Walk around Beijing

For my last day in Beijing, I decided to walk around to some temples and parks. Just take in some of the atmosphere. Went to the bar last night with a few other Hostel dwellers. Was lots of fun. We missed the last subway train so we walked home. Took us about an hour and a half to walk. Kinda tired today after all that fooling around. Got up and hit the road by 9:15. Took the subway to the Lama Temple which is a big functioning Buddhist temple. Not a whole lot to see in this one that would be different from any temple. There were lots of people praying so I didn't stay long. Went from there to the Confucius temple. Temple was dedicated to Confucius and was quite interesting. He had a good life and was instrumental in the growth,

development of China today. He is more important to the Chinese than I thought so they created a big temple area for just him and his disciples. Got to take in a music show at the temple which was quite interesting. Went to the Bell and Drum Towers after Confucius. Nice big structures that had a use in their day. Now just ornamental buildings for tourists. Seems that all the Chinese structures have a similar look to them. Kinda wish they would have a few different styles and looks. Gets a little mundane seeing the same every time. Finished off my excursion at the Jingshan park. Nice little park with more temples. This one is situated just North of the Forbidden City. I had seen it when I was at the City and thought it would be a nice place to visit. Only thing that made it not as nice as it is was the smog again today. This time it got up to 205 on the scale. Couldn't get any long distance pictures because the smog was too thick. Walked home feeling a little under the weather. Got to prepare for my trip south to Pingyao. Kind of excited to leave Beijing and head

south. Hopefully it all works out!