2007 - Asia - Day 12 - Beijing, China

This morning we left for the Forbidden City at 8:30. It was about 95 degrees today, and we did a LOT of walking today. The Forbidden City really didn’t have any shade either. It was a huge complex. The buildings were all so beautiful in the old Chinese style architecture. I enjoyed walking around the courtyards and looking at the beautiful buildings. After we left the area of the Forbidden City, we walked through Tiananmen Square. Our bus picked us up from the square and we welcomed the soft chairs and chance to put our feet up and the AC. We drove 30 minutes to our restaurant for lunch. We were all pretty hungry and ate quite a lot. We then took a bus ride to the summer palace. We first got on a dragon boat and rode it across the lake. We then walked along the pathways around the palace. There were beautiful gardens and scenery. We were not allowed up to the palace though. Back on the bus, we drove about an hour back into Beijing. We stopped at a restaurant for a Peking Duck dinner. It’s similar to a fajita, just duck meat instead of beef or chicken. I don't like duck, so I used a beef dish for mine. It was good. At the hotel, Michael R, Mark and I went shopping in the hotel, bought some knock off Rolex watches from a fellow traveler, then ate at McDonalds again. We also had to say goodbye to Michael. He was heading back to the States tomorrow, along with a lot of other people from our group. Only those going on the extension to Thailand are staying.