September 20-21, 2019
On day 3, we woke up around 10. Nights are difficult, a mix of jetlag and adjusting to the 4 of us sharing a bedroom. When it comes to bedtime, the girls are trying to settle down which can be complicated with the fact that we keep a light up to work on the computer or read. We so much need that off-duty time but it’s challenging because the girls end up staying awake until we go to bed. We still need to figure out our new equilibrium.
Anyhow… so on day 3 we homeschooled the girls and got out of the house late enough that we missed the highlights we went to, notably the Lama temple. We will get back the next day because it looked promising. We stopped for a tea nearby the temple in a very zen place (also tried the sweets). There were plenty of music shops on a main street so we were zigzagging for Salah to check them out. By then, the sun had set, and we found ourselves on a lively street eating a dessert with churros (not very local huh?)!
We continued to explore the area and ended up in a hutong’s hidden gem: a beer garden from a local brewing company. We could bring outside food so we went to pick up something around the corner and came back for a nice, refreshing IPA. After they ate, the girls were playing cards in the dimmed light and we were just living the moment, happy to be there! The place reminded us of the Foxy Loxy’s backyard in Savannah (in smaller). It was full of travelers from the youth hostel nearby, with 50% of locals too.
Daily summary
8.5km
On day 4, we knew exactly where to go and how. After homeschooling, we hopped on the subway towards the Lama temple but we were running out of gas. So first we stopped in a hole-in-the-wall type of place, but no tables available. Luckily, 2 girls from the Netherlands offered to share their table with us and we started lunch sharing chairs with the girls. We ate the best meal we have had in Beijing! Don’t know its name but the dish was a mix of cabbage, rice, noodles and meat (unidentified). OMG! The noodle soup was awesome too with fresh noodles. Next, we headed to the temple. It was the former residence of Count Yong Zheng who became Emperor in 1744. When he moved to the Forbidden City, the location became a lamasery.
As we entered, the strong smell of burning incense was present. They were actually giving away one bundle of incense per person near the entrance. We were welcome to light it up, make a wish and deposit it in a big metal container where thick smoke was coming out of. We could see people kneeling and praying before depositing their incense, and that all along the visit in the various halls and open areas. The halls' roofs were very similar to the Forbidden City's, yellow glazed ceramic on top, vivid blue, green and gold paints on carved wood beams underneath. There were Tibetan praying wheels, tapestries, statues including a pair of Chinese lions as well as cranes and turtles (also seen at the Forbidden City). We saw a prayer ceremony with Tibetan monks who, at one point, wore yellow hats with a crest just before breaking out.
The most impressive piece was a 18-meter-high Buddha clothed in yellow satin and reputedly sculpted from a single piece of sandalwood (it holds a Guinness record).
Daily summary
8.1km
Comentarios