Wednesday was the first of two days we had free in Beijing this week. At 10AM, my roommate and I heard a knock at our door. Three men dressed in red decontamination suits and the maid were standing outside our door. They wanted to spray our room for bugs. This was a first for me. I told them to come back later when we were out of the room.
For lunch, a few friends and I went walking down the main strip outside of Renmin and took a gamble. We ordered a few dishes off the picture menu and hoped for the best...and the food was wonderful! A lot of the food was spicy including a tofu dish that was served heated by a cooking element and an eggplant dish. We also ordered a dish of ribs and potatoes that was very good. I've found that here, in China, you really can't go wrong with the food. It's all new and interesting!
In the afternoon, we decided to go to the Beijing Zoo to see the panda exhibit. The zoo entrance fee, including a special fee for the panda house, cost 20 yuan - about 3 dollars! The exhibit itself was very cool. In the United States, a zoo owning one or maybe two pandas receives nation-wide attention. Here, in the panda's native part of the world, it's quite different. We counted over 10 pandas in the zoo. One house had six pandas together. We came at just the right time because it was feeding time. The pandas couldn't have cared less that there were hundreds of humans face-pressed against the viewing glass. Some pandas were climbing on
logs, taking a bath in the man-made lake, but most were eating - many of them on their backs with their feet up in the air. It was an incredible sight.
<- Look at this little ride for kids at the zoo. It had a little motor that gave kids a ride around the main plaza. They even had one that looked like a mini rickshaw.
The ride back was a little less thrilling. The bus transit system is a little different in China. When you get on the bus, you have to instantly contort your body to fit in
between two other people. When it's time for someone to get off, they'll punch through a space no wider than your fist and somehow make it through. I was almost pushed onto an unfortunate man's lap. No one says anything. You just push until you get through. On the way to the zoo, I was one of the last to get on the bus. The bus started pulling away as my foot was on the first step - my other foot was still on the road. The door closed with me halfway in and my foot got caught! The driver started yelling and I tried to push the doors back open as we started pulling away. Luckily, they opened and I jumped on. My friends were surprised. The Chinese either didn't see the incident or found it routine. Check out the video of shots from the day - and somehow we got the bus closing on me on tape.
Ted
2 comments:
At least you had a smile on your face as the bus closed on you! I'm proud of you for eating eggplant and being adventurous with food! The hazmat team arriving at your dorm room seems staged by some of your old friends, remember your Halloween costume a few years ago? Eileen A
Ted.........When you return to the States I'll show you how to exit a bus, meanwhile practice on your own,,,,,someone's life you save might be your own. Seriously, enjoying running commentary and accompanying pictures. Each new day sounds exciting and loaded with adventure, can't wait for tomorrow's blog. GP
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