I wiped a bogey on the Great Wall of China
Trip Start
Jul 18, 2006
1
13
52
Trip End
Jul 17, 2007
Beijing,
China
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Our last two days in Beijning were awesome although we kind of ran out of steam to see all the sights, there's so much to do it's unbelievable, we'll definately be coming back, but maybe in the winter! On the 8th we went to see the Great Wall. We got up early to go for the breakfast buffet to fill up, where Aaron met an American guy he'd met while doing an archaeology dig in Oxford a couple of years ago, talk about a small world! Being the veritable cheapskates we are we shunned the hostel's tour to the 'secret wall' (spot what's wrong with that statement if they're selling tours there) and made our own way to a restored section at Badaling
Aaron and Beautiful Mao
. Basically it was like Southend-on-Wall with stalls everywhere and people pestering you, every time you stopped to have a look over the side a t-shirt woman attacked you, closely followed by a postcard seller, it was like they were in formation or something! The section of the wall had been re-built so was quite impressive but it was so incredibly busy. We went down the quieter route but it was still rammed. The heat was intense once again (we saw on the Chinese is great news channel that it's the humidity has meant the highest elecricity consumption this month as if you cared) and our choice of footwear (flip-flops) was exceedingly poor when trying to walk up the steeper sections, that said we were both gobsmacked to see Chinese people milling around with ease in high heels, nothing wrong with adding a bit of glamour to the occasion is there? After we got back we both hired bikes again (they're the best way to see the city and for 80p a day who can complain) and tried to find the underground city (like a big bomb shelter), however part of our contingent got disrtacted and we ended up walking round a shopping centre, but to be honest, as long as it's air conditioned, who cares. Beth treated herself to a foot massage (a steal at 1pound 30!).
We ate at a food market, a big row of stalls set up to trap tourists! If you go to Beijing don't go here! There was loads of something on a stick but it was overpriced when compared to eating elsewhere, plus we were properly stalked by some woman trying to sell us a bottle of water, at first we were polite but by the end of it we were calling her every name under the sun and she still didn't leave us (sometimes the language barrier is excellent for venting your frustrations!)
On the Thursday we went to see pickled Mao
Aaron on the Wall
. First off we checked our bags in the corner of Tianamen Square and then went to the back of the queue, were kicked out for wearing flip flops. Back to the bag, then back to the queue, curse you Mao and your irrational hatred of flip flops (although sports sandals were acceptable, you figure that out?). The queue moved quite quickly, you could buy a flower to put in front of the statue before you saw the coffin and boy did it make us wish we were in the flower trade, they were mad for it! The corpse itself was just like a little wax head sticking out from a flag, kind of wished they'd made him superhuman-sized when they preserved him. Anyhow, there you go, a pickled guy. After Mao we went to the gym, which was only notable for the sheer hilarity of watching Chinse guys lift a weight, then lift their shirt up and flex their muscles as though they were bulking up straightaway, too funny for words!
Our evening meal was something special, and we went to a duck restaurant. Was our most expensive meal to date but as long as they weren't fake apparantley Fiedel Castro had eaten there, and hey, if it's good enough for Fiedel it's good enough for us! The chef brought the duck on a little trolley and carved it for you there and then and you got a load of pancakes, too good for words! We also got the duck's head split in two, Aaron had a bit of a pick around, yum yum duck brain! Also, they gave you a certificate showing the number of your duck since when the restaurant opened over 100 years ago. We went to bar street in the evening (helped by an awful bottle of 55% spirit purchased for the goodly sum of 50p) and ended up in Vic's club, which was great fun, we also bumped into some girls from the hostel in Russia!
