Another busy day.
We saw the Olympic site and had some time to walk around. We went in the Bird's Nest. My observation would be that its more impressive on television. Beautiful area, but not a lot going on now.
From there, on to the summer palace. 500,000 slave laborers spent 7 years digging a lake and constructing a palace and temple to amuse the Emperor. Chairman Mao's wife took it over for a couple of years before the people got tired of her.
We had a nice little boat ride, then took a rickshaw ride through a very old traditional neighborhood. Dinner was in a home in the neighborhood. The homes in that area have water and sinks, but the toilets are communal.
This is the tail end of China's national holiday so there are a lot of Chinese from the country. When they see a group of westerners like us, they stop and stare and I mean stare. Its different to be the outsider.
Stay tuned. The next installment will be about our stop for a reflexology foot massage.
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