Finally Forbidden!

Thirteen years & 5 visits after my first trip to Beijing, I finally made it into the Forbidden City!  All I need to to now is get my arse over to the Great Wall at some point...

Eight years (!) since my last visit to mainland China, Beijing has changed dramatically: thanks to the Olympics there are English signs everywhere; the red army numberplated-Audis are gone, replaced by a multitude of private cars including Ferraris & Bentleys; the subway has grown from 2 lines to 10; and the only people riding around on bicycles are tourists.  The place looks more like Singapore now than the only-just-out-of-full-on-communism that I saw in 2000.

Some things remain similar – stepping off the subway at Tianamen Square I was approached by another  passenger who just wanted to chat in English for a bit. He wanted to go for a coffee (nothing suss?) but I only had a couple of hours to see the Forbidden City so had a good excuse to beg off.

Walking back around the palace from its northern gate, I saw the tourists on their bikes: two girls and a guy, youngish europeans by the look. They parked their bikes outside a little sidewalk bar jumping with live music. I had to stop & get a beer, although 30 RMB for a bottle of Laotian brew still seems a little outrageous.  It was nice, though...