After another relaxing morning we headed for the Temple of
Heaven. A temple to pray for good harvest in the centre of a park. As we
wandered through the park there were people milling about everywhere. People
playing mah-jong, cards, or just chatting. There were groups of people creating
flash-choirs, singing what sounded like folk songs, though without
understanding it's hard to tell. No-one was bothered by us wondering about
taking photos, and mingling with the crowd. Some were as interested in us as we
were in them, and put on a show for the camera and allowed us to be part of
what they were doing. One of the best bits of travelling is blending in with
the locals and being part of things. Them being comfortable with our presence
is quite a privileged feeling. It was quite enjoyable just to sit and listen to
the music, and watch people play their games. It was much like speakers corner
in London's Hyde Park, where people can do they like and no-one is bothered.
We saw the temple, but because of the oppressive heat, we didn't hang around too long. It was quite pretty, with a lot of tourists, but it was soon time to move on.
From there we went to the pearl market, which contrary to the
name, sells more than pearls, though that is a large part of the markets. The
sales girls on the whole were characters, and the sales pitch usually on the
cheeky side. We bought some t-shirts from 2 girls who were very good at the
banter. After we had succumbed, we told them about the trip we had just done.
They were so impressed they didn't believe us and wanted proof. So we swapped
email so we could do just that.
We bought a few knick-knacks at the market, though none of
them pearls as we couldn't afford the ones we liked. Of course. Then we headed
back to the hotel where we watched the olympics before going to a chinese
restaurant where Nads had Peking Duck, which has to be done when in Peking.
Another great day all round!
