My dragon rushing adrenaline in Beijing

Conquering the Red City

My bed inside the Train

My adrenaline was on its high damn speed again.. Night before I couldn't barely sleep, thinking too much of the whole dragon girl adventure! So, there I was, on my loyal backpack heading towards  Hung Hom station after work to caught the T87 train to Beijing. Oh please don't ask, for God sake why I was wasting my damn time taking the 24 hour train instead of speeding up by taking a plane. (And believe me, you'll be the 99th if not the 100th person who asked). Well, let just say that I'm a big fan of life's adventure and experience. The fact that I'll be in prison inside the running low speed train with strangers (Mainlanders to be specific) was something that thrilled me... But really it didn't betrayed my expectation. I met new people, some can't barely speak English but I managed with my few Mandarin words in mind.

Beijing West Station

Anyway, so I arrived in the country which they say "The powerful" one... It was a bit rush when I arrived... I started my Beijing adventure by visiting the      Park beside the Forbidden City, which relaxed me a lot. If only I can stay for long. The lake garden is just soooooo lovable. I can't ask for more! By 5 in the afternoon, I discovered that it was to late to step my feet inside the Forbidden City. So, I decided to walking around (Besides, someone told me that the best Photograph you can take are ones in your walk).

I was so blessed with timing cause by the time I step in Tiamen Square, I had the perfect lighting for my photographs - the natural light from the fading Mr. Sun. Walking might give me tiring legs yet it allows my mind to freeze (which by the way, I like and willing to trade for anything). Here are some of my natural lighting photos.

Sitting at the famous Tiamen Square

Tian anmen Square

The hostel I stayed

I arrived in Sunrise hostel late enough to find my roommate resting. He's a very nice French man, who I believe is in the same age as my father (If he was still living). Henry that's his name. Of course when I gave my name he was amused and I adore the accent when he speaks of my name. Francoise (Only an authentic French can say that right). Immediately, I had that comfort of home with him. He tells me his story about his endless adventure in China. With a bit of difficulty with his English we managed to laugh at some things. Sunrise hostel cost US$12 each night and it is close to Forbidden City. I believe in the saying that a great City usually don't sleep so decided to see the night market near the place I am staying. Again, food amused me! Walking, talking to people and clicking my shutter were enough for my first day. By 1am I was asleep. By 3am, I was awaken by two boys entering the room. (PS. To Ben: Your noise really woke me up... Now I am saying it...=))

Another food talk 

Night Market of Food

Day 2 was simply one of the days I will remember... Great Wall here I come! I took the Mutya Ning way to the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Entrance fee was RMB40 and cable car to the mountain was RMB 80. To better explain how delighted I was, here's some of my photos of that day. Taking this route to the wall is a bit difficult. You need to book yourself for a tour since no public transportation can reach this area.

You might really need one of these!!!

Let's go adrenaline!!!!

Tired yet hyper Me

My feet conquered the top of the great wall

A nice chillin' drinks

Day 2 didn't end with my tired feet... It still went on with a short walk around the night market (again) after a short chat with my roommate Ben from UK. and ....... then the night ended with a drink with the same room mate, who by the way enlightened me on the 7 wonders of the world (Luckily, the internet connection was down that I couldn't argue more...)... Sunrise hostel has a small bar near the reception that serves good cocktails and beers that range from RMB 15- RMB20. (Ben if you happen to read this, thanks for the great conversation and for playing the guitar and singing song... Great beer mate!)...Then, it was bed time!

The post card from Henry

I got up so early the next morning. Took a shower and prepared my things. I saw Henry, the French man, getting ready for the day. I went toward him and said thank you for all the help and the talks. Minutes later, he approached me with a postcard in his hand…  He's such a lovely man.

I left the hostel with a smile. I headed to Forbidden City before my trip back to Hong Kong later that afternoon. The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.  For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. For RMB60 you can get inside the impressive palace. It was full of tourist when I entered. (I think that’s the reason why China is so rich now.. I mean, because of the millions of tourist who visits everyday…). Anyway, the Forbidden City is a very huge complex. One needs a whole day to fully tour all the rooms and pavilions. It was just amazing to realize that I have seen this place countless times in some of the Chinese movies I saw back then, even in the cartoon movie Mulan. I had only limited time inside the Palace so I just enjoyed the major parts and didn’t bother to go inside the small rooms. I wonder, while I was there, what life was like in there years back? It is so big that you can’t imagine how they managed to live in the palace. Do they still see each other during the day? How do they clean the whole place?

At Forbidden City

By mid afternoon, I was on my way to Beijing West Train station for my trip back to HK. Taking T97 back to Hung Hom, I geared up myself with a big bottle of water and some small snacks. Inside the cabin, I met a Chinese couple who I made friends with. The wife was so nice, offering me non-stop foods. With her little English, we managed to understand each other and laughed at some things. I was back in the real world again, settling my backpack inside the cupboard. Till my next back packing trip…. =)