| China Photos-Day Five |
This was our last morning in Xian. A few of us went back to the muslim market with Richard (I went to take more pictures of course). Much of our day was spent traveling to and from airports in a flight back to Beijing. We are once again staying at a very nice hotel in Beijing with excellent accomodations. The hotel is in the heart of the city so we are within walking distance of many places to see. The Wisconsin group has now split apart from the Ohio/New England group as others joined our group from the states today. The Badgers went for a walk into the local neighborhood. Got down to Mao's tomb on the square where the changing of the guard was taking place. We walked back into the back streets to see the daily life of the people. Traveling off the beaten path is often the most interesting and insightful. Much like in America, we see many people trying to make a living, very kind to strangers (or intrigued to see Americans) and wanting a good life for their children. We dined in a local restaurant which seemed pretty upscale with many of the same dishes we have seen previously. There was a local fish on the menu which appeared to be cooked whole and covered in a sweet sauce. Tasted like most other fish I've eaten. Dinner was followed by a night walk to downtown Beijing's shopping district and alley markets. We found the prized scorpions on a stick which Randy Refsland (Clinton) bravely ate and likened to eating popcorn. There were many seafood options on skewers in the market. Once again, the people are not aggressive sellers which is more comfortable. I definitely got a sense of a "newer" city without the ambience of the ancient history in Xian. The traffic here is very orderly and there is a greater police presence maintaining order. Interestingly I encountered more spitters here than in Xian-go figure. |
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