Amber's Journal: Day 2

Toto...we ain't in Kansas no more!  My first impression of China was that it was well...kind of like Chinatown...but *ahem* way bigger.  At first I saw a lot of modern stuff, just with Chinese writing--so yeah, not unfamiliar. 

The minute the bus pulled up at the hutong (traditional neighborhood) area, that's when it hit me that I really was in China.  This area of Beijing is like a movie set in parts...but then you see messy/worn parts and people walking around in modern clothes and you realize...this isn't a set or museums. It's people's homes--just very old ones! 

The first part of our day was a pedicab tour of the neighborhood, crafts, and learning how to spin Chinese yo-yos (diablos).  I loved this tour for many of the same reasons I loved our canal tour in London--I got to see a part of a city I think I'd never have found on my own!  Even their duck pond was amazing--they build a whole duck-sized traditional hutong for the duckies! (Happy lucky ducks...and hey, no duck sauce for THEM!)

Afterwards we had an afternoon off...so time for exploration!  We got a little confused on directions while walking to the Temple of the Heavens...normally getting lost is bad.  This however was an afternoon of discovery!  We found: a knitting store, a Disney language-learning place (of course we chatted with some of the people from there!), guys on ridiculously overloaded bicycles/mopeds, a huge city wall complete with castle-like fortifications...and a "soy sauce" shop.  Their sign said "luxury soy sauce" complete with splendid jars in the windows...but even adjusted for exchange, the prices were astronomical!  Later our guides figured out that it wasn't a soy sauce shop...the sign was badly translated...it was an antique store!  Pity--I'd have been intrigued to taste a soy sauce that cost as much as a car!

While we were at the Temple of the Heavens a couple fun things happened.  Last time we were at Disneyworld David took my picture at the Chinese pavilion which has a smaller-scale replica of the Temple.  I brought (almost) the same outfit and re-created my pose in front of the real thing! (Yes...long term geeky planning!)

We also had our first brush of "fame" here!  We were taking pictures standing in a lane of the Temple gardens when I realized an old lady was taking pictures too...and I was standing in her shot.  I bowed and began stepping out of her shot...and she moved me back in, then moved her daughter into the shot and snapped us both with the Temple in the background. I was a bit confused by this...and then it happened several more times on the Temple grounds with other people!  Finally...it dawned on me we're unusual here!  Later our guides explained that people from the Chinese countryside who come to the big cities may only have seen foreigners on tv...so they're very intrigued with us!  Steven and Jennae told us the most popular foreigners are very pale skinned (check), very tall (check) and have exotic colors of hair (very check!)  David and I were swiftly dubbed "Brad and Angelina" by the rest of the tour--EVERYBODY had pictures taken of them...but I think David's height and my bright hair color made us special darlings for the shutterbugs!