Day 3 - Beijing - 15th July

Day 3

 15th July

The final day in Beijing and the final day of the big holiday adventure too!!!!

We had a lovely long lie this morning and then we headed out to collect Colin’s suits!

Amy was speaking about Christmas before we left and started her Christmas wish list, poor Father Christmas a wish list already!!!

 

 

Oh what look at the dudes in the middle of the road with one traffic cone testing the water!!  Madness!!!

 

Amy is on ticket duty today!!

 

Here is Cloud the owner of the shop, Colin happy with his suits and Cloud wanted Amy in her photograph as she loved Amy’s hair and blue eyes!!

 

Here we go back on the subway to our hotel to drop off the suits and then head out to Tiananmen Square

 

Another hospital on our travels, wow but I suppose they need them with 21 million population!

 

Now here are all the bicycles in Beijing!!

 

 

Love your scooter Mr!!

 

Do you think Postman Pat would suit this bike instead of his red van ha ha!!

 

 

After a 10 minute walk we have arrived at Tiananmen Square, now how do we get across the road and where can we get some lunch!!

 

 

We head underground pathway and here is a lady selling melon, no thanks!

 

 

KFC and Mr KFC’s Chinese Uncle next door surely our favourite restaurant will be here!!   And yes McDonald’s was just a few stores away from where we were standing!  Atleast this McDonald’s was nice and clean but we still didn’t dare go to the toilet!

 

After lunch we popped into one of the stores and wow the colours of sweets was amazing but what would be in the sweets we just didn’t want to chance it and find out thank you very much!!

 

That is gorgeous but what is it??  Let’s investigate once we manage to find out how to get to the entrance of the Tiananmen Square!!  After walking under a few underground walkways and retracing our steps we eventually got to the start of Tiananmen Square!

 

One of the gates across the road from Tiananmen Square

 

 

Wow look at this muscle man carrying a bag of drink cans for recycling!!

 

Because the Emperor starts work at 4am the exhibits in Tiananmen Square are only open 7am and 8am to 12pm.  As it is about 2pm we have no hope of seeing inside anywhere but that is okay we came to see the square not to queue to see inside the buildings.  Seemingly people start queueing before 4am to get inside to see the ceremony for starting work and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, no thanks that is a too much of an early start for us!!

 

 

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong

 

As we were standing trying to work out which way to go and the best way to go and see everything a guy says why don’t you come and see the gate as it is open for foreigners today!!  As seemingly foreigners were not allowed in previously, cheeky!!  So because it was only £5 for all of us to go in we decide to see the sights from up high!  So now we know it is the largest and most significant gate in Beijing called Zhengyangmen Gate Tower marking the south end of Tiananmen Square

 

 

 

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong from the top of the Zhengyangmen gate

 

Looking over to the Museum

 

Looking over the other way,  there were no maps or any signs to tell you what things were

 

Part of the brightly coloured ceiling and guttering of the Zhengyangmen gate

 

An aerial shot of Tiananmen Square and the cluster of red buildings just after Tiananmen Square is Forbidden City

 

Where we had lunch and the busy road we tackled to get across to Tiananmen Square

 

Colin went for a wander at the exhibits and Amy and I sat down and did a ‘find it’ puzzle

 

The colours of the building are beautiful

 

The two gates at the southern side of Tiananmen Square

 

Awh not often at all Amy gets carried by Daddy

 

More of Tiananmen Square with the monument to the People’s Heroes in the middle

 

Heavily guarded Monument

 

Pretty cool drinks van!!

 

These are really pretty gardens

 

But we were a bit surprised to see that the displays were just plants in pots!

 

The display is effective though and that is the main thing!

 

We have now walked all down through Tiananmen Square next we are heading to Forbidden City

 

Just across the road is Forbidden City!

 

Looking back at the square and it is massive, this square is the fourth largest in the world!

 

 

These soldiers are away to start shift out in the square, all getting lined up ready for the stomp out of the underground walkway out to the guarded areas around the Tiananmen Square

 

Left, right, left, right

 

 

 

Now we have struggled at times with carrying the backpack and feeling really sweaty but look this guy has a trolley with snacks on for his family, gosh that would be harder I think than a backpack!!  He has bought his family the parasols that stick on your head that we did threaten Amy with ha ha!!

 

Here we are at the entrance to Forbidden City, let’s get in for our final tourist thing in Beijing and also the final thing on our Big Holiday Adventure

 

Must be lucky to rub the gold on the doors so Colin joins in!

 

Yet again we go into the Forbidden city, no maps or any signs as to where to go and what to see!!

 

Amy has been fancying one of these hats for a bit now so we eventually give in and get her one it is only £2!!  And it can go 5 different ways!!

 

We need to get going, so a full rendition of the hat will be later on!

 

A guy stops us and asks if we would like a tour tomorrow as Forbidden City closes at 4pm, gosh we have missed it too but that is okay as we need to head back to the hotel and pack!

 

We start heading out as we can only go right or left as straight on is closed and we can’t go back the same way we came as it is only one way pedestrianised area!?!?!? 

 

We walk past the Moat of Forbidden City unsure whether this is the way or not, so we head back just to make sure that we can’t go any other way and right enough we have to come this way.  So we follow the moat all the way round, heaven help us where will this lead us!!!

 

Tops of some of the buildings we couldn’t get into see

 

 

This is where we have just walked along.  The pavement was narrow and there were so many independent sellers trying to sell allsorts to the tourists flocking out of the Forbidden City

 

Colin’s £1 hat!!!

 

So here we are we have landed on a random street in a random place somewhere in Beijing that is busy and crowded and Colin has left the map in the hotel room, doh!!!  So we go along a street that we think will be the right direction to our hotel, fingers crossed anyway!!!  We walk a bit along and then stop and ask a waiter from a restaurant and yes we are going in the right direction, phew!!!

 

 

We ended jumping on the subway as Amy and I were goosed and look here we are back at the hotel and a fine young man has got the door for us!!!  Why thank you kind sir!!

 

Now the full versatility of the hat can begin!!!

 

The finale of the hat!!!  Pretty cool!!!

 

It is twilight outside and if that is Summer Palace over in the distance it has been lit up, really pretty looking out!

Now it is time to pack and get going to the airport!!!!

We have had an absolute ball over the past 91 days and we came a good bit under our budget too so well done to us!!!  Round of applause and pat on the back!!!   We would not have changed anything about our trip as we have enjoyed each and every city we have visited and all their individual experiences!!

We should may be say that we are sad to stop travelling but we are not, we should may be say that we are sad to leave Beijing but we are not in actual fact we are all getting excited and nervous about our next stage of our journey, we are all completely ready to get settled down into a routine of 'normal life' well to find our new 'normal life' routine!!!