Lovely Water Cube and Birds Nest. Can't wait to see them at night. Soon.
Raindrops keep falling on my head. An unforgettable Beijing experience. Here with Ren. 
An interesting wine, indeed. What with a snake inside!
At the Ming Dynasty Wax Museum. In 1449 of the Ming Dynasty when the Qirats caught Ming's empedimenta and imperial concubines were captured. This signifies the fall of the dynasty. Compared to other cities in China, Beijing has the most number of Chinese who can speak English. And for one who can't speak Chinese, it's a sigh of relief to be able to receive hospitality from those Chinese that can speak English. If you have no idea how hospitable a Chinese could be, let me clue you in and point out some examples.
On my travel to Harbin, one family connected to a student of mine in the university literally adopted me - dinner with the family, lunch, tour around the city and some other sweet things that goes with it. I was about to check in to a certain hotel when I arrived there when they asked me to check out and went with me to another hotel where I had 50% discount in my 4 days of stay. Never have I felt so pampered and taken care of, it's almost like I'm a princess or something. Really.
I was with students to the South of China, also early this year. I could not believe how much they cared for me. This has its own disadvantages also. I, at some point, felt like they're invading my privacy. You see, space to me is very important. I always needed space, and somehow they don't know a lot about that. They can be too focused on keeping you satisfied and good without realizing that they're invading a personal space already.
And for a foreigner to travel in some cities in China, although it can be depressing to look for someone who speaks English but once you find one, he/she will make sure that you get the answers to your question. Even if that Chinese doesn't know the answer, he/she will find it out for you. They will never walk away unless you're satisfied. That's true 90% of the time.
And so in Beijing, we met several people who were so generous of their time to us. On our way to Qianmen Lu, when we have just gotten a ride from the Beijing South Railway, a couple helped us out and was with us from the 2 buses to the subway. The woman was even kind enough to write down the details of the ride, like the bus numbers and stops, in Chinese and pinyin at that. Three students, perhaps on their way to a mall, or to their houses; walked with us for, say, 20 minutes just to make sure we get the right buses and stops on our way back to Tianjin.
It's not hard to travel in China cos Chinese people are always ready to lend a helping hand. That's one thing I like about them. Of course there always will be culture differences, culture clashes even, but that's always true wherever you are in the world.
Going back to the Beijing travel. The tour includes a visit to the Ming Dynasty Wax Museum. Lifesize "wax" statues are there, though I don't think they are really made of wax. The we also went to another place, a supermarket of traditional Chinese products. It was there that I saw this wine with a snake inside. Whatever it's function, I dare not ask. I took photos, and somehow explained it to myself that it's a wonder-medicine, for some reasons.
Tired of the whole travel, me and my friends refused to go to another jewelry shop. We decided to just stay outside, for the bus driver somehow explained that we could not stay inside the bus. Alas, when we arrived in Qianmen Lu, my stomach was already grumbling, and it reminded me of the worst lunch ever. Truly unforgettable.
Dinner was at a Korean Restaurant with accomodating staff who does either of the two - shouts to greet the customers, or delivers wrong orders. My friend complained for what was given to her, and several minutes after a Chinese woman seated beside our table also complained of what she got.
Several minutes of rest in the hotel and we are ready to go to the Olympic Stadium. I know for a fact that these places - the Water Cube and Birds Nest - shines its best at night. A staff in the hotel gave us directions, and we were so ready for the night's adventure when, when, when, when it rained. We were stuck in an underway towards the East Tian'anmen Subway Station. And we decided to go back.
And what followed was another unforgettable. With my camera safely wrapped and tucked in my armpit, we ran back to the hotel. Yes, we ran. It was still raining, and none of us carried an umbrella. So...running was swell. The fun part was that there were many people who did the same. So while running, I tried my best not to bump into other people. It was like a physical activity induced with the quickness of mind. I laughed hard almost bumping into people as they also tried their best not to bump me. And mind you, there were so many people there, thousands are there in that street, people from different nationalities. I sure would not mind bumping into a real cute guy though.
We never made it to the Birds Nest and Water Cube that night. We went to these places the next day. We took the number 2 Olympic Line bus, again for 1RMB, and got off at exactly the same place. The two places are beside each other, gigantic and real sights to behold.
Across the Water Cube and Birds Nest is the Pan Gu 7-star Hotel. Another sight to behold.
Post Script:
1. Since we are way-guo-ren (foreigners), we paid a higher price than the local Chinese. You see, we paid 8RMB for a squid barbecue when a local Chinese only paid 5.
2. As the capital and a bustling city, not to mention the venue of the 2008 Olympic games, prices in Beijing are far more expensive than where I'm based - Tianjin (except for the transpo fares). One liter of water in Tianjin is 3.5RMB. Surprise, it's 5RMB in Beijing!
3. Contrary to what I expected, not every taxi driver in Beijing knows how to speak English. We took a taxi ride to Silk Street, that was our first and last taxi ride for this certain travel, and the taxi driver never said anything. He nodded when I showed him the address from my cellphone and smiled when we got off. Though I have to say that his driving skill was excellent.
4. Beijing is a perfect representation of the ancient and the modern China. Pagodas and temples are everywhere, whilst big malls and shopping districts are everywhere, too. It's a city of 13-15 million people, and they too are representations of the old and new China.
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