The Forbidden City

We went to see the 'Gu Gong,' (translated means 'former palace') which is the Forbidden City. It is said that this palace is one of the largest and best-preserved in the world. This huge complex, built between 1406 to 1420, is around 178 acres. Twenty-four different emperors lived here. It is so beautiful as you walk in. We walked along the polished pathway in the middle which is where the emperors used to walk. I could imagine the pomp and ceremony, along with the power that existed many years ago. There is so much that I could write about to describe the symbolism of the buildings and items within the city, but you can look that up elsewhere on the internet. We only explored the outer courts of the Forbidden City today because we needed to do some errands, i.e. exchange money, buy tickets, etc.

We found a bank (after going to several) to exchange our American Travelers Checks into 'Ren Nim Bi' (Chinese currency or RMB). Our dollar to the 'yuan' (Chinese dollar) is currently worth about 7.5 RMB, but with the exchange rate we got about 7.2 RMB for each dollar. It took over 5 hours for the whole process - I won't go into detail, but let's just say that it was a frustrating experience. There were long waiting periods to first speak to a teller, then a supervisor, then a manager, then someone at headquarters. Then being sent to the main headquarters of the bank (on the other side of the city). I'm afraid there are going to be a lot of frustrated foreigners during the Olympics next year. Anyways - Kenton was able to exchange our money, finally. The boys and I were at Starbucks for the most part waiting. We decided to stop dragging them around from bank to bank.

It is amazing how Starbucks is the same here as it is back home. The boys and I found a cozy semi-private corner and stayed there for hours. The prices are the same as in the States, which is fine on an American salary, but expensive for a local salary. I couldn't believe I paid 18 yuan for a small bottle of apple juice. I could buy four times the amount of juice in a supermarket (which I did later that day) for one third the price. People from all countries came in to patronage the coffee shop. What amazed me the most was the service. Whenever a patron left their table, two employees would quickly come and clean up. The table would be spotless and ready within 15-20 seconds. When a group of about 15 Europeans finished up and left, four employees quickly came and cleaned up. The tables and chairs were returned to their proper spaces - again, all done within 15-20 seconds. An employee would walk by and check on us every 10 minutes. The private sector in Beijing seems to know customer service.

We will leave in the morning to fly north to Dalian, Kenton's hometown. We'll come back to Beijing to shop and sightsee for a couple days before flying back to the States next month. I may or may not be able to post daily, but I'll try.

The boys: The boys did pretty well waiting at Starbucks. We played games together, did puzzles, ate crossaints, drank juice (anything to keep them entertained) - then came the daily 5-6 pm whining/crying/meltdown (they're still dealing with the time change). Justin and Brian were finally able to sleep some there. We then had dinner at McDonalds. I'll write more about that later.

It seems that all three boys ate something that their stomachs weren't used to. Justin has the worst of it. He began a fever in the evening, and has had a high temperature. He's also thrown-up a few times. I've been up most of the night checking on him and comforting him.

Brian has gotten quite attached to his uncle (Kenton's brother). When he is fussy, he'll calm down as soon as his uncle picks him up.

Kevin doesn't want to leave the hotel we're staying in.