Bike Beijing!

As promised here's a bit of a recap of my bike tour that I took yesterday. 

Crowds. Asian people. History. 

Ok I'm done. 

...

No but really, it was great. Biking is absolutely a great way to get around and dodge some of the crazy crowds at the sights, especially on a beautiful day with very little pollution. I started out getting myself absolutely turned around coming out of the subway and going in the opposite direction from where I was supposed to. Whoops. Note to self: if the directions say to take exit C, take exit C, not exit E figuring I can find my way because you will not be able to find exit C, blocks and blocks over, obscured by buildings. #rookie mistake ;)

(I must be a true blogger now, I'm using hash tags. Or something) 

Once I found my way to the bike shop, I met Alan, my private tour guide for the day. I didn't pay more for a private tour, there was just no one else who signed up at that time. Score! We started out biking through the Hutongs while Alan told me about the history of people living there. I won't bore you with all the details but it was really neat, and excellent to better understand some of the history behind the residents of beijing. 

(Too many words, too few pictures. I know. I was on a bike)

The way older Beijingers who live in the Hutongs work out. Venice beach this is not. 

After cycling around the lake area that I had visited the previous day, seeing more of it since I was more mobile, we went towards the forbidden city and tiennamen square. 

We didn't actually enter the palace or the square, and I was happy with that. This was a perfect way to see over people and dodge around them and hit them with my bike if they got in my way (oops, inside thought). Ill go on a weeknight after work to see these things when it's less insane. 

We also saw the national theatre which was built as a part of the Olympic thing and is basically empty. Fun fact about "the egg" though: it has no doors! 

After 3 hours cycling around on the bike, the tour was over and I was ready for some air conditioning and retail therapy! The shopping did not go well. The malls and stores here are interesting. You seem to either have super high end stuff or you have forever 21 and Zara and a few other western stores, and the fake stuff at the markets that you barter for. There doesn't seem to be a lot of stuff in the middle (which makes sense considering a middle class is kind of a new thing here.) 

That's enough writing. Ill leave you with 

(I don't think I posted these yet... Not seen on my tour but still cookies!)