Beijing Market and Temple of Heaven

Beijing Market and Temple of Heaven

Beijing, China, Asia

I woke up this morning after a pretty decent night’s sleep. What a difference it makes having decent roommates that actually give some consideration to those people around them. I met the four girls I’m sharing a dorm with Aleeda (Estonian), Magda (Swedish), Yen and Nicole (American). The girls invited me along to check out a market in Jinsong, so I decided to tag along. We met up with Yen’s friend Brian who lives here in Beijing and we walked around the market for about an hour and a half. I bought a piece of Chinese art for 25 yuan ($4.50) and then I headed off on my own.

I came back to the hostel and dropped off my scroll and then headed out to see the Temple of Heaven. The sun was actually shining over Beijing today so I thought I should take advantage and check out part of the city while I have good weather. The temple was pretty cool. It was built over 500 years ago to bring good fortune to farmers that wanted a good harvest. There was a huge park area within the walls and the leaves were all turned golden, it was beautiful in there.

I walked around for a couple hours within the walls and then checked out the Qiao Pearl Market. They don’t actually sell pearls now, but I’m assuming they used to back in the day. Now they sell LOADS of electronics, clothes and sunglasses. I looked into getting a fake iPad 2, but they weren’t selling it cheap enough to make it worth the risk that it could stop working in the next couple of days. It was an iPad 2 case but it ran the Android system, so it was most definitely a fake. I got to try it out and it seemed ok, but I just don’t know what it would be like after a little use. They started the price at 1500 yuan ($235), and by the time I walked away they were offering 800 yuan ($125). Not a bad deal if it was a decent machine, but I just don’t know if I can trust it.

I came back to the hostel and met a couple of travelers from Oz who are on their way through China going the opposite way I’ve come up. Clem, Victoria and I sat in the hostel bar/restaurant chatting most of the night and exchanged some travel tips. I’m going to watch the newest UFC 138 and fall asleep so I can get up in the morning and decide what to do then.

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