Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: A Tale of Two Cities (2010)
Sights ancient and modern
After such a packed programme the previous day, I decided that two aspects of today's explorations would be different: first, I would make use of the metro system, and secondly, perhaps a gentle easing of the pace might be in order! Following another excellent breakfast, I set out for the nearby Dengshikou station. Buying a ticket proved to be easy enough, although I thought it was odd that the machines required a destination to be specified, even though a flat fare applied throughout the network. Anyway, when I emerged once more into the morning sunshine, I was right in the heart of the Olympic complex created for the 2008 games. Although no sports fan, I recognised the Bird's Nest Stadium instantly and was sufficiently interested to buy a ticket to see inside it.
The complex as a whole managed to keep me interested for a while, but the experience was diminished by the large number of hawkers, most of whom seemed to regard as incomprehensible the idea that anyone could fail to be interested in their ghastly tat.
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As my next and final sight-seeing objective lay south of the
area in which I was based, I decided to return to home
ground for lunch. I didn't actually go back to the hotel,
instead finding something appropriate in the huge Oriental
Plaza mall. It seemed that a strange thing happened during
the course of my metro ride. It had been bright but cold at
the Olympic village, but as I walked the short distance from
Dongdan metro station to the mall, first my scarf and then
my hat had to come off. Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, the
weather had turned mild and Spring-like! After lunch, I again rode the metro the relatively short distance to the Temple of Heaven, one of the sights that I had clear recollections of visiting back in 1991. |
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With my easier sight-seeing programme now completed, I found that I had plenty of time available for a bit of relaxation before heading upstairs for the excellent Executive Lounge happy hour. For dinner, I walked the short distance back to the Oriental Plaza mall and ate in the Beijing branch of Crystal Jade, the Singapore-based chain that had delivered consistently during the previous year's visit to Shanghai.