If I say it once, I will say it a million times. I LOVE HISTORY. And you can find a lot in the Forbidden City and even more in the rest of China. Back when I was living in China it was in my commute to pass the Forbidden City. I would see the Grand Emperor at me staring down at me as I go passed the huge walls of the Forbidden City but I was only about to go inside once in the time I was in China. I remember it well, it was early in the morning and I am on the subway, it was packed to the point where I cannot move to the left or the right!

I am in my own world and a cute 30 something Chinese woman catches me looking over her shoulder playing Angry Birds on her phone; she blushes and so do I, it was a small beautiful moment, the ones that make your day better. My stop is next. Thank god. As I get off the train I look back and she’s watching me like a leopard watching a group of zebras drinking at a watering hole. My heart skips a beat, just to try and go along with her game, I wink as the doors close. And as the train starts to move away I can see a smile run across her face. I think to myself that if this is the kind of stuff today will bring, that today will be a good day.

I walk up the never-ending stairs of the Beijing subway, whether they are going up or down, there is always a lot of them. But I make it up to the top and as I walk out of the subway it lets out to Tiananmen Square. The place where the famous photo of the protester is standing in front of 3 tanks; man that guy had balls. But it is nice and peaceful today, there is no need to stand in front of a tank and my mom would kill me if I did…that is if the tank didn’t obliterate me first. So I go to the front of the palace and wait in line, there is, what seems like all of China there that day. All 1.386 billion of them and there dog but that is okay, I like seeing the elderly with their grandchildren walking together. After a few min I buy my ticket and go to what I think is the way in. It is but hey look what I found it is another line to tediously wait in. This time I am a little annoyed at the fact that there is 2 lines to get into this joint, I did not understand why. Thank god there is podcasts or I would be dead, the podcast I have playing is ‘A Mix Of Stuff You Should Know’ and ‘Risk’.

After what seems like 30 years, I make it to an old woman she holds her hand out and I have the reflex to give her a high 5, but I doubt here in China you do not fuck with stuff like that. I hear that the prison in China is not that nice, lol. Soooooooooo I give her the ticket and second to walk forward and what an ancient and cool place this is, it is odd to be in a place where there is so much history. I walk through the gate and the sun is shining on these huge vaulted walls, covered in red paint; I think to myself, how many times they’ve been painted in the original colour. I see beautiful marble staircases filled with carvings of ancient beasts and stories from those long dead and as I passed from courtyard to courtyard, palace house to palace yard, taking in the age of Chinese beauty in all its splendour, it’s beautiful huge lions standing on either side of each store an amazing stonework left right and centre; I think to myself that I am so lucky to be in such a place.

It is mesmerising once you get inside, there is a lot less people so I just started to walk slow and take my time. Every building I go in to, every courtyard I pass through just to see, I remember there was a woman selling ice tea in a stand. I was getting thirsty so I buy one, sit down on a step and take a break. As I am sitting, I take in what I am seeing, there are people from all over the world here and every age group from old men that look to be about 100 years old, all the way to woman carrying new born baby’s that, it is beautiful. After my ice tea is done I stand up and continue to explore. I feel like in need to change my tunes so I play music that fits the atmosphere, I play chill Guzheng and it changes everything it adds a beauty to the moment. As I walk through what looks like a small city, I take in the fact that this place is hundreds of years old. People have lived and died here, it is a odd though and it make me think about my home, Canada and how young it is (British Canada there were people in Canada a looooong time before white people) And I feel luck to be there in the Forbidden City and see history in the most authentic way possible. In the place it happened, similar to seeing Normandy or going to Auschwitz, when you go to the place you feel the history – if that makes sense. I know I sound like I am stoned out of my mind now but it makes sense when you are there. I remember I was walking to the exit and I passed a huge stone lion guard, you see countless of them in China, I love them, there is a variety kinds from cheap ones to ones that are made of gold and silver. But as I was walking pass, I rubbed my hand on the paw, as a kind of thank you, but out of interest, I looked how old it was and it was no joke older then Canada and I thought I would pass out. That is why I love seeing shit like that it makes me think.

Hmmm, I wonder all the thing that tiger has seen…