Day 2 - Beijing

Waking up to the sound of a downpour on your first vacation morning can be a bit of a downer, so I did the only thing my headache would let me think to do, I went back to sleep.

By the time I finally got up and moving, the rain was coming to an end, so I dressed quickly and headed out. I started walking, figuring that once I found some breakfast I would just hop in a cab and save myself the 6 mile walk to the Vietnam embassy (to get my visa). I'll never know why I didn't just stop somewhere, but I just kept walking and walking. I guess I was feeling empowered by the blue skies starting to peek out from behind the rain. The weather was great today.

On the way back I stopped for some snacks (hadn't eaten since the night before) and McDonald's. It's been over a year since I've eaten at McD's, and the only reason I decided to break my streak was that a friend told me, "McDonalds' in China are AMAZING!" Turns out a Big Mac in China is the same as a Big Mac at home, but maybe half the price.

On my way walking back to town I was approached by a few college students. The first guy told me he was studying Art and English, and wanted to know if I could come see an exhibit his school was putting on nearby. I respectfully declined citing urgent errands, to which replied, "Okay. Thank you. I wish that you could be a more handsome man."

*sigh*

The next student that came up to me I decided to entertain for a while, lest I be insulted again. Since I didn't really have any place to be, I went by her school's exhibit to see what all the fuss was about. She and a friend showed me a lot of paintings, both traditional and modern styles, and explained a lot about the art and the meanings. It was quite informative. They then, of course, asked me if I wanted to buy any of the paintings. I respectfully declined (a few times), paid their art many well-deserved compliments, and set out on my way again...ego intact.

I hadn't planned on seeing the Forbidden City today, but I found myself standing out front with two hours until closing time, so I figured I should go ahead and see what I could. Now the palace is truly amazing. It's vast, and beautiful, and the first 5 minutes were awe inspring. Now probably this would have been a mind blowing experience if 1) there hadn't been tour groups by the busload walking in front of eachother's photo ops, and 2) I hadn't seen any of the Korean palaces (and with a fraction of the crowds). The Forbidden City has a lot of size and mystique that the Korean palaces don't, but the layout and the visuals are similar, and I found myself breezing through a lot of it (mostly because of the crowds). I did, however, really enjoy wandering around the courtyards and alleyways off of the main tour route. There were fewer people and I was finally able to imagine it as it might have been hundreds of years ago: me taking a break from my kung-fu practice and poetry writing, playfully chasing concubines (played by Zhang Ziyi, or course) from courtyard to courtyard. Then I ruined the illusion by having a coffee at the Starbucks inside the Forbidden City, replacing Zhang Ziyi with a Grande Caramel Macchiato. Bad move.