On-foot Goes to China

The first time I was in Beijing was about a decade ago. That time, I could count the number of cars with my fingers, the Olympics did not invade the capital yet, and communism was still in fashion, but dentistry was not. Now, you can count the bicycles with one hand and most locals are prosperous as evidenced by the fancy cars and high rise condos housing concubines, excuse me, I mean 2nd wives. Hey, don’t judge. Feudalism still has its influence left behind. Raise the red lantern!

We made the usual stops: the Great Wall, Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City (sans the concubines) and the Summer Palace. A huge portrait of The Chairman greets you as you enter the Emperor’s Palace, a.k.a Forbidden City, from the Tianamen Square. The tour inside the huge city takes a few hours. Imagine if your house was that big? You’d need an intercom to call your maid to ask for a sandwich. And if she forgets your drink, she will take another hour to get back to you. She’d probably end up drinking your water by the time she gets back from the exhaustion.