November, 1998
Place: Beijing, Capital of China


First Impression
Visiting Beijing seems like an odd choice, not many of my friends would have been interested. However, I was excited to visit the land of China. Months after months of summer in Singapore, I was ready to welcome the cool winter breeze of Beijing. I heard in some places with changing seasons, some people had winter blues. Well, I'm not surprise. The skies were grey, the trees were bare, buildings looked dull, this sight could really make anyone feel down. However, I love it. I was a tourist after all.

The Imperial Palace
Anyone visiting Beijing cannot miss the Imperial Palace. It is indeed an awesome work of art! I am amazed, really amazed by all that I see. As I stand on it's ground, and everything around me being so surreal, it's past seem so unreal. But as I sat on it's ground, thinking about the history that has gone by, imagining the daily affairs of the Palace, the grand army that once stood here, the lives of every individuals in this Palace, I could almost see the past coming to life.

The Great Wall
One of the great wonders of the world. The Great Wall of China is simply majestic, breath taking and awesome. How can anyone build a thing like that, I wonder? With my thick and clumsy winter wear it was a challenge to climb those steps. To build it, one can imagine the hardship those builders went through. This great wall was built across mountains and with very heavy solid rocks. Many people spent all their lives here building this wall and they probably didn't even had a choice. I came here not just to see a wall but it made me think about the oppressed, and the results of a cruel, self obsessed Emperor. It is ironic how this place makes us(chinese) proud.

The Imperial Tomb
To be honest, in winter there isn't much things to see at the Imperial tomb. It boost a very large and I believe beautiful garden but to enjoy the scenery one should visit in Spring or Summer.

The People
The people of Beijing are very direct, straightforward sort of people. The interesting thing is for the five days that I'm here, I get to see people in heated arguement everyday and this is something that needs getting use to.

Food
For those who love chinese food or anything with lots of flour, you'll love Beijing. It is also a great place for exotic food too. But, food comes in real big portion and we could never finish all that we order. Fortuately, due to favourable currency exchange for us, restuarant food comes with hawker centre price tags, which was great.

Snow
Before we arrived in Beijing, Beijing had been snowing but not after we arrived. I have never seen snow falling from the sky but I'm ok even if I don't get to catch one in Beijing. But, God was kind to me. On the final day of our visit, it snowed! I was so happy, ran out to an open space, stetch out my hands and behaved like a child. It was really sweet, it was really very beautiful.

Final Thoughts
There are many other places of interest in Beijing which unfortuately I did not get to visit. But, it was really fun to immersed myself in their culture and way of life. I am looking forward to visiting Shanghai soon and I believe one day I'll visit Beijing again.