Day 21 Xingang to Beijing, the adventure begins…

We arrived into Xingang around 0700 in the morning on Friday the 12th of October to a fairly unremarkable port. I was really excited bout embarking on my Overland Adventure into China. I headed out from Xingang and headed for Beijing around 0915. My tour guide Xiao Bo, a young Chinese lady and our driver Wang and I were ready to go….. We arrived into Beijing around 12:00 and went to a lovely restaurant outside the Forbidden City. The drive into Beijing was very long and the traffic unreal…. I really mean it…unreal. Lot’s of people and cars! Lunch was tremendous but there was enough food for 4 people and it was just me…. Apparently the guide and driver have to sit in a separate room and eat. Then we were off----- our first stop, Tian’anmen Square, the largest square in the world….. Simply huge. It was a bit chaotic since they were tearing down some decorations (very beautiful ones) from a National Festival that had just ended. I couldn’t get a lot of great photos because of the pesky sun being in the wrong place…. I think the sun gods turned their backs on me. We made it through Tian’anmen Square and we to Tian’anmen Tower with a giant picture of Chairman Mao. We passed through the Tian’anmen Tower area and entered the Forbidden City. This thing was huge…. The size of a city…. It truly is beautiful! Some of the most impressive buildings were covered our partially covered in scaffolding…. Olympic Games preparation. The walkthrough the Forbidden City was just awesome, truly magnificent. Next we were off to the Temple of Heaven. Xiao Bo in the morning said that we could only get through Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City in the afternoon but I told her that I move pretty fast. That is the advantage of traveling alone through China and not having to wait on other people constantly. You sometimes crawl at an excruciatingly slow pace on the Holland America Overland Tours. That is really not fun especially when you pay a premium price. The Temple of Heaven is remarkably beautiful! As I walked through the entrance and saw it for the first time I said “Wow”. It has become one of the symbols of China… I can see why! Our final stop (for the day) was the Summer Palace. This place is also amazingly beautiful. What a remarkable setting. We walked around taking in all the beauty and watching the people sing, laugh and dance their hearts out…. Cool! Xiao Bo suggested that we take a boat out to South Lake Island and take the Seventeen Arch bridge back toward the South Ruyi Gate. This gave me the right shot for shooting across the lake and taking photos of the Hall that Dispels Clouds (What a name) and the Sea of Wisdom Temple. What a magnificent tour… and this is only day one! Xiao Bo and Wang were the best…. a first rate guide and driver. They dropped me off at the Hotel and I checked in. I immediately left and then walked through the streets of Beijing checking out Chinese nightlife and…. Looking for a 7-11 to buy Diet Coke…. Yes even in Beijing, 7-11. I found my 7-11, bought some Diet Coke, returned to the Hotel to relax for the rest of the evening. Great first day!