The Zehrens Go Global

Beijing ~ July 7

Today was definitely much more hotter than yesterday and humid of course. The sun managed to break though the clouds as well for awhile. John and Stacy ventured out in the early morning in order to find breakfast for the family. We hit the jackpot with a couple street vendors. We bought these tasty breakfast sandwiches made of a crepe, an egg thinly spread, a thick soy sauce type substance, chili paste, cilantro and green onions. All for 5 yuan (about 84 cents) each. Delicious!

We felt brave and decided to try and tackle the metro to visit the Lama Temple. We found it without a problem and managed to easily make our way to the Lama Temple. First off, the metro system is really impressive. It is so new, modern and easy to use. A ticket for one person costs 2 yuan which is about 30 cents! That includes your transfer between trains. Unbelievable! $1.50 to transport a family of five. We all were amazed how advanced their metro system is and yet they don’t have modern public toilets. Priorities I guess!

Once we exited the subway, the Lama Temple was a close walk away. As we made our way there were stalls selling incense for offering in the temple. It just went on and on. The kids stopped and bought a small bundle for 10 yuan (about $1.40). This is really the first place where we saw a few beggars on the street afflicted with some awful disabilities. The Lama Temple is a fully functioning Buddhist Temple with massive grounds. There were so many ornately colorful decorated buildings with giant fire pits to light incense all over. The incense smell was over powering. As you started out going in the buildings that are closer to the entrance, the Buddhas were smaller in size and grew as you progressed further back. At every building there were devout Buddhists lighting three incense sticks at a time, holding them over their heads and bowing at the foot of the Buddha that they were standing before. In the last temple that we entered towards the rear of the property, there was a massive 54 foot tall Buddha that dwarfed everything near it. All the Buddhas looked different too. The kids decided that the didn’t care for the older fat Buddha.

From there we went in search of the Confucius Temple which was supposed to be nearby. There were no signs that we could see. We ended up walking down a tree lined street in a hatoung. The shade of the trees was a nice break from the sun. The hatoungs are basically grey concrete or stone homes. It appears that they must not have plumbing because there were public bathrooms strategically placed throughout the area. Then sporadically there would be an adorable upscale shop amongst these small concrete homes. We eventually stumbled upon the Confucius Temple and went in. The buildings were also ornate but spread out from each other more than at the Lama Temple. There were buildings covering stone pillars with carvings as well. Not many statues and no incense here. It was much less crowded as well. The Lama Temple was much more impressive and beautiful.

We returned to the subway to go to the silk market which consists of five stories and three sub-basements of stores/stalls selling their goods. We had to transfer trains at a stop. We were awestruck at the shear number of people at this transfer station that just kept moving. Thousands! Zoe said it reminded her of rats and hated how many people were there.

When we arrived at out stop, the kids spied a Kentucky Fried Chicken and to my horror John agreed to eat a late lunch there. After waiting in line for 20 minutes, we managed to point our way with our order and eat. The highlight was the French fries. Hailey kept asking why her popcorn chicken had a pinkish color while John and Stacy managed to get their stringy chicken sandwich down. Hailey’s item turned out to be popcorn shrimp. Not a good day for the colonel! Once fed, we aimed our sights on shopping and the girls were not disappointed. Can you imagine being a female with eight floors of shopping at your disposal? Kallin and Zoe immediately zeroed in on Converse high tops. The beginning asking price was about $55 which was eventually bargained down to a little under $12 each! Kallin got one pair of white while Zoe got a pair in white and red. Unfortunately no shoes in Hailey’s size. From there we moved upward and conquered. John was a good sport. The girls kept giggling while thinking of grandma Judy in a place like this! At every stop the shop keeper would start at an outrageous price and end up practically giving if away. For instance Kallin got a dress for $17 that the beginning asking price was $120! Zoe got a dress for $9 when they asked for $100.

By 7pm we all agreed it was time to head back to the apartment. Another full day in Beijing and our legs were tired! We actually found a Catholic Cathedral two blocks from our apartment and plan on attending their 4pm English mass on Sunday. The Toms shoes that Stacy, Kallin and Hailey brought from home have held up well with all the walking and no blisters! Go Toms!

I’m having trouble uploading pictures but hopefully once we reach Russia it won’t be a problem. Sorry!