Expediccionado: Molding a well-mannered imagination

Okay, so our failure with Korean barbecue didn't really count as our first outing alone. I would say that today's adventure did. After some instruction from Tony, we grabbed a map, caught a taxi and made our way to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing, in Chongwen District, constructed from 1406 to 1420. Our taxi driver definitely took us for a ride, as we found out later when our ride home took half the time as our journey there.

The structures at Temple of Heaven are surrounded by a large, lovely park and it appeared that many locals enjoy using it for various activities, especially dancing. There were several groups of people dancing - some large, some small - to a variety of musical styles including Chinese pop (old and new), techno, bollywood, and something that sounded like an attempt at belly dance music.

These folks are doing European style ballroom dancing.

Another large group of dancers.

This park was absolutely beautiful. There were large groves of trees, many wild flowers, pretty street lamps, and birds singing. We saw lots of older folks out "exercising" - walking while waving their arms around, dancing, tai chi, etc.

Some views of the Temple Grounds:

After a long jaunt through the trees, we finally found the main temple site.

Just inside the entry gate.

Ceiling detail

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿)

Exterior close-up

Interior

Interior of one of the adjacent halls.

Roof details (the green dragon is my favorite):

Dear tourists,

Please observe the following:

Charlie breaks the rules.

We found our way out of the park, apparently missing some other cool sites that we didn't even know existed, despite having a map for which we paid an extra 10¥. Once outside we embarked on a search for food, eventually ducking into a small market with a deli. We had no idea what to do or who to pay, so we just guessed. There numerous piles of tasty-looking treats behind a glass partition with openings where employees were serving people. We approached one window, pointed at a few things, and were told the price in Chinese. Charlie guessed and handed the woman 20¥ and she gave us change. We made our way back to a sitting area just outside the temple grounds and scarfed the noodles, humbow and sticky rice that we had just bought.

Afterword, we walked a few blocks to a less busy intersection and hailed a taxi. The driver had a stern, intimidating face, but turned out to be a cool guy. He didn't really know where we lived, despite showing him the handy bilingual taxi book that Tony gave us, so he drove around until he found it. Even so, the trip was short and direct - he didn't rip us off like the last guy. On the way home, I got some shots of a few interesting buildings:

China Central Television Headquarters building.

The toasted (thanks to fireworks) Mandarin Oriental Hotel next to the CCTV.

If anybody knows what this one is, please tell me.

We arrived back home around midday and stopped into the little grocery store on the ground floor of the apartment building. We bought mango juice, Kettle chips and U.F.O. noodles!

Just a tip: do not buy the U.F.O. noodles in the blue packaging unless you want to eat things that smell like stank ass fish hell (similar to Lake Lowell in Nampa, ID).

Then we took a nap.

When Tony and Elena got home we went out to dinner with one of Tony's colleagues. The restaurant we went to was called Pure Lotus and was completely vegetarian. This place was amazing. I decided that it was like a spa for food. The main entrance is actually a big tent, where you are greeted by folks in Mongolian-style clothing who show you to your table.

Once inside, a young lady with a fancy bottle of rosewater sprinkles some on your hands. Then you are directed through a spinning wall - the kind you'd find in a old spooky mansion that would lead into a secret passageway - which takes you into the main dining area.

The smells are amazing here. It really does smell like a spa, with hints of lavender and ginger. There are candles burning everywhere, cool décor, low-hanging chandeliers, and private tents.

We were led into a private dining room, of which there were several tucked into the corridors throughout the restaurant. It smelled strongly of ginger. The table was set with pretty plates and wooden chopsticks (thank god!), and we had our own personal Guan Yin statue at the head of the table.

The dishes arrived one by one in crazy huge bowls that were all different and intricate in their own way. Our first dish (and my personal favorite) was the Happiness Rolls:

These were filled with crunchy lettuce, julienned carrots, tofu and egg, a sweet/spicy mayonnaise sauce, and garnished with a walnut and a strawberry.

There was also the violet and mallow tea:

This place also had a $200 pot of tea on the menu, but we passed on that one. I declared that if I were to pay $200 for a pot of tea it damn well better make me enlightened.

The restaurant had a variety of juices and each of us ordered something different. Mine was the carrot/pineapple/apple/honey blend, which was supposed to be for a "clean inner environment":