Squeezing It All In

In the spirit of send-off, since I've booked a flight back to the States for this coming Wednesday, I thought I would spend the last few days I had left in Beijing doing the typical touristy things one normally does when in a foreign country. Even after living in Beijing for three months, I still had not seen the Great Wall, Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, or the Summer Palace. So, I figured that would take up the majority of my time over the next three days.

Today, after having lunch at an Indian restaurant with my friend Tara, we took the subway to Tian'anmen and snapped a few pictures in the snapping cold. Unfortunately, I was forbidden entrance into the Forbidden City, since its gates close at an early 3:30 in the afternoon. However, we did climb the peak of JingShan Park ("Hill of Scenic Beauty") to take an aerial photo of the Forbidden City rooftops - something that looked entirely different than what I had expected.

After a day of shmoozing Mao, I believe tomorrow the Summer Palace is in order. If I finish early enough, I may make it to the Forbidden City on the way back from Summer Palace just in time before it closes for the day. However, I'm going to have to conquer tomorrow's challenge of sleep-deprivation, as the entire household has set our alarm clocks for 4:00 am. When you live with Canadians, watching the final Olympic hockey game (Canadians vs. team USA) is mandatory. Of course, I'll be the only outcast, routing for the Red White and Blue. Stars and Stripes, baby!

Tuesday's agenda: the Great Wall.