Laundry On Sundaes

Another overcast day in Beijing. My mom and I left the apartment at 8 am to take the bus. At the bus stop, I saw a streetside food vendor selling 鸡蛋灌饼. It’s like a flatbread filled with an egg cooked on a large pan, then they wrap sauce and lettuce in it :D It is so delicious and I have not had one in AGES. So I got one. And it only cost 1.50 RMB (about 25 cents).

After my second breakfast, we took the bus, which was very very crowded (I almost did not get on), and transferred to the subway, which was even more crowded since it was still the morning rush. We had to wait for the third train to get on, and by get on I mean thrust through the doors as soon as they opened by the crowd pushing behind. And before I could even get my step steady all the seats on the car were already filled with people. Sigh. But otherwise, the subway system in Beijing is far cleaner and more modernized than the one in NYC. The cars are air conditioned, they have flat screen TV’s in them, and there are no rats or cockroaches in the tracks.

About an hour later, we arrived at the Olympic Sports Center :D

The National Stadium, aka the Bird’s Nest

The National Aquatic Center, aka the Water Cube. I will come back to this place later in my trip at night because it lights up and it’s really pretty.

The National Indoor Stadium

Then we got tickets to go inside the Bird’s Nest.

It must have bee really amazing to have watched the Games in there, it’s a pretty epic place :)

For lunch we stopped by another outdoor food place for some 凉皮, or cold rice noodles with spicy vinegar and garlic sauce and cucumbers and a kind of gluten thing (I honestly don’t know what it’s called in English). It was also something I’ve been craving for a while and it was so yummy.

Later in the afternoon we went to a mall near the apartment. Though I call it a mall it’s really nothing like the western version of it. Each floor has its own category of goods (like shoes, women’s clothing, appliances, etc.) and vendors set up their own little booth. It’s shopping heaven. But unfortunately I did not buy anything (except for some flip flops; I’ve been destroying shoes lately) because I’m doing a lot more travelling later on and all the shopping will be left for later. Must. Resist. Temptation. TO BUY!

Tomorrow it’s off to the airport again for my flight to Chongqing. New adventures await!

PS: Something odd has been happening. I’ve constantly been hearing one of my favourite soundtracks (Amélie) playing. As the music to some documentary TV program. On the subway. What even more strange is that I’m probably the only person who knows where the music is from. I kind of like it that way :)

Tags: beijing, breakfast, china, food, lunch, travel