Beijing, PRC - Oct 14, 2014, Part 2

After our fun rickshaw ride we had an opportunity to visit a traditional tea house. Our host did an excellent in preparing our sampling of five chinese teas. These traditional tea houses are supported by the government to keep the culture alive so you do not feel pressured to purchase. Unfortunately (or fortunately) as we are better in a very soft sell approach we did make a few purchases here - and yes the tea was delicious.

We were then off to visit a very popular market, the silk market. Wow, seven floors of whatever you want at a negotiated price. Having our guide with us helped as he asked what we might be interested in where he took us to the particular shops (over 300 shops in this complex). The funny thing at this market is that each shop has a great display just like any store but as soon as you show interest or answer a few inquiring questions you are invited to the back of the store where a secret panel is opened and you are whisked into the a area with another full display of whatever you are interested in, lets just say that all the luxury brand names are there at a good price, ahem. A very interesting experience.

We were back to the ship by 3:30 pm for a late lunch and set for a departure at about 8 pm (scheduled for 7 but some passengers just didn't get the importance of having to hand their passports back in, so some needed to be chased down).

Ah, a day at sea, much needed as this is a break from several intense ports in a row with some more coming up again starting tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy our days pictures...