amazing buildings and palaces, and even with the four hours I spent wondering around the place, I've checked the map, and I missed an entire section!

I did get to see some 8000 year old pottery though which was in pretty great condition, considering. I really loved the whole area. 

In order to get some photos of myself when I'm travelling alone, I've been offering to take photos of other people, then getting them to do the same for me. This is really annoying, because I put in a lot of effort to make sure they look good, where they just don't care, so they have a fantastic photo, while I'm cropped out of half the photos they take!!

Also, I really love how every statue of an animal in Asia seems to have a dragon head though. No matter the animal, always dragon.

The other end of the Forbidden City is right up north, and there are a couple of parks there that I just couldn't say no to going into. They were only about 50c, and they did not disappoint!!

The first park was Jingshan and it was really beautiful. The view from the top was incredible, despite the haze from the smog. There were some women doing some dance classes too, which was just adorable.

It is also the dead centre of Beijing and has a giant gold Buddha in the main pavillion.

The second park, Beihai was also really nice, but to be honest, the white pagoda was prettier from a distance. The iceskating on the frozen lake was really cute though. Training them up for the 2022 Winter Olympics (seriously, they are being held in Beijing, and there were signs everywhere advertising it).

The road there was somewhat perilous though, as it was lined with people selling nuts of all kinds. One woman in particular tried to give me a free sample and seemed very insulted when i said no and quickly ran away!

Tomorrow. the 798 Art District xxxx 

Day 36: Beijing: Temple of Heaven

Today I planned on doing nothing, because I think I'm getting a cold, but by 1pm, I was ready to go, so I headed to the Temple of Heaven.

It was a huge area, and everything in it was just so old and beautiful. It was kind of eerie thinking that it was originally used as a sacrificial alter area. 

There were several different things within the main gates, and all needed different tickets, but I just got a pass to everything so I would be able to check it all out.

The main temple building was incredible. It was much bigger than I expected, and being a round building was something new. The gardens were a real standout though, with Cypress trees all over the place that were over 500 years old. It would have been prettier in spring or summer when the flowers were out though.

Also, the air quality was a bit worse today, so I wore one of the naff face masks to not only keep the air out, but to keep warm too.

Tomorrow, a proper big day xx

Day 35: The Great Wall of China, and some Temples

Today I had a VERY big day. I got up nice and early, and went to the Great Wall of China, and I have to say, I am very impressed. It really is great.

Instead of going on a tour, we just caught a bus to the wall, and paid our entrance and sliding car fee, which I think worked out really well for everyone!!

We started the day with a sliding car ride up to the wall itself which was like a mini roller coaster, and it was seriously freezing. With the wind chill factor, it was less than negative 20 degrees.

It was really beautiful though. One of the greatest views of my whole trip. It was kind of surreal standing on something so iconic.

The sliding car down was awesome too, downhill with turns and stuff. I think our ride driver liked us because he let us go pretty fast around corners!

For some reason, there were also some sunbears, just chilling in an enclosure at the bottom of the wall. We still have no idea what they were doing there...

After the wall, a few of us were still feeling adventurous, and so we headed to the Lama Temple and Confucius Temples. They were nearby to each other,  so we wizzed through both, but we were freezing freezing cold, so just headed back. 

The Lama Temple was quite cool, as they gave you a box of incense to burn at various locations around the area. The smell of incense is still in my gloves!

The Confucian Temple had a real feeling of learning about it, with ancient trees and stone carvings everywhere. 

Tomorrow, the Forbidden City xx

Day 34: Beijing: Summer Palace in Winter

I got up bright and early this morning (as in before the sun) to try and make the most of the day. I'm not sure how I feel about walking around here at night yet, so figured it was better to get my hours in while it was light!

I headed to the Summer Palace, one of the biggest attractions in Beijing, but on the way got caught up in a huge crowd of hundreds of people who all looked like they were headed somewhere interesting.

Turns out it was a weird sunrise flag rise in Tienanmen Square. There were hundreds and hundreds of people, and dozens of soldiers and police, and the whole thing was over in less than 5 minutes. Still not sure what it was all about, but the coordination of the troops doing the flag raising was incredible, and the sunrise made everything look beautiful.

After that small detour, I headed to the Summer Palace. It was bloody cold today too, only negative 8 when I got out of bed! So everything there was frozen, including the giant lake.

I got a ticket to get into the park, plus all of the buildings in it, and it was totally worth it. I ended up spending my whole day there!

The park itself was really nice, and had a lot of people doing group activities that I would have thought was weird in Australia, but here, someone doing a choreographed dance with badminton rackets, or a sword seemed pretty cool.

The first place within the park I went to was the Summer Palace. The building was HUGE! Following on from that, was the very literally named "Garden of Virtue and Harmony"

Inside that area was a whole three storied opera stage, with intricate detailing and seperate seating where nobles would be allowed to sit and watch the opera. There were a lot of oddly named places in the park, my favourite being "The Temple for Excess Moisture". Yep

One of the coolest places I saw was the Tower of Buddhist Incense. It's a huge 5 storied building up on a hill above everything. You can see it from just about anywhere in the park If  If I was ever going to have a religious awakening, It would have been there. Inside there was a huge 12 faced, 24 armed Buddha, and it was spectacular, surrounded by flowers and brightly coloured walls.

The next room was even more impressive, dimly lit, with thousands of small Buddhas inlaid in the walls, and 3 huge golden statues looming out from the darkness.

All of this was instantly ruined by the overpriced gift store just around the corner, still in the same building... Pretty cool none-the-less, but no epiphany.

Next I went for a walk around the huge lake. It's around 8km around, but what I didn't take into account was how cold it would be with the wind coming across the water. I have never been so cold in my whole life!

Regardless, I made it around, and seeing people skate on the frozen lake, with centuries old buildings as a backdrop was unforgettable.

In the middle of the lake is an island with a single bridge leading to it. I didn't stay long, because I was a popsicle by this point, but the bridge in particular was amazing. 

To try and warm up a bit, I went into the Wenchang Gallery. It wasn't massive, but they had some artifacts from over 3000 years ago, which was pretty crazy.

Before I left, I headed to the final destination, Suzhou Street - a street built entirely on the river's edge. The colours and the frozen lake were beautiful, and I loved it. I was only slightly scared of falling in from the narrow footpath.

Tomorrow, either the Wall or the Square xx

Day 33: Beijing: Planes and a New Hostel

Today it was time to say goodbye to yet another country, and say hello to China.

The flight was good, and customs was one of the easiest to get through I've had so far. My accommodation seems pretty cool, and in an awesome area!! Here are just a few small pictures I took from the subway to my accommodation.

Not gonna lie, I got a little bit lost, but I'm here safe now!!

Tomorrow, a Summer Palace in winter xx

Day 32: Seoul: Hiking up Bukhansan

I had an excellent day today. After a good nights sleep, I got up at around 6am and headed to the largest national park in Seoul - Bukhansan.

I didn't really know what to expect, but when I got off the train and everyone else was wearing full hiking gear, I figured I was going to be out of my depths. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, but it did take me about 6 hours to walk through and over the massive mountain fortress. At a minimum guess, I think I walked around 20km, and got about 600m up.

The hardest part was that most of the signs had no English, so I had to double back a few times throughout the hike where I took a wrong turn and ran into a giant wall of stone or river.

Covering the peaks of the mountain is a huge wall, Bukhansanseong. It was designed as a fortress for if Seoul was ever under attack, and while most of the buildings are gone, the wall and many of the huge gates are still intact.

Most of the creeks and waterways were at least partially frozen over, but at one of the small river crossings, the whole waterfall was frozen!

I had lots of chats with locals too, as there were no tourists in the area, just avid walkers, some of whom spoke some English and wanted to have a chat. One elderly man in particular practically yelled me up one really rough climbing part, telling me that I will be "healthy at the top". He was wrong, all I was, was puffed.

Tomorrow, China xx

Day 31: Seoul: Changed Plans, and Street Food

I'm not going to lie - today did not go to plan at all.

I was meant to be going on a group tour to the Demilitarised Zone and Joint Security Area between North and South Korea. I was mean to be getting picked up at 7am, so being the prompt person I am got there at 6:30.

At 8am I finally caved and called the company, who told me it had been called off, and no one had thought to tell me. GREAT.

Instead, I went back to bed, started the day again 2 hours later and went out for a last lunch with some of my Seoul friends. 

The thing about travelling, is that things like this are going to happen, and you kind of just have to roll with the punches.

After lunch, I decided I wanted to go out and see some more of the city, despite being in a bad mood from the morning. I went to Insa-dong, a major shopping street known for its art and streetfood. 

Being a sucker for a free cup of tea, I spent a few hours roaming galleries and small shops, and all of the alleyways around the main street.

There was a heap of street food too, and thanks to a friend I made here, I have a very helpful "I have a nut allergy" phrase to show people on my phone now, so I got some delicious stuff.

After the shops, I ventured north a little to Bukchon Hanok Village. Between the two main palaces in Seoul, it looks like it came straight out of the 1400s in parts. It is still a residential area, and there were a heap of cool cafes and modernisation people had done to their homes and shops.

Tomorrow, some nature xx