1st day in Beijing

Landed at 7 am.  Customs fine, then had to catch airport train to luggage terminal to collect bags.  Train ride was about 15 minutes!!!!  My driver was waiting for me outside customs and went straight to hotel.  Really amazing to be driving through Beijing, traffic crazy, three wheeled cars, motor bikes, scooters, pedicabs, crazy, so many taxis, mostly Hyundai Elantras like mine.\

This is just outside my hotel, It is a tea shop, however I ran out of time to visit.

This might be my next car.

Couldn't book in so waited in lobby and Ma Li arrived on time.  She walked to subway an experience in itself and then went to Lama Temple, huge so many people there because it was Saturday and they were offering flowers and incense for their prayers to be answered.  It says temple, but there are three or four of them, you keep walking and each one has Buddhas, sometimes more than one and huge statues.  The last one was 18 metres tall. 25 yuan to get in about $6.

Lama Temple

We then caught a taxi, again really cheap, to the Hutongs where I  had a rickshaw ride through the streets and went to a local house, very small with toilet and kitchen in separate buildings off the yard area.  Some houses don't have toilets, they use the public ones at the end of each street.  Walked to Drum tower and then  Bell Tower but didn't climb them as I was very tired by then and had hurt my knee getting into rickshaw.

Street in Hutong

Finally got my rickshaw ride with Ma Li, but hurt my knee in the process

Drum Tower

Hutong home, this is the courtyard, house to side and kitchen in front.

Caught taxi to Heavenly Temple and walked through the grounds, miles and miles it seemed and then through the Temple.  Beautiful building with lots of carving, grounds lovely with really old trees and lots of people using the grounds to do tai chi and sing songs and dance.  Men playing checkers and cards, I could have been down in Inala.

Grounds are beautiful with lots of old trees, could spend hours there.

Absolutely exhausted by then, so cab back to hotel and I had a sleep for about an hour.

Went to silk market a huge building with lots of stall inside.  Taxi driver couldn't find it so had to ring someone else on his mobile, he didn't speak English, then got caught in traffic jam, finally found it, by accident I think and he complained because there was no tip.  Sucked in boy, you got lost.

Couldn't cope with the stall holders - if you looked at anything they were on you.  Here Lady, Here Lady, you buy, if you said it was too much, how much will you pay, started putting item in bag and wanting you to pay, crazy.  Caught a cab back and walked to small bakery and bought some buns and was in bed by 9.