This morning we were supposed to go to a Buddhist temple, but I couldn’t get up. When A. called again at 9:30 I still was so tired, so I let her go on her own. In the mean time the cleaner had already knocked on my door four times, and I could still hear her vacuum somewhere, so I hanged out the ‘do not disturb’ sign, and finally could enjoy a couple more hours of sleep.
After a few hours, in which I had a strange dream, A. messaged me if I could come to the restaurant, where we ate the first night, in one hour, so it was time to get up. About my dream, it was the first time I dreamt about ghosts. Maybe one day I could turn it into a film script! I forgot how it started — or maybe there wasn’t a start — but I watched a scene in a basement. Some bad people had locked up a family, and one of the bad guys came down to hurt the mother (don’t ask me why) Suddenly the woman’s parents were in the room (ghosts) At first the man didn’t realize they were ghosts, he walked to them to grab and also tie them up, but he walked straight through them. Then the parents catched the man, and they used little hammers to break every bone in his body, one-by-one. Quite scary, but I didn’t feel scared at all.
Anyway, time to get up and meet A! I had a shave, using the cream we bought the first day. It’s very nice, lemon-scented Gillette, I never saw it in Holland. Then dress up and hurry to the restaurant. I found if I walk fast, I can do it in 12 minutes, and avoid all the ‘street-workers’. A. had already ordered a spicy-beef dish, which really was spicy! Imagine a large dish filled with chilli oil, chilli peppers, seasoning, and oh yes! beef and cabbage. But it was delicious and most of the time not too hot (apart from the temperature) We also had another dish with Chinese cabbage and some other stuff, 3 bowls of rice, and of course tea. Totally 38 RMB, much more than we could eat!
After we finished eating, we took the subway to Beijing Zoo. Today I finally and for the first time saw Panda bears! (Although they aren’t bears according to A) This was the nicest about the zoo, they are so cute, but only sleep or sit eating bamboo.
I was disappointed by the rest of the zoo. Many animals were in too small cages, some had already gone mad, like one kind of pig we saw. It just walked circles in its cage, and every time it came to the far left corner, it rolled over one time, then stand up and walk the circle again. I really pity the poor animal. Other animals were dirty or in poor condition, and many cages were really smelly! They should raise the entrance fee a little, so they can at least clean more often! The newer cages were better, bigger, and often more animals together, so they don’t get too bored. So they are improving! Hope it will continue.
Today I also saw someone selling baby chickens (I think that’s what they were). You could choose one of two, then he would make a small cage for you, and put them in. In the Forbidden City I also saw such a small cage, but with a huge cricket inside. I never saw one so big, I think it might be as big as the locust I once catched in the house. It’s very interesting, but also poor for the animals, since I don’t think they will live long.
We came back to the hotel early, and bought some food on the way home. I had an interesting snack, which looks like a rope, but tastes nice. We ate some of my soup, and watched TV for a while. Mostly CCTV9, the English spoken channel. I also saw a little of the Chinese ‘Idols’ show, but have to say it wasn’t very good.
Yesterday night I saw a documentary about (I hope I write it correct) Zheng He. He was a Chinese explorer, that took his huge flag-ship (about four times as big as a European ship at that time) and a fleet of around 200 other ships, all along the coast of Asia, and half of Africa, to tell everybody about the greatness of China, and bring them gifts and advanced technology, and established friendly relations with them. Some of the countries even sent back ambassadors with him to China. What is most interesting (but not proven sufficiently yet) is that he discovered America about 70 or 80 years before the Europeans did! The Chinese politic of friendly relations with other countries was such a smart difference with the hostile and suppressive European politic. I hope the rest of the world would one day follow China’s view!
Tomorrow we are going to visit the Great Wall of China. We have to get up so early, to catch the train! First we have to walk 15 minutes to the subway station, then take the subway for another 15 minutes. Walk again, and finally take the train. I sure hope I can get up in time!
Original Comments:
It’s really hard to change my mind from ur nightmare to lovely image of pandas.strange dream! hehe . but u r the lovely panda..
By: Sarah Y. Hu @ Apr. 16, 2007
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