60 Foot Buddha’s

I slept in this morning..which is really what I enjoy most about the weekend! I woke up around 10:30, showered and ate breakfast! I met Callum at 11:30 and we were off for the day!

Our first stop was the Lama Temple. We took the subway, but had trouble finding the temple! The signs told us exit B but we figured out (after walking around for a bit) we really should have taken exit C! And even then it wasn’t clear where we should go! But alas, we found it.

The grounds were pretty big so we spent time walking around. We both agreed that every temple was pretty much the same (some Buddha’s and people lighting incense). I think the smell of all the incense burning was the cause of my headache that has unfortunately, plagued me all day. However, the best part about the Lama Temple was the 60 foot Buddha! No joke! This thing was MASSIVE! Very impressive!

We left the Lama Temple and got back on the subway for the Bell and Drum Tower. My guide book told me it was a great place to climb to the top for views of the city! But, I don’t think my guide book knows how Beijing is filled with smog. Really, it’s gross. My poor little lungs. Callum and I decided it wasn’t worth it to go inside and go up since we would probably only be able to see about 10 feet away. So we took our pictures, got hassled by every rickshaw vendor and went on our way!

We were both starving and my guide book recommended a place for Italian! We managed to find it but were the only ones there. We both ordered linguine and sauce, but were given pasta with seafood! Yuck, I do not like seafood! The waitress tried to explain something but we didn’t understand. Callum went back to ask her and we THINK what she said was that because it was slow they gave us extra (for free wahoo)! While it was very nice of them, I would have traded my seafood for a chocolate dessert of some sort! Callum enjoyed my seafood at least!

We left lunch for a hutong, which are narrow streets or alleys that form neighborhoods. It was really great. Not a lot of foreigners which I think we both liked. There were a lot of people and shops. We spent time walking around (I almost got hit by a bicycle!) but it was really great. We had talked about going to the nearby lake, but at that point I think we were both tired and since it was so gross out we didn’t think the lake would be that pretty! So we got on the subway and both went separate ways, because I was on a mission! To get my brother a present! Isn’t he lucky? Now I know he doesn’t read this (hey, at least he is honest with me..) but I still don’t want to say anymore. EXCEPT for that fact that he’s a lucky guy because this present hunt took quite a while!

So I know it is China..but there are people EVERYWHERE! Every store must employ about 2,930,587 people! Every 5 feet there is ANOTHER worker ready to help you! It really is crazy. They also seem bored because unless a person walks in the 5x5 square they are responsible for..they have nothing to do! There are also people always cleaning the street (in the downtown area of Beijing at least). The subway is the worst! It is always hot and smelly and people EVERYWHERE! Ugh needless to say I was happy to arrive back at the hostel! Tomorrow, Callum, Stephanie and I are waking up early to go to the Temple of Heaven (I need some more Tai Chi with the elderly) and to do some shopping! We are hoping tomorrow night will be clear so we can go to the Olympic Park!

On a happier note, I have posted my pictures! Woohoo! So I hope this isn’t too confusing, but I will be using two different sites..this one for my blog and a new one for my pictures. I would recommend checking every few days. They take a VERY long time to load on the internet, so I will do it as often as I can, but need a good chunk of time to let them load! I also added my videos too! I can only have 10 at a time..so I will leave them up for a few days and then delete them to add more. I hope you enjoy! Here is the website
http://volunteeringinasia.shutterfly.com/

Hugs and kisses from a 60 foot Buddha.