2013 - OCEANIA - BEIJING, TIANNAMEN SQUARE & FORBIDDEN CITY
BUT IT'S LESS FORBIDDEN NOW..
Mon 23 May 2005
THE LAST BREAKFAST ON BOARD...
JENNY & DON - DON'S OFF TO EVEREST ON HIS WAY HOME.
TOBY & BOB - THEY GOT ON BEFORE ME, DUBAI MAYBE.
THE WORKERS CARRY ON REGARDLESS.
So, left the ship behind....
The outskirts of Tianjin on the way to .....
Tiannamen Square......
Entering the square there was a huge line-up passing through a security checkpoint. We just walked around it.
I bumped into an English couple I had met on the boat. Not very friendly on board but suddenly very chummy. They attached themselves to my tour & never even tipped the guide.
Cheap trick.
Chairman Mao's mausoleum...
Fancy fashions...
Not that impressed with the square really..& is this little chap?
He was walking around with his mum, wearing his Chairman Mao hat & waving his little flag. Smiling at all the tourists. We were all clicking away like crazy.
It wasn't til later that I realised he was peeing on the square!!
His trousers have a slit in them so she does not have to pull them down.
Not unusual trousers & you see kids peeing all over the place.
Note the fire extinguisher. There are a lot around the square. In case a Buddhist monk chooses to set fire to himself - true apparently.
The line up is to view the Chairman - pass.
Through the arch & into the Forbidden City.
This girl was taking a photo of me with her boyfriend..
Several squares like this...& very impressive.
It's like a Russian Doll.
Go through successive arches with a very similar view on the other side.
Hard to find a shot without people...but nearly..
A family visiting from the Philipines. The little girls head wear is "to make her look like a princess" ...
and I think she does...
Zara - still hard at work.
That's the last I will see of her I expect, although Sandy knows her quite well, so maybe someday.
Tourists I guess...
Almost outside now...this is the Emperors gardens...
& the rear gate...
Walking round the outside walls, this lady knitting & a guy exercising with some sort of toy. Saw it a few times in Asia.
& another wedding.. Lady wearing red of course...She must be frozen.
I get to the hotel & it's no surprise to find my luggage is not in my room. That's twice on this trip
After a lot of tooing & froing, it finally turned up on a photo someone had e mailed from dockside, 100 miles away.
Should be with me in the morning, maybe.
Too tired now to go out & have a chinese so it's time for bed after an exhausting day.
The bathroom is in the back. Has a nice TV in there over the bath.
