Beijing- Day 1

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The first week of May is Golden Week in Japan, a series of consecutive public holidays. We have heard that domestic travel during the holiday week is pretty hectic, so we decided to use some frequent flier miles and high tail it to Beijing for a few days. Our trip started out well when Joe's mileage status got us free passes to the ANA lounge at Kansai airport- free snacks and drinks! After a short 3 hour flight we arrived at the beautiful new Beijing airport, passed through immigration and quarantine and continued out to the subway linking the airport to the city center. On our way to the subway terminal I was interviewed by a Chinese tv news station about my reaction to the pig flu, so maybe I'm famous in Beijing.
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We emerged from the subway a few kilometers from our hotel and thought it easiest to catch a taxi to our hotel, as it was located deep in one of the hutong. Above is one of the hutong residences, below is the street itself.
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After dropping off our stuff and grabbing a quick lunch, we headed out to meet up with our friends Erin and Ben, who came up from Tianjin to meet us for the weekend. Yay! Below is a typical Beijing street.
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We attempted to visit the Lama Temple and the Drum Tower, but both were closed a few minutes before we arrived. Alas, it was a beautiful afternoon, so we headed over to the area around Qian Hai and Hou Hai Lakes. Below is the Drum Tower.
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Ben, Erin, and Joe near the lake area. There were lots of interesting bars, restaurants and shops in the area, and tons of people out paddle boating on the lakes.
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This narrow passage between the two lakes was the site of many boat jams. The two guys in red motor boats had the job of pushing the pleasure boaters back to alleviate the problem, but about 30 minutes later, another boat jam would happen. We selected a rooftop cafe nearby so we could watch the boat fiasco and hang out for a while.
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After a nice afternoon of people watching, we set out to find some dinner. We ended up at a lake side outdoor cafe where we had lots of veggies. Mmmm..... From the left, eggplant, brocoli, and this amazing spicy dish of greenbeans with chilis and these little bits of fried garlic. It may look healthy, but not to worry, it was all cooked in enough oil to make it super tasty.
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After dinner, walking around on Lotus Lane, a dessert cart.
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Dessert! As I am a picky eater and very Western-centric in my dessert tastes, I abstained, so I can't vouch for the taste, but I bet it was good.
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Looking back at the lakes with the Drum Tower lit up in the distance. This open area was filled with people playing hacky sack!
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