We took our 82 bus up to the northern entrance of the Forbidden City. This left us a short walk from the popular alleys, or hutongs as they are know here.
We had a walking tour thru the hutongs and quickly abandoned it as the interesting part was the Main Street, not the smaller hutongs. These hutongs are where many Beijingers live. It is a rabbit warren of narrow alleys with blind ends and a myriad of clothes lines all strewn with drying things. The hutong dumped us out at the Drum Tower. The most daunting thing about it was the straight to the top staircase without landings and very large rise between each step. Wasn't sure I was going to make it to the top!
If that is not a sight stretching before you.... This is straight up, that white patch is the only landing... One false move, and hello broken neck!
The views out over Beijing were really wonderful. All those gray slate roofs are part of the hutongs.
This bell was HUGE and the striker was as well.
We took a cab from here to Sanlitun to try to find a sports bar for Bill to watch at least one of the CAFL games that were being played on Sunday. We ended up with 2 different cab drivers and neither could find the location that bill had given them. We wandered a mall for a bit looking for an alternative but to no avail. We ended up in a Mexican restaurant, which was not half bad. Not great, but a reasonable facsimile of Mexican cuisine. We decided to try to find a bar again, but it just got really frustrating. So I took a cab back to our hotel and Bill found "Hooters" and a screen for his beloved game. So It Was A Happy Ending, after all!
We had a walking tour thru the hutongs and quickly abandoned it as the interesting part was the Main Street, not the smaller hutongs. These hutongs are where many Beijingers live. It is a rabbit warren of narrow alleys with blind ends and a myriad of clothes lines all strewn with drying things. The hutong dumped us out at the Drum Tower. The most daunting thing about it was the straight to the top staircase without landings and very large rise between each step. Wasn't sure I was going to make it to the top!
We were fortunate enough to arrive a short time before the drum performance.
This is in the courtyard between the Drum and Bell towers. You are looking at the Bell Tower, but it would be hard pressed to tell them apart.
We took a cab from here to Sanlitun to try to find a sports bar for Bill to watch at least one of the CAFL games that were being played on Sunday. We ended up with 2 different cab drivers and neither could find the location that bill had given them. We wandered a mall for a bit looking for an alternative but to no avail. We ended up in a Mexican restaurant, which was not half bad. Not great, but a reasonable facsimile of Mexican cuisine. We decided to try to find a bar again, but it just got really frustrating. So I took a cab back to our hotel and Bill found "Hooters" and a screen for his beloved game. So It Was A Happy Ending, after all!
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