Saturday, November 18, 2006
5 November, 2006
We started walking out the hotel and we quickly did a u-turn when we felt the temperature outside. We got the gloves and beanies and it was absolutely freezing. Probably about 5 degrees + a gale force icy wind. We were on a tour for the day with Margot and Vikki and we started at the Temple Of Heaven. This is a massive park with beautiful temple halls that are round at the top and the bases are square derived from the ancient belief that heaven is round and the earth is square. Walking through the park was so green and lush and we walked past people doing their Thai Chi exercises, ladies dancing - some with fans - and couples dancing to music. It was quite strange but really cute. Our guide rushed us through and we were all quite upset to be leaving so quickly. Next thing we knew we were in the bus heading off to a silk factory. This was interesting but here we seemed to have plenty of time and there was suddenly no rush - ha ha (were we back in India???). Our next stop was the Forbidden City – in the old days nobody was allowed to enter except for the Emperor hence the name. The halls were beautiful and ornately decorated and most halls / rooms were barricaded so one could only peek in. I guess that is why they still look so good. There is a massive courtyard that is totally barren - no tree or plant to be seen - why? Because there are 18 layers of bricks underneath the surface for security measures for the Emperor. Quite something! After lunch we stopped at a Pearl Factory- yip- just like India. We then headed to the Summer Palace. The kunming Lake surrounds the temples, halls and pavilions and there is a beautiful marble boat that was destroyed by the Anglo-Saxons and restored again. A long corridor with many different paintings runs besides the lake for about 500m and each painting is different. From here there are beautiful views back across the lake to the 17 arched bridge. The area that surrounds the Palace is all park and trees and one can only imagine how wonderful this area is in summer. It was so freaking cold and windy that when we got there the boat wasn’t even running (across the lake). The lake looked more like the wild ocean than a calm mass of water. The Emperors and Royalty would reside in the Summer Palace in the hot seasons when the Forbidden City was unbearable in the heat. I guess we are lucky that there was no snow- it could have been worse. We ended our tour at a tea house tasting a few healthy herbal teas and since Rich is such a tea lover I had 2 cups with every tasting. It was a good day but I think that if one had the time at least half a day in each place is required. We said goodbye to our friends and had an interesting dinner. The beef was good because it was our own made up order, but then we tried some chicken HK style - loads of garlic. We had spare ribs - really fatty! And, I ordered chrysanthemum tea and it came with the flowers(half the garden) floating all over the show in a jar one would use for jam - interesting. The manageress had a lovely hairstyle and haircut so at least I knew where I would be heading for my haircut!
We started walking out the hotel and we quickly did a u-turn when we felt the temperature outside. We got the gloves and beanies and it was absolutely freezing. Probably about 5 degrees + a gale force icy wind. We were on a tour for the day with Margot and Vikki and we started at the Temple Of Heaven. This is a massive park with beautiful temple halls that are round at the top and the bases are square derived from the ancient belief that heaven is round and the earth is square. Walking through the park was so green and lush and we walked past people doing their Thai Chi exercises, ladies dancing - some with fans - and couples dancing to music. It was quite strange but really cute. Our guide rushed us through and we were all quite upset to be leaving so quickly. Next thing we knew we were in the bus heading off to a silk factory. This was interesting but here we seemed to have plenty of time and there was suddenly no rush - ha ha (were we back in India???). Our next stop was the Forbidden City – in the old days nobody was allowed to enter except for the Emperor hence the name. The halls were beautiful and ornately decorated and most halls / rooms were barricaded so one could only peek in. I guess that is why they still look so good. There is a massive courtyard that is totally barren - no tree or plant to be seen - why? Because there are 18 layers of bricks underneath the surface for security measures for the Emperor. Quite something! After lunch we stopped at a Pearl Factory- yip- just like India. We then headed to the Summer Palace. The kunming Lake surrounds the temples, halls and pavilions and there is a beautiful marble boat that was destroyed by the Anglo-Saxons and restored again. A long corridor with many different paintings runs besides the lake for about 500m and each painting is different. From here there are beautiful views back across the lake to the 17 arched bridge. The area that surrounds the Palace is all park and trees and one can only imagine how wonderful this area is in summer. It was so freaking cold and windy that when we got there the boat wasn’t even running (across the lake). The lake looked more like the wild ocean than a calm mass of water. The Emperors and Royalty would reside in the Summer Palace in the hot seasons when the Forbidden City was unbearable in the heat. I guess we are lucky that there was no snow- it could have been worse. We ended our tour at a tea house tasting a few healthy herbal teas and since Rich is such a tea lover I had 2 cups with every tasting. It was a good day but I think that if one had the time at least half a day in each place is required. We said goodbye to our friends and had an interesting dinner. The beef was good because it was our own made up order, but then we tried some chicken HK style - loads of garlic. We had spare ribs - really fatty! And, I ordered chrysanthemum tea and it came with the flowers(half the garden) floating all over the show in a jar one would use for jam - interesting. The manageress had a lovely hairstyle and haircut so at least I knew where I would be heading for my haircut!
# posted by Heidi & Richard's travels @ 1:26 AM 
