Hutong Tour Part 2

We continue from part one with the hutong tour in the second ring of the city. After visiting that very nice couple who lives in a beautiful home with their brand-new flat-screen TV and other 21st century comforts, we returned to our rickshaw. It was almost 2pm, we still hadn't had lunch, but the tour was not yet over. We tipped Mr Baldy, our rickshaw driver, and the tour guide took us to the Drum Tower.
We were just in time to catch a performance of drums at the very top of the tour. Nearly had a heart attack climbing the steep steps up to the tower! Here's a little video clip of the drum performance.

(Above) The stairs to the top of the drum tower
(Below) Giant drums!

Tourists with their camerasThere were a few ancient clocks on display, such as the water
clock, and we also viewed a broken drum which was one of
the originals.

Opposite the Drum Tower is the Bell Tower

Views of the city from the Drum Tower

Roofs of the hutong houses. The houses don't look very nice from the outside,
but guess what's inside? Yup, brand new flat-screen TVs!

Finally, after the tour, going down the steep steps! The two-hour hutong tour excluding tips cost 180 RMB (about S$36/-) per person. I don't know about Vivien, but I quite liked most of it. Riding the rickshaw, sitting in that air-con hutong house with the amazing TV, wow! I only wished there had been a lift or an escalator up the Drum Tower. Anyway, it was ok with me that we didn't get to see the real 800-year-old hutong, with all the dirt and bad smells.

The tour guide took us to a small dumplings shop for a very late lunch (around 2.30pm). What we ordered (or didn't order) elicited loud comments from the shop lady to another person (Do you see those two... eat so little...!) Oh pleeease, we understand a little Chinese so no need to be so loud... how many hundred dumplings jiao zi, guo tie and yun tun did you expect us to eat anyway? Surely it wasn't our fault that our lunch came up to a grand total of 18 RMB (S$3.60)!

When we met up with the rest later, we learnt that while the Americans were sent off to get their confort food (probably KFC again), PP and Uncle Robert had a feast of a Peking duck at the most famous Beijing duck restaurant, costing all of 200 RMB. No prizes for guessing how he came up with that ridiculous "Kentucky chicken, Peking duck and Philippines eagle" sermon illustration last Sunday!