this is the second post about an epic trip to china i took earlier this month. im writing this mainly to supplement my failing memory - but bored readers are welcome to enjoy it as well. check out part one to read about my tiananmen square experiences.

__forbidden city__
six hundred years old and full of history, beijing's forbidden city was fun to walk around for a little while. but eventually, the immense size, beautiful but repetitive architecture, and my short attention span caused me to lose interest after about an hour of walking through the maze-like ancient city. im glad i went. it was cool and all. but meh.

__a food market__
we decided to stroll down some random streets on our journey from the center of town back to our hostel. soon enough we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a crowded food market. the sights were novel to say the least - and ill get to them next - but first i must describe the vivid smells that hit my nostrils with every step down these streets.
one step forward, and the most terribly pungent smell of atrocious diarrhea-ish scents smacks you hard in the face. china is not the most clean of countries; billions of people throwing their trash on the ground has its consequences. after proper cringing, the next step down the street luckily changes aromas dramatically. that second step brings your nose in contact with the aroma of various meats on sticks grilling just a couple of feet away from your face. i havent eaten meat just shy of four years now - and good riddance to it - but i can still appreciate the tantalizing smell of grilled meat sometimes. unfortunately, the third step into the food market changes up the smells again. its back to diarrhea. and the next step its grilled meats. the entire street went on like this, changing frequently from terrible to tasty. it was a roller-coaster for the nostrils.
with the smells aside, the things i saw as i walked through the food market blew my mind. vendors were selling sea horses, starfish, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and many other strange unnameable critters. i cant speak for all the animals, but the scorpions were STILL FLIPPING ALIVE. if you have the guts to buy and eat a stick of scorpions (i didnt), the vendors will kill them for you first by grilling them up. bon appetit. ugh.