I woke up early--I'd slept in short spurts all night long--and set off in search of another Lonely Planet-recommended hostel in the neighborhood. This one seemed to have ceased to exist as well, but I'd seen signs for another hostel the night before, and this one I eventually found. I moved, then set out for the Forbidden City and Tiannanmen Square.
The square was still decorated for the Olympics--I enjoyed seeing the Olympic mascots miming various sports. Lines of soldiers marched purposefully here and there, and Mao's portrait beamed down benevolently on us all.
I worked my way into the Forbidden City eventually and was suitably impressed. Apart from the main courtyards, my favorite parts were the exhibits of various treasures, like the empress's hair pins.
My tired feet and the subway bore me back to a street near the hostel, where I had my first real meal in China, a tofu-vegetable dish from which I carefully removed the pork.
My hunger sated, I felt overwhelmingly sleepy and had to force myself to check email and read for a few hours before passing out at around 8:00.
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Musings on Life, the Universe, and Washington, DC
2 comments:
Yeah the lonely planet is full of places that no longer exist. I trudged half way through Bucharest only to find a big hole in the ground where my chosen hostel was meant to be. You'd have thought that getting in the lonely planet would be a bit like a licence to print money for a few years, yet a lot of the places seem to go out of business.
I think one could make boatloads of money on a combination pocket translator/continuously-updated electronic guidebook. All I ask in return for using my idea is that you hire me as a writer/editor :)
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