What a day!

I'm tired beyond belief...went to Tianamen Square, Forbidden Palace, Wafujing, Jingshan Park, and other random places. Let me tell you if you didn't know already, but the Forbidden Palace is BIG. 9,999 rooms big. But even with its size, the number of people who visit it makes you wish it was even bigger. I hope that tells you something about the number of people in China. No words can describe it. This city makes LA look like a small town. I think Beijing has got about 12 million people, can't imagine what Tokyo feels like. At one point I was waiting to take the subway to Wanfujing (a shopping area). I bought a ticket (which only cost 2 yuan or about 30 cents) and waited for the train. A train arrived so squished with people, they were literally leaving nose marks on the windows. So I passed on the first train. Somehow some of the locals managed to fit themselves in any spare nooks and crannies left. Waited another 5 mins for the next train. Same situation. After striking out twice, I was determined not to be such an obvious foreigner. I dove into the third train and probably crushed a few kids while doing it. Thankfully I only had to go one stop. One of the locals on the train struck up a conversation with me that went like this:
Local:"Ni hau" (hello)
Me : "Ni hau"
Local: "Where are you frem?"
Me: "America. From San Francisco."
Local: "Oh San Francisco! I am 23, how old are you?"
Me: "29."
Local: Makes some weird noises.I couldn't figure out what he was saying, finally realize he's giving me his name. "What is your name?"
Me: "Sri"
Local: "You're cute."
Me: Surprised look on my face, totally embarassed. "Uh, thanks."
Local: "Sorry , are you gay?"
Me: "No."
Thank god the next station arrived just in time. I said "Bai Bai" as I ran out of the train. I think the "from San Francisco" part excited him. Who knows. My day wasn't quite as interesting after. I went to this gigantic shopping mall that is just like any mall you'll find in the US. Probably close to Valley Fair, but more upscale. The prices are crazy. Nike Air Force 1 shoes go for around $110 USD. How do Chinese people afford this stuff? I was going to buy these Armani Exchange shorts but they it is the equivalent of my entire hotel stay in Beijing.
After spending some time in the super commercialized area, I decided to go to Jingshan Park, which is basically a temple that overlooks the entire city of Beijing. I suck at deciphering where the bus stops (plus I'm easily distracted), so I ended up walking a few miles to get there. I walked through this old area with houses called hutongs that line the Forbidden Palace. This is what the old China looks like. It's such a drastic difference. I was thinking these people who look poor must be wondering what happened to China to change so quickly. I admit this is my Western biased view. Maybe Beijing wasn't as poor and developing as we were led to believe back in the day. Anyway, I found this cool place to take pictures, where I met this guy on a bike who kept giving me advice on what angles to take. Every time I showed him the picture I had taken with his suggestion, he would nod disapprovingly and wave his hand to follow him to a new location to take pics. After doing this for a while, I just gave him my $2k camera and told him to take pics. It was pretty funny watching this old man try to figure out how to use it. He did take some good pics though. I got his email address so I'll have to send them to him. Our entire exchange was done through sign language. He didn't speak a word of English and me Mandarin.
Anyway, I'm about to collapse. So far I've been around China in taxi,bus,subway, on foot, and tobagon. Tomorrow, I'll rent a bike and give my feet some rest. Here is a little piece of the Forbidden Palace for you before I hit the sack.