China pt. 2: Bronchitis anyone?

Day two on our Beijing whirlwind may have been the most action packed. We started out with a trip through Tienanmen Square, then walked up one of the popular shopping streets where we dined on the infamous Peking Duck and bought some Chinese treats. After a rest at the hostel, we made our way out to see the "Nest" and the "Water Cube" which hosted the 2008 Olympics. We wrapped it all up with dinner on the sidewalk near our hostel.

I need one of these...

...and one of these...

Mao.

Protecting the People.

Tienanmen square is part of the large historical complex of the Chinese government-pre-revolution. It is bordered by the Forbidden City and various museums, one of which is the GIGANTIC National Museum of China. We were lucky enough to learn it is closed for renovation.

And they're off!

Can you see the head?

Duck is one of the more famous cuisines of Beijing. As I'm told in Korea, duck meat has a water-soluble grease, which means the meat isn't so bad for the arteries (I haven't done any fact checking on this). I find duck meat is best consumed in small portions because there's not much worse than the digestion process breaking down a gut full of dark duck meat. Needless to say, we were a bit hesitant to try the Peking Duck, but as they say, when in China... We found a well known restaurant to give it a try, and it turned out to be great throughout the whole food to...you know...process. On top of that, it was delicious. The traditional way to eat it is to wrap the meat in a thin pancake with plum sauce and cucumber.

Chinese taco.

2012 is my year.

Vacant nest.

Bubbly.

Cube.

The Olympic Park in Beijing is a little bit off the beaten path for subway users. From our hostel, we had to ride four different trains to get there. It was certainly worth the trip. I was wondering before we arrived whether or not anyone would be there. I think at some point in a city's post-Olympic glory, the stadiums decline from a tourist destination to just another place where people go to watch and play sports. At this point, this park is still a place to see, and it seems as though Beijingers have taken to use the area as a nice evening outing spot for the family.

Chow.

Being a city of around 22,000,000 people, many of which operating unfiltered small engines, the air around Beijing can be a bit difficult to swallow at times. Throughout our stay, the air was definitely difficult to swallow. Even after acclimating to Seoul pollution (aside from yellow dust), Beijing left much to be desired. It made scenic photographs impossible to capture. Also, the lungs of one of our group members gave an adamant protest to the air quality and we found our selves on day three purchasing an inhaler at a drug store. Luckily, in communistic countries, prescriptions aren't required for the right to purchase regular medications, and second mortgages aren't required to afford those medications. People's Republic of China - 1 : United States of America - 0.

China pt. 1: Won for Yuan

One of the conveniences of having a job as a teacher in Korea, aside from the time off, is the proximity to a variety of other countries. Living on the West Coast of the great USA, the closest two countries are Canada and Mexico. Both worthy places to travel, but one is a little bit too much like home, and the other is currently under some kind of siege.

The unfortunate part of living so close to so many countries is the fact that one must acquire airfare; to acquire airfare, one must work; when one is working, one has no time for travel (and can't live in Korea according to the visa requirements). Fortunately, I (the proverbial "we") acquired plane tickets to Beijing and spent a little summer break in the land of the rising...consumption.

The following photos are from my (the proverbial "our") first day in town.

Rickshaw!

Cheaper than water.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Assistance.

Not Korea, but still Asia.

Too much stuff.

Starbux.

...here to Tienanmen Square.

This isn't D.C. either.

Mask anyone?

Standard residence.

I think the really interesting thing about Beijing as I ("we") discussed throughout our time there was the lack of a communistic vibe. The people don't seem tied down to any forced ideology, capitalism appears rampant, and there are obvious separations of class. Before we arrived there, I expected to see continuous reminders of the presence of government through propagandized advertisements, uniform buildings and government vehicles, and an excessive presence of military. None of these assumptions seemed apparent throughout the visit which could either; disprove the stigma Americans have of communism, or prove that I'm ignorant and government control doesn't have to been as obvious (see: Tibet, Facebook, Google).

Regardless of what Beijing has to offer, it can't be representative of the whole country. Assuming that would be like saying Portland and Detroit are the same. With that said, there could be-and probably are-more obvious social issues in places where most tourists don't go i.e. where ever all the crap is manufactured.

All political issues aside, Beijing is a cool place to see. The food is great, there is a plethora of cultural artifacts to scour, there are bikes everywhere (watch out Phil's mom), and once you're there, everything is dirt cheap.

More to come.