China: Day 4

Day 4

Okay, this account of China has gone on far too long and I am getting FAR behind on Spring in Korea. With that in mind, here is my last day in Beijing in pictures and videos:

First, a stop at the Lama Temple - the most famous Buddhist temple outside of Tibet.

 

I’m not sure if it was a special occasion for the New Year, but tons of people were burning incense and praying. We strolled through the five main halls, snapped a photograph of a giant Buddha (got yelled at my security) and decided to move on to the next destination before frost bite set in.

 

Next stop, the National Olympic Stadium – aka “The Bird’s Nest”.

 

After watching the 2008 Olympics, this was a must see so soon after all of the work that China put into hosting the event. The Bird’s Nest was pretty fascinating to see up close, but long lines (and freezing temperatures) prevented us from venturing inside to get a different perspective. Instead, we walked around the park to see all of the new buildings constructed specifically for the event, and then tried out a new subway line that was also recently built.

 

Last on the agenda was the weird food market! We were hungry for some scorpions!

  

 

 

With an open mind I bit into the deep fried, seasoned scorpion that looked a lot like the ones you find back in Arizona, and I was pleasantly surprised. The worst part was that you had to chew it for quite a while, like the bad end of an asparagus. The flavor wasn’t half bad, but I don’t think I would go back for seconds.

 

Other possible treats that I didn’t partake in were locus, starfish, BIG scorpions, seahorses, crickets, various animal testicles and penises… I didn’t want to upstage Bear Grylls.

 

THE END