Lesson Learnt: Do your homework.

Today's plan was an ambitious one - we were going to visit TianAnMen Square and the Forbidden City in half a day or less, then head over to one of those mass markets. Amazingly enough, we did all that and even visited two of those mass markets in the end.

We walked far too much, however. All that redundant walking time could've been spent shopping.

Being either garang or lazy or both, none of us actually bothered to research the directions to the places we eventually visited. We merely relied on the subway line and hoped everything was within walking distance.

"The place we're going to is somewhere..."
 - Scans the subway map-
"...here."
- Stabs the subway destination with a finger -
"We'll figure our way when we're there."

Of course, being Beijing, that's usually not the case. So that's how we practically walked from Chaoyang Men station to Tuan Jie Hu station - after accosting many an unsuspecting pedestrian, an occasional policeman, and convenient store owners - in search of an elusive Yashow Market.

Tomorrow, we're exploring more of those mass markets. This time, we're armed to the teeth with directions and alternative routes. Well, I am, at least. Grand plans and high hopes for tomorrow (: