On Friday, June 14 Tony and I were ready for our last full day in China. This was it. But before we left our hotel room (we were out pretty late the night before) I went down the street and brought us back some breakfast so we could watch the Miami Heat game. I should note after 12 days in China, this was the first time I went out and got breakfast. Usually Tony “beat me” to it every time we did this. There was a little convenient store down the street – a 7-11 actually (seriously, these are everywhere in Beijing). There was also a little French bakery near that. So between the two places, we usually got some kind of breakfast pastry and a some juice almost every morning. Although I think we did get breakfast at McDonald’s one morning too.
We watched the NBA Finals game 4 on TV – this was a must-win for the Heat. They were down 2-1 in the series. Either way, we knew that at this point, we’d get to see the conclusion of the finals when we got back home. Well on this day, they won and tied the series 2-2! It was a great game and the second it was over, we left the hotel and started making our way towards the Forbidden City. We did our usual quick 10-minute stop at the Apple store to check any emails that might have come in and then we made a stop at Subway (inside one of the malls) to get some nourishment before what we expected to be several hours walking around inside the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City is at the very heart of Beijing and we were fortunate enough to be less than a mile walking distance from the entrance. It is a magnificent architectural complex that was completed in 1420. From this spot, more than 24 emperors ruled for nearly 500 years. During that time, the palace was the exclusive domain of the imperial court and dignitaries. The walls are high and no regular Chinese person was every allowed inside. They probably had no idea how complex and huge and beautiful it was inside. That was until the throne was abdicated in 1912 – when China went from an empire to a “republic.” Later, in 1949, the “Forbidden City” was forbidden no more – as it became open to the public. And we felt fortunate that after all the centuries of commoners not being allowed through the gates and behind the walls, now even we foreigners could be here.
When we entered it on this day, there were crowds of people. However, it was not as crowded as it had been a few days earlier during the Dragon Boat holiday, when we decided to avoid entering it. As you enter the palace, there is a giant mural of Chairman Mao on it, looking out towards the direction of Tiananmen Square. Once you enter the first part of the palace, the “outer court,” anyone can flow in and out of that area without paying an admission fee. But if you wish to go further, there is a ticket office. Upon entering the heart of the Forbidden City, you just wander around on your own.
Of course, you could rent an audio guide or pay an unofficial tour guide to take you around. The concierge at our hotel had warned us that we would be solicited by such tour guides before entering – was he ever right! At least a dozen people came up to us asking us (in English) if we needed a guide. Our concierge suggested we should decline these requests (we did), but often they don’t take no for an answer here — not the first, second, third, or fourth time. That really teaches me something about sales, marketing, and fundraising. These people are probably being persistent because it has worked before – they do not let an objection stand in their way to keep asking! You really just have to completely ignore and walk away from them altogether. At times I felt like I was being rude, but the inundations are sometimes just too much. I guess as Americans we stand out from most of the crowd. And on this day, I was wearing my United States Davis Cup tennis team shirt. So, my red, white, and blue was well represented inside the Forbidden City.
We were really blown away by how huge this palace was. I remarked that it almost reminded me of the breadth of Versailles, the palace built by King Louis XIV in France – however that palace was more on the outskirts of the city (kind of like where the Chinese “Summer Palace” location is). This one was in the heart of Beijing. There were temples, gates, quarters for the emperor and dignitaries, gardens, bridges, thrones, and ornate architecture and engravings. We spent about two and a half hours there. And that was our last major attraction here in China.
After leaving the Forbidden City (on the north side), we got a taxi to take us back to the Ya Show market so that I could pick up my new hand-made suit and shirts. From there, we then got another taxi back to our hotel. We pretty much chilled out the rest of the afternoon and had a nice Italian dinner at the restaurant in our hotel. The fact that we had Italian on our last day in China pretty much tells me that Italian food wins. I bet even Marco Polo was happy to get back to his Italian food after his own venture to China.
On Saturday, June 15, Tony had an earlier flight than I did – he was flying directly back to San Francisco. I had another route to Tallahassee. So, shortly after he got up and had something to eat, we said goodbye and he went downstairs and got a taxi. I think we both really hate good-byes…especially given the fact that we live on separate coasts of the United States and we had just spent almost every moment of the last two weeks together. It is really great we get to travel to some great places together so much – a great brothers bonding trip. And we always travel so well together. But it’s also sad to say goodbye!
As for me, I had about the next four hours to kill at the hotel. I chilled out mostly, went down to the Apple store to check the emails via the free WiFi, walked around a few shops nearby and even finally took a peak inside the St. Joseph’s Cathedral (a historic Catholic Cathedral no longer recognized by the Vatican, since it is controlled by the Chinese government) which was a block from our hotel. It looked nice inside and there appeared to be a wedding about to begin (yea, at like 10:00 AM on a Saturday). Around 11:30 AM I finally said good bye to the Crowne Plaza, where we had made our home in Beijing for the past five days. I got a taxi to the airport (about 45 minute drive) and got there in plenty of time for my 4:10 PM flight. My last meal in China was at the Pizza Hut in the airport. I then took off.
My route back to Tallahassee would be a 20-hour travel day. My first flight (13 hours gate-to-gate, about 12 in the air) was from Beijing to Chicago. Part of this flight goes over Russia (Siberia), the north pole (north of Alaska), back down through Canada, and lands in Chicago. I had a two-hour layover, which wasn’t much considering I had to go through the international terminal, get let back into the country, pick up my checked bag, go through customs, drop my bag back off on the conveyor belt for domestic flights, and then go back through security.
I only had about 30 minutes before we started boarding the next flight, which was to Charlotte. That flight was 90-minutes and felt so short after the previous flight. I had an hour layover in Charlotte, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then got on my one-hour flight to Tallahassee. Once again, this felt so quick. I remarked to my mother later that I never realized how close Chicago and Tallahassee were. I mean, everything is perspective. I landed in Tallahassee on time at 11:45 PM ET. I don’t sleep on flights and had been up for about 40 hours by the time I walked into my house at about 12:30 AM.
After 15 days away, it was nice to get back to my own bed. I slept for 11 hours straight and it would take me nearly a week to get fully back on schedule. But the entire experience and the long flights were completely worth. Walking back into the house was actually weird. I thought to myself – just 20 hours ago, I was in Beijing and now I’m in my own house in Tallahassee, Florida. What a small world we live in.
…Stay tuned as I’ll have some further reflections on China – including thoughts about freedom, social media, economics, and comparisons with the United States and other countries. For now, thank you for following along. I hope you have enjoyed reading through our travels and I encourage you to make some comments below – and to consider visiting China one day yourself.
