The
day began at 8:08 (crazy when you read about numbers later) when I finally woke up to another rainy morning. Yuck! I
really didn’t want to have to venture out on my own on a rainy day albeit a
light rain but with several large puddles scattered around. I contemplated just
staying at the hotel for about a minute when I said to myself, “You are in
CHINA … get out there and do something!” It didn’t matter that my ankles feel
like I was ice skating the day before. They were hurting this morning from the
slop of the Great Wall yesterday. I got ready and decided to check out the web
for how to take the subway to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
First
stop was breakfast and you could probably guess what I had to eat. Yep,
McDonald’s again. Hey, it is familiar food and I know what I’m ordering. I
walked outside and into the subway station and bought my ticket. These aren’t
like the usual metro cards I’ve had in other cities. This looks like a thick
paper card with a map of the subway, although it’s so tiny you can’t read it,
printed on one side. There is no magnetic strip like some of the other cards
I’ve had. You just place the card on this little pad thing and the gates open.
Another difference here is that these aren’t those turn-style gates. This one
has red flaps that open up when your ticket is scanned. You have to keep the
card until you exit the subway and then the gate takes your card.
I
rode the subway on the Line 10 route for roughly 40 minutes before transferring
to the Line 1 train for four or five stops. Some of these stops have so many
entrance/exits that who knows which one you are really supposed to leave from.
Of course, I didn’t choose the right one when I exited this time. I could see
Tiananmen Square, but it was on the other side of the road. That’s usually not
a big deal but this was probably 10 lanes of traffic – five on each side and I
didn’t see a pedestrian walkway. I ventured to my left and saw all these
umbrellas disappearing which sparked my curiosity. There was a walkway under
the roadway instead which was amazing! Now, I was on the other side of the road
where I needed to be. I looked around for a gate to get into the square, but
didn’t see one, so I guessed it was free. I like free! I walked in and looked
around after being asked twice if I wanted a personal tour guide by these two
random Chinese dudes and then I took some pictures before heading out. I wasn’t
really interested in going into the Forbidden City since I had already seen
Erin’s pictures.
Once
outside the square, I started to take my own picture. Some people would look
and just chuckle but I didn’t care – it’s not like I’m EVER going to see them again
and if I do – that’s just plain crazy! The rain had slowed and was just a light
mist as I was nearing the subway station. Before I started for the escalator, I
saw a little boy just peeing along the sidewalk like it was normal – he was
obviously Chinese! Since the day was still young, I thought I should go ahead
and venture to Olympic Park in case Richard wasn’t going to be able to take me
tomorrow.
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| Outside Tiananmen Square (sorry the dude's picture isn't in this one) |
I
think I have this subway system down already. I am amazing at navigating a
subway but put me on the street and that’s a different story, right sis? I am
directionally challenged to say the least; however, I have amazing ability at
reading a map. I guess on the road I just get confused with landmarks maybe. I
had to transfer trains twice on this journey. I went from the 1 to the 10 to
the 8 when I entered into the Sunken Garden by the Olympic Park. From there, I
had to walk up about 50 or so steps feeling like I was Rocky before I saw it …
Olympic Park. I’m a fan of the Summer Games much more than the Winter ones. I
don’t know why it was so exciting for me to see this area, perhaps because it
is so famous and since the Summer Games are getting ready to start again soon
and maybe since Sis, Gardner, and Chamberlin were security guards at the ’96 games
in Atlanta. I don’t even understand myself sometimes! The rain had stopped but
it was very overcast and didn’t make for the best of pictures today.
 |
| My hair is a "Bird's Nest" - ha ha ha |
I
saw the torch area but kept walking to go toward the Birds Nest but found the
Indoor Gym just across the way. I could see the Water Cube which looked awesome
but I’m sure it looks better at night with the lights. I’ve always loved water
and I love being in water. I used to be a swimmer way back in the day but got extremely bored with it and didn’t
stick with it. The Water Cube is where Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals in
swimming in 2008. I sure hope his lucky number is now 8. The 2008 games also
started on 08.08.08. In case you didn’t know, I’m also fascinated with numbers
for some strange reason.
By
this point, I was hungry! There were no options except McDonald’s, so I ate
there again. Don’t worry … I worked it off and didn’t even eat all my fries!
After I indulged in some greasy calorie-laded fast food, I went out to the Park
area again to traipse around some more. I walked closer to the Birds Nest and
thought I was going to be a witness to a fight. There was one guy sitting on
the ground with his shoe and sock off yelling at another guy, in Chinese so I
have no idea what was going on but you could tell in the tone it wasn’t good. I
continued to walk away from that but turned around to keep watching. The guy on
the ground massaged his foot some and then put on his sock and shoe and stood
up. The other guy looked like he was going to start throwing punches and the
ground guy’s woman got in between them and tried to get her man going. This is
how involved the Police are around here – there were two cars with at least two
people in each car sitting within hearing distance of all this, yet they
continued to sit in their cars and do nothing. Now that was over with, I began
to walk around the Nest. I was between gates M and A so I walked toward the M
gate and on around until I found the K. I took another picture of me and the
Nest but this time with the letter K!
I
found the torch area which has a wall to the side of it with all the winners
from the Olympic Games and Paraolympic Games. There was also a set of Olympic
rings in the center where I could not find anyone to take my picture of me
standing there with them. I was getting disappointed because I didn’t think I
could self-shot that one and make everything fit. I was right about that, but I
could set the camera on the camera bag on top of one of the small birds nest
like walkway lights and get a picture with the self-timer. Talk about finding a
solution!
 |
| Those rings are heavy! Maybe I am a weightlifting athlete! |
Being
at the Olympic Park was pretty awesome. Looking at the names of those people on
the wall for winning a medal was crazy – they really did that for every event! I guess this is where I
got the title for today. I was out venturing on my own and felt like an athlete
(of tourism – haha) with the amount of steps, climbing, and walking I’ve been
doing the last several days.
I
left Olympic Park and started down the stairs each one more painstaking than
the last. It was at this point, I realized I was done for the day! There were two Minnie Mouse dressed up characters
at the bottom of the steps. I’ve noticed there is a lot of Mickey stuff all
over China which I find odd. I walked into the shopping area thinking I might
find something exciting but just went in the one door and out the other not
finding anything too exciting without looking too hard.
Back
to the subway station hoping that I might get lucky and actually have a seat
and not have to stand since my feet were so tired. Today was not my lucky day
for that. I only had two stops before my transfer and got onto another train
that was more crowded. The whole time I was on that train, I was just hoping that
people would get off and I would find a seat. It took until the last two stops
before I could sit down and rest awhile.
When
I got off the train, I went into the mall to get some water at the store since
it’s so much cheaper there. I can get the 1.5 liter bottle for 1.6 RMB – that’s
25 cents! I went ahead and got two of them so I would have one for tomorrow. I
sat in the food court area since it is conveniently right by the exit of the
store. I gave myself a five minute break and then started back to the hotel. By
the time I reached the hotel, I know I was walking at a snail’s pace. Slow and
steady wins the race! I made slowly made it to the third floor, walked in my
room, sat on my bed, took off my shoes, and rubbed my aching feet and ankles. I
declared that this “athlete” was on the D.L. (disabled list) for the rest of
the day.
Amazingly,
Richard called me. I had almost forgotten who he was! Ok, not really – just being
sarcastic since he never responded to emails. He told me that he would be able
to take me to Olympic Park tomorrow and I told him I already went today! Instead,
he will be taking me shopping for souvenirs. I’m sure that’s high on his list
of fun things to do! Ha ha! I honestly have no idea what to buy for some folks,
but hopefully I’ll find something tomorrow or else they are getting nothing!
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