Day 2 - Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Quanjude (Duck Restaurant), Silk Alley, and Bad Traffic

Just got back half an hour ago from a long day out.

It starts getting dark at about 5pm.

We're about to leave for dinner with our relatives in Beijing. Quite looking forward to meeting them. Looks like I'll have to upload photos tomorrow. Stay tuned!

The Mao Zedong Memorial: We were there!

Some government building: It has some red coat-of-arms on it, so it has to be right? Pardon my ignorance, and please correct me!

The Forbidden City: With the famous Mao portrait.

Lost in time: Some costumed people inside the Forbidden City.

A World of its Own: The Inner Courts of the Forbidden City.

Speculations of Bacteria in our breakfast!

Gosh, I really should watch what I eat...

Bacteria-cocktail: was fried fungi and mushrooms. Quite nice actually.

Cooking heart: I didn't try it.

Speculation-shoot: were quite obviously veggies.

Pork tablets: would've been a wonderdrug, but it's actually bacon strips.

Intestinal breakfast: wasn't as bad as it sounds. they were fried sausages!

The breakfast here isn't bad. But food here (in general) is quite oily and salty. 

These photos were taken discreetly, and with my compact camera. Pardon the poor focus and noise!

Murphy's Law

..states that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong.

That's why pro photographers bring backups of every essential item.

On the way here, the bottle of alcohol solvent leaked inside its ziploc bag inside my backpack, and it got onto the card reader and battery reader.

The battery reader's plastic is scuffed. And the card reader doesn't work anymore.

Guess I won't be uploading photos for now. Unless I go pick one up at the stores tomorrow.

Dusk

As viewed from my wing-side window on the plane..

I wish I could take a walk out there with my special someone...

One day.

"You'll remember me when the west wind moves

Upon the fields of barley

Youll forget the sun in his jealous sky

As we walk in the fields of gold.."

- Fields of Gold, Sting

Canon

Upon leaving the airport, I was greeted by an entire line of mini-billboard advertisements..

Canon (:

Silhouettes at Hong Kong Airport

With no flash, and so much backlighting - why not use it?

Strangers - starting out on a journey.

Man under his own tree, looking out at the airstrip.

The upload of other pictures is delayed due to equipment fault (see 'Murphy's Law').

Am also in no mood to talk at length about the rest of the journey since Hong Kong.

We basically landed in Beijing in very good time. The skies at dusk were beautiful, pictures still stuck in my camera. Then we went on the long road out of the airport - customs, immigration, declarations, forms.. and queuing up for a taxi.

More from me later..

Gift Idea..

For your enemies perhaps?

Seen at Singapore Airport Duty Free

I was admonished and warned sternly by a member of staff against taking photographs in the shop. This was the only photograph I took.