One advantage of sleeping early is being able to get up early also. We made Nescafe in the room as the hotel provided a big, electric kettle. After showering, we took the elevator down to see what the breakfast buffet consisted of. In Shanghai there was a mix of both Western and Chinese breakfast foods. I went right for both of course. There's nothing like starting the day with a few meat dumplings, bok choi, chongee with peanuts and pork floss, melon slices, fermented tofu, picked bamboo shoots, toast, corn flakes, juice, and coffee. (It's a way for budget travellers to save the need for buying much for lunch.) Here though, all the typical breakfast staples were missing; the rest still makes for a hearty start to the day. The subway looked easy enough, so we just headed to Tian'anmen Square, with the only decision whether to get out at the east or west station. We close the latter and walked a bit to see Mao on the building looking towards the square. It was an immense area which, like all of Beijing, seems clean and manicured. We needed to know how to get here as it is the very center of the city and should we desire to visit the Mausoleum or the Forbidden City, we will need to get back here.
After getting our bearings a bit more, we headed back on the subway to find the famous Lama Temple area. It was an amazing collection of ancient buildings. In fact, I was most impressed with the absolutely enormous Buddha image carved from a single tree. The area was larger than Bangkok's Grand Palace or Wat Pho. It was an eventful afternoon. We had lunch in that area of older buildings too.
