Continued 9/13/07

To be Continued.....9/13/07
Then on to the Hutong tour. This is the old districts of Beijing with low one-story buildings mostly built of gray brick, that were originally built for one family around a courtyard, but as the population expanded the courtyards were filled in with additional buildings which may now house 15 families, and leaving a maze of narrow alley ways. The tour is by rickshaw, which are now pedicabs. As it was raining the cabs were plastic draped to preserve the velvet “surrey with a fringe on top.” Only two to a cab, so Jamie rode with our guide, June, and Lela and I rode in a second cab. This was going to be a problem as we had barely enough cash left to tip for one guide and driver.
We careened through the twisted alleys, barely missing pedestrians and other cyclists – which seems to be the approach to all types of traffic. Cutting off is an art form in Beijing, but despite hair-raising close calls, we haven’t seen an accident. There seems to be massive amounts of demolition and building going on. Lela began to fade. We stopped to meet a home owner, Mr. Li, and he offered us tea and small snacks. June and Mr. Li told us about the Hutong. He has a three room house, the living room were we were, about 10x10 and a bedroom on each side. The kitchen is traditional charcoal brazier outside the door and there are neighborhood toilet/bathing facilities. The government took ownership of the houses after the revolution, and the residents are renters. The lease is lifelong and can be passed down, but the house can’t be sold. Much of the renovation we saw was in response to the upcoming Olympics, and large renovations are paid for by the government. Lela fell asleep in my lap, so I sat while Mr. Li and June took Jamie for a walk around the immediate neighborhood. On the way back Lela revived and we run into the Hutong version of a traffic jam. Two vans are having a face down in a narrow alley and no one could get around. Rickshaws begin to pile up and finally we turn back, try a couple of other alleys and finally make it back to the square where our van awaits. Jamie borrows 20 Yuan from Angela to pay the guide and drivers. We are now broke. Back to the hotel.
The driver brought us in the back way and we decide to walk in that direction, which looked interesting. We look at one restaurant, stroll up the adjacent avenue a couple of blocks. Beijing is lively after dark. Families are out on the sidewalk, kids play, restaurant barkers beckon, and construction projects run all night. Throw in the penchant for neon everywhere possible and it has a carnival effect. But even a carnival can’t keep Lela awake now, so we take her back to the hotel, change her limp little body into pj’s (another night without brushing teeth) and put her to bed. Jamie goes out again to get some food and a Beijing Olympics T-shirt for Lian. Lela, crafty beyond her years, gave that idea her seal of approval adding, “And if it’s too big, I can wear it while she grows up.” Jamie comes back with....some candy, which we need like a hole in the head. However, we have massive amounts of snacks (but no chocolate), so I have an energy bar for dinner. I try to post to our blog – I can get on but all the instruction language is in Chinese! I think I managed to post in English, but can’t figure out how to change the language back to English. We are all in bed at a reasonable hour.