Beijing Exploration!

Checked into the hostel at half 7 and sorted my stuff, sorted a train ticket to Shanghai for saturday but unfortuntely they only had a ticket in the morning! This means I loose a day in beijing and gain one in Shanghai, not really ideal but I need to stick to it or risk missing my flight, so that is the way it goes, soft seat again and I have a nasty suspicion it is a K train, meaning sloooow and another 23 hours! I really really hope not!!
I also booked a great wall tour for tomorrow, I was going to do the 4 hour hike but found it that it was shut yesterday as they are building a ski resort there and have closed the middle section, ruining the point in walking along and not back! I instead booked a slightly more touristy section but that is ok, nothing I can do about that one! If i came back with someone else I think i would try for the illegal sections currently completely not touristy! fun! but the 50gbp taxi between one is a bit too expensive, and nobody in my room seems up for it, one of them is a really old guy and I havnt met the others yet!

With all of it booked I borrowed an umbrella and a map and headed out into the thunderstorms! fun times! By the time I got to tianamen square the rain had stopped and I got some amazing photos with a miniture lake taking up a lot of the surface and reflecting the buildings. It is the worlds largest gathering place and the size of 70 football pitches apparently, I think they said around 300,000 people could find standing, but dont quote me on that, although it really is huge! Decided to skip seeing Mao as I have seen lenin and the hassle of no bags and cameras means I have to trust someone else to look after all my stuff, not likely!

I walked around the square and then walked through the giant gate into the forbidden palace. That place was amazing! so so big I had no idea, and walking around imagining what it was like as an emporer wandering around....truly staggering!
The palace is just shy of 1km long, and 700m wide, so a really huge place! more photos taken im glad to say!

After walking down the palace and up the hill at the end (protecting the palace from the evil winds) I jumped on a random bus just for fun and ended up in the main shopping street, stopped for a coffee and to eat something at last!

From there I headed on the subway to the temple of heaven which is where the emporer would come to pray for a strong harvest and at winter solstice to make sacrafices, it was cool to see but i think I have had my share of temples now!!

Its funny how the chinese flow together through things, the main path was pretty busy but head down and parallel path and it was empty and very scenic!

Everything in Beijing is so spread out that it was too late to head to the other temple, and I had lost a bit of motivation anyway, so I headed to the Silk market, a nicely named place that in fact sells designer knock offs at whatever you can barter to prices! I dont want to carry any more clothes but enjoyed wandering around for a bit.

Headed back during the rush hour to the hostel and gonna finally get a decent nights sleep and a shower as I have to be up early to meet my minibus at 7am to head to the wall, also need to head out and find some food for tonight and tomorrow so will do that soon!

Hope to get up early on saturday to visit the summer palace before it gets too busy, then head back down the center and meet some girls I met in Xian that said they would show me around! apparently there is a technology market near the silk market but I will have to google for that!

Still a bit short on presents for people, maybe a pencil will have to sufice! Money situation is ok I think, really should check I suppose! but hope I can manage without withdrawing any more cash!

sooo tired now so think I will head next door for a beer, I think so far beijing has been the place I have liked the least, but maybe that is a mix of not meeting any cool people and being really tired, tomorrow may change all that although my legs hurt already!