My final day in Beijing, Mom and Dad caught a train to Shanghai, so I wandered the city by myself. First off, I wanted to explore a nearby grocery store we'd passed but not shopped in. Compared to independent stores, I figured they'd have both good - and fixed - prices for things like tea, no bargaining required.
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Thursday, June 29, we rose around 5 a.m. to get ready for our 6:30 a.m. pick-up at a nearby hotel. By the time we headed out of the city, our party had grown to nine, plus the driver and our English-speaking guide, Emily. As Dad began befriending them all, we became a cheerful party.
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Wednesday morning we planned to go to the Great Wall because of rain forecast for Thursday. But after a leisurely start to our day, our homestay host counseled us to get a tour instead and go Thursday. After Dad successfully negotiated a pretty low price - about $30 per person for the whole day - we instead went to see an ancient temple.
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After an early morning flight Tuesday, I reached Beijing midday. I only had about $20 in Japanese yen on me, but once I exchanged it for Chinese yuan, I learned prices here are quite cheap. A bottle of water -- at the airport!! -- costs 2 yuan, about 33 cents. My hour-long bus ride from the airport to our homestay cost 30 yuan, about $5.
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