Our SIL arranged for a private van and guide to take us to the Great Wall of China (Mutianyu). It was a two-hour ride from our hotel. Never imagined it was going to be hot up there. I always thought that it was a cold place, you know, being up there and all that. Our guide actually offered to take our coats before we went up. I later regretted not believing her hehe.
It was so hot that I actually got a tan after.
We went up via cable car. There's a fun way of going down after - riding a toboggan - but I passed because I was wearing a dress and it entailed a bit of hiking. Hubby tried it, he said it was super fun.
Colorful souvenirs, but L and I saved the shopping for later.
After a really yummy lunch at a nearby resto (that I forgot to take pictures of, gah!), we went to the Summer Palace.
The place reminded me of Burnham Park, albeit with larger boats.
We also made a quick photo stop at the Bird's Nest. There were vendors selling these insanely long kites which were pretty cool. We were tempted to buy but we figured if we flew them here, they'd get all tangled up in the electric wires.
We then went to the Hutongs - alleys of traditional courtyard residences - specifically the Nanluogoxiang Hutong District. The residences here are converted into cute shops and restaurants.
Tried this treat in Wangfujing the other night. Those are fruits coated with caramelized sugar. Like peanut brittle but with fruit. Yummy but the caramel sticks to your teeth haha.
So picturesque.
This store was selling stuff made of/with leather. I bought a small notebook.
The next day, we were up early for the Temple of Heaven.
Hubby, L and I loved this place because there was a lot of activities going on - people playing card games, writing on the floor, doing the tai-chi, doing aerobics, playing this graceful game with fans and a ball, ballroom dancing, and a whole lot more.
One could easily fill up an SD card here.
My nephew-in-law lost one of his shoes the night before so we bought him some cute cloth shoes from the store outside. I regret not buying my own pair haha.
We were then dropped off at the train station for our bullet train ride to Tianjin, just so we could try the bullet train. There were a lot of sights in Tianjin, like Little Italy.
Pretty Chinese Taxation Affairs building.
We crossed the Nice Bridge (its name, true story - according to the forums :D) on the way to Wal-mart.
We spied a lot of couples in wedding gear having their photos taken.
What a pretty Starbucks shop.
The Century Clock at dusk.
Infront of the train station are European architecture buildings all lit up before we went home.
The bullet train ride back to Beijing took 30 minutes (at around 280-290km per hour).
The morning of our last day was designated free time (read: shopping), so L and I went back to Qianmen. We didn't buy a lot though because most of the stuff there I've seen in Landmark, Divisoria or the tiangges.
Another pretty Starbucks.
We were supposed to go to a park to see cherry blossoms but we saw that the place was too crowded. Instead, we made a quick side trip to the Military Museum for the boys.
Then we watched The Legend of Kung-Fu at the Red Theater. Loved it!
Our farewell dinner was at a resto in Ghost Street. We had the hotpot with two compartments, one side had chilis while the other side had a whole chicken ala tinola.
If there is one tip I can say about Beijing - learn the bus and subway routes. We had an especially hard time getting a taxi, we even waited for one hour one time.
I had fun taking photos with the diorama art filter of the Olympus PEN. I think it's the perfect travel companion. That said, I wish I'd get to try the OM-D soon haha.
everything turns out so "cute" when using the diorama filter :)
ReplyDeleteHaha true that! And automatically saturated na so even lesser editing. :)
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