Viser opslag med etiketten garden. Vis alle opslag
Viser opslag med etiketten garden. Vis alle opslag

mandag den 10. august 2015

Beijing - Day three

The Temple of Heaven


People in the park were doing all kinds of activities - Like on this picture: playing badminton
Activities like boardgames were an attraction as well

I walked into a photoshoot of a newlywed couple. Red is the most used color for the dresses in China



Today I felt like something should be done and therefor I went to the Temple of Heaven where you can pray for good harvest and some other stuff. The temple is places in a huge park where hundreds of activities is going on. People playing badminton without nets - some people did sweat quite a lot because they were so enthusiastic about their game - while others dance in pairs with a ball they throw up in the air to their partner and some did dance to live music. 

I first arrived at the temple where you pray for a good harvest while the rest of the park invites you to different stops on your way which is more beautiful than the one before. The Seven Star Stones is also a stop on the way and it was a beautiful sight. I came across this beautiful 500 year old tree which had a rutine when you came close to it:
You had to walk around it while waving at the tree - It would give you great fortune.

fredag den 7. august 2015

Beijing - Beihai Park

This morning I got myself some flipflops. I did only bring my hiking boots and they had giving me a lot of blisters on my feet so I needed to get out of them. But.. Unfortunately when it is 35-40 degrees outside and everything on you is sweating I got blisters where the flipflops touched the top of my feet so I was kind of doomed walking around but never the less I did get out.

The first thing I walked into today was the Nation Centre of Performance Art and the building was absolutely amazing if you look at it architecturally. It did not cost me much to go see the building inside and there were a lot to see and experience. Even a pianist was playing in the big hall and the sound was just beautiful.

The National Centre of Performance Art


The National Centre of Performance Art from the inside
The floor alone is art! You get the feeling of being welcome, being very small and at the same time unwelcome because you do not feel fancy enough with shorts, t-shirt and flipflops on. You are able to go to the 5th floor where you will get a good view of the building and the outside of the building.

-- Selfies from the National Centre of Performance Art --


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On my way from the National Centre of Performance Art I got to the Zhongshan Park which it the park that is connected to the Forbidden City. I did not have time to explore this part of the Forbidden City so I went for a walk in the park. It did not cost me much to got into the park and it was quite nice to see all the boats floating around. If only it was big enough so I did not have to run into people all the time but with 21 million people just located in Beijing you will not get much privacy. 



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When I got out of the Zhongshan Park I walked along the wall that keep intruders out from the Forbidden City and all the way to the north end of the city. Here I was able to see and then easily find my way to the Beihai Park and all of that because of the very well-known, white buddhist tower on top of a hill. 

The entrance fee was 20¥ and an extra 10¥ to get up to the white buddhist tower. It is not possible to get up there if you are in any way unable to walk on stairs - however the rest of the park is available. 
I did go all the way to the top and on my way up to the highest pit-stop there were 3 or 4 pit-stops on the way where I was able to buy a piece of red wood where I could write a prayer or a wish on and then hang it among all the other wishes and prayers. On the top of the hill I got to see the white buddhist tower up close - I was a bit disappointed not to be able to get into this thing but that is how it is. The way down from the top was easy.







onsdag den 5. august 2015

Beijing - The Forbidden City

Beijing… Beijing is one strange and busy city. When I say that it is because one of the first things that caught my eye was some kid taking a dumb on a piece of carbon near a trashcan. It is not something we do in Europe and therefore I was chocked to say the least but after you see something like that – kids peeing in the street or a mother changing her baby’s diaper before entering the subway – then you get kind of immune to it and do no longer think much about it. Nor should you be surprised to experience someone spitting right at your feet or hear someone behind you try to remove snot from his or her lungs and then spit it out. It is disgusting for sure but you will get used to it eventually.

As a white person or just a person who is not Asian-look-a-like then you will have to get use to Chinese/Asian people taking pictures of you like you were a celebrity or some kind of walking tourist attraction. This I have a hard time getting used to and you cannot ask them to stop doing it because they do not understand you – Trust me I have tried and all I got was Chinese words as an answer + some strange looks from the person.

If you are planning to go to Beijing do not get too surprised about all the security checks you have to go through to get to something. Security checks are everywhere you have to entre something; the subway, museums, historical sights and the list goes on. Even though I have diabetes and carry needles and that stuff they have not yet stopped me so you will get through easily.

Forget everything about communication with the Chinese. Very few talk English and if they do most of them do not dare to talk to you… Except if they want to sell you some of their bags or watches. They do approach you to ask where you come from and then they will ask if you want to go have a cup of tea or coffee with them, please do not fall for that trick. I met a girl in the King’s Joy Hostel who fell for the trick and she ended up paying 100¥ for the show. After hearing that story I said, “no thank you, I do not like Chinese tea” which is no lie and a great way to get rid of these intruders.

About the tea… Usually I really like tea but this green tea stuff they all drink so much of is not that great. I have tried it a few times now and it does not get better with time. They do have a lot of tea and the tea is everywhere. Of course there are different tea types and not ONLY green tea.


Beijing is a city of history that is for sure. The Forbidden City alone is 1 km2 and it has a lot of different squares, corners and chambers. With this tourist attraction you can be sure of A LOT of people and I am talking about London in busy hours-busy! The Forbidden City is right behind the Tian’anmen Square with a huge picture of the former emperor; Mao right above the entrance to the square before the entrance of The Forbidden City.

I assure you this is one of the attractions that is one of the MUST SEE-ones. You will get lost for sure - I did even with a map - because the map does not show all of the smaller "streets" in the city. The whole city was build in the 1400 and it hit me several times how it was even possible for the workers to build this massive buildings. It must be like visiting the pyramids in Egypt.. No one knows how but it was build anyway.

-- enjoy the pictures below -

The square before the entrance to The Forbidden City

The first square you arrive at

The second square - also the square before the throne where the emperor had his chair

The first square

Me at the entrance 

Me at the wall with the famous dragons with the 5 claws

Tian'anmen square

Tian'anmen square

The entrance of the square before the entrance to the Forbidden City

Very first square



The wall with the famous dragons that will bring you good fortune and luck



mandag den 8. juli 2013

Asian sensation


Shibuya & Ginza & Festival

Shibuya er der hvor det sker! Sofie og jeg tog til Shibuya omkring klokken 12 den 6/7, for at tjekke stedet ud, hvor de unge opholder sig. Det tog ingen tid at komme dertil, og lige når man kommer ud af stationen er man ved det berømte Shibya Kryds (Shibuya Crossing), hvor der mange gange om dagen går over 1000 mennesker over vejen på samme tid. Og vi var lige en del af det for nogle korte sekunder. 
Shibuya er bare en stor gågade med alt fra tøj til sko og isboder. For folk der ikke er vilde med lange køer eller i det hele taget voldsomt mange mennesker skal holde sig fra Shibuya delen af Tokyo. Det er vildt at se alle de levende reklamer der køre på skærme over det hele, og alle de andre farverige og lokkende skilte. Det endte så også med, at jeg fik nok, så Sofie og jeg gik hvert til sit. Jeg havde brug for et sted at sidde, og heldig som jeg var, stødte jeg på en Frozen Yoghurt.



Jeg valgte at tage hjem efter det lille hvil, men på vejen stoppede jeg lige ved Ginza, for at se mig lidt rundt der. Her var der et politisk indslag på gaden, hvor de stod og reklamerede for en af de politikere der stiller op til et eller andet - gættede jeg mig lidt tid. Fik sågar et lille håndtryk af en af dem! Ginza er lidt mere roligt end Shibuya, men der er stadig nok med mennesker, så jeg tog hurtigt afsted igen, og stod af ved Ueno og gik hjem derfra. Her stødte jeg ind i et optog mere. Der var festival i byen indtil den 7/7, så de varmede sikkert lige op. Der var noget dans, en masse boder og musik, og det optog en hel gade som er flere boligblokke lang. Det var ret vildt, og her købte jeg noget sushi til aftensmad.




Shinjuku & Harajuku & Sushi-party - 7/7

I dag var jeg alene. Jeg sov ikke længere end til 6:30, og efter at have spurgt Sofie om hun ville med til Harajuku og Shinjuku, tog jeg afsted ved 8 tiden. Jeg startede ud i Harajuku, for her var der en park med det berømte Meiji-tempel. Meiji er en kejser som vidst nok boede i denne park. Her kom jeg ind i hans private park, hvor han havde sin egen sø, hvor han brugte tid på at fiske, sit eget te-hus, hvorfra han kunne nyde udsigten over søen og sin egen blomsterpark samt en kilde med det reneste vand. den private del kostede 500 yen at komme ind i, og blomsterne, som var plantet derinde, var ikke i flor, men det var stadig en rigtig flot park, og helt sikkert 500 yen værd. For at komme til Meiji-templet skal man ud af den private have han havde, og gå et lille stykke for at komme dertil. Her nåede jeg at overvære en gudstjeneste af en art, hvor de slog på store trommer, dansede med flag og bad til lyden af en klokke. Desværre måtte jeg ingen billeder tage! Men det var en fantastisk oplevelse. Meiji-templet var virkelig flot, og jeg var glad for at jeg tog hertil. På vej ud var der nogle flere ting at se, som jeg heldigvis kunne tage billeder af.







Shinjuku blev det næste stop, for her havde Sofie snakket om en bygning man kunne komme op i, og få et gratis view ud over Tokyo. Metropolitan Government Building hed stedet, og var en kæmpe bygning lidt væk fra stationen, men der var heldigvis skilte der fortalte hvor du skulle hen af. Her kommer du op på 45. etage. Det så ud til, at der normalt er en lang kø, men da jeg ankom var der ingen, så det var dejligt nemt. 





Da jeg kom hjem viste det sig, at Lucy, en anden dansker fra vores hostel havde brækket tåen og skulle til et hospital lidt væk, for at få den tjekket hos en læge der kunne snakke engelsk. Jeg tog med hende, da Sofie ikke var hjemme fra hendes eventyr. Det tog 2 timer ved lægen, og ham der kunne engelsk var taget hjem, så endnu engang var vi lidt ude i nogle fagter og sådan, men vi havde det sjovt nok med det. Da vi kom hjem var Sofie der også, og da det var den sidste dag på festivallen var der sushi-party med resten af vores hostels beboere. det kostede små 800 yen og så fik vi øl og alt det sushi vi kunne spise. Det var bare super hyggeligt, og der blev spillet musik, af en der havde udgivet sine egne plader og det hele. Det var ret fedt, og han sang så godt. Vi andre prøvede også at synge lidt, men det gik ikke nær så godt, men vi fik et rigtig godt grin ud af det, og vi hyggede os så meget. Det var den sidste aften for mange af dem vi havde haft noget med at gøre, så vi blev siddende med dem til langt ud på aftenen. Lækkert sushi, dejligt selvskab, og godt musik. 


Over and out