Beijing and the Great Wall

After a good night's sleep in Bangkok's Khao San Palace Hotel, we sped off to the airport, enjoying our final hours as the dynamic-duo ahead of our afternoon link-up with Nick in China. Flying Thai Airways and helping ourselves to several complimentary magazines, the 4-and-a-bit hour journey passed surprisingly quickly despite a few mad dashes to the toilet, brought on by some dodgy Thai McDonalds. Peking Airport, as it is still known, was full of dodgy taxi drivers, all offering us the cheapest fairs into the city. The dodgiest looking car in the carpark belonged to the driver who'd impressed us the most, and we spent most of the uncomfortable hour-long journey discussing Chinese footballers and learning a few choice words. Montagers was waiting as we pulled up to the hostel, but somehow I managed to miss him! However his massive bedroom and air-conditioning facility was a welcome relief from the scarily humid city centre. Nick hadn't seen much of the city despite his two previous days in the vicinity, but luckily he was able to point us in the direction of the nearest McDonalds and we enjoyed a pleasant Fillet whilst catching up on each others' progress. We spent the night on Nick's floor after finding that all the other rooms were full...

Climbing the Great Wall

It was probably one of the best sleeps we'd had and we didn't wake up till gone 2 the next day by which time there was very little we could do. After a massive Subway sandwich, we found our way to the Goose & Duck, a pub owned and frequented by Ex-Pats and watched the Russians beat the Scum 2-1 in the Community Shield. It was a pleasant evening ruined by a horrendous darts match in which it took me about 30 darts to hit the double to beat Nick. A little tipsy we left the pub and looked for the nearest club and happened to stumble across D-Power, which looked a little tacky from the outside but seemed worth a try. It was a crazy, crazy place with a bouncing dance floor, a performance by a famous pop-star, and the scariest servants in the toilets who massage you whilst weeing, wash your hands for you, and then expect a tip. They got angry when the poor backpackers didn't give them one... boo! Anyhow, the clientel were strangely gimp-like and the ladies weren't particular up for much so beating a hasty retreat, we left and returned to the hostel for a good night's sleep in a bed!

The now-threesome smoking a bit of narg...

Monday marked the official start of our Intrepid Tour, although the meeting time wasn't until 6pm. That left a few hours for checking out the Xinshui market where we managed to buy 2GB USB memory sticks for less than 10 dollars... crazy money but suited us and we think they work! We had a massive Pizza Hut lunch and several pints of Coke with dire consequences to follow later that night. Anyhow, 6 arrived and we met up with Stu and the gang, Stu being our leader, the gang being the rest of the group. Let me introduce them to you, as they feature will feature frequently in our story. Matt and Kate are from Melbourne, Matt's a Judische; Kate isn't. They're 21 soon-to-be Ernst & Young employees and are travelling round the world on an extravagant budget. We enjoy a love-hate relationship and get on best with them out of the whole group. Next there's Alex and Emily - 23 and qualified barristers with the world at their feet having previously secured first class degrees at Cambridge. Extremely intellingent if a little geeky but overall good people. Maureen and Rachel are a mother and daughter from the Nottingham area, claiming to be in the Midlands but clearly northern. Good people but hindered by their geographical roots. From Australia we have the ex-pats Andy and Vicki, a good-humoured pair on the wrong side of 30, but young at heart. Finally, Jo. Jo is 36 and a member of the Terratorial Army who have given her many opportunities in life which she thanks them for. She's a geezer! Stu is an Aussie, and former Federal Agent. 'Nuff said. The 13 of us then set out for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant where we were unable to eat due to our Pizza Hut feast. A little unconfortable at first, the conversation soon started flowing and the group started to bond a little... After dinner drinks were had back at the hostel where we got to know the Australian Connection much better.

Arising very early the next morning, we set off with our Chinese tour guide Mike to Ti'anamen Square and the Forbidden City. The Beijing metro was bustling with its rush-hour commuters and we gave up trying to get on the first train and took the second instead. Ti'anamen Square, we had been informed, was one of the three unmentionable T's in China, the others being Tibet and Taiwan. However Mike was being paid good money and so we felt obliged to ask him all sorts of questions. Walking through the massive square, we saw the thousands of people queuing for a look inside Chairman Mao's Masoleum where his body lies in state... he's a bit of a cult figure inside China and as the country strives towards global dominance, his image is one of the driving forces. Meandering through the masses, we arrived at the gates of the Forbidden City, so called because until 80 years ago, no commoners were allowed to enter. For the remainder of the morning we strolled through the ancient city, eyeing up the former living areas of the great emperors of China. It was an amazing sight, full of before-its-time architecture and photo opportunities at every turn. Entering the park opposite, we went for a brief tea ceremony, where we learnt the correct procedure for taking tea and sampled some of the shop's finest brews. My personal favourite was the lychee and rose flavour... delicious. Sleep was on the menu that afternoon and whilst the majority of the group went to see the Beijing Kung Fu show, the 'kids' as we were gradually becoming known as, ate their first Chinese meal accompanied by Stu around the corner from the hotel.

Our final day in Beijing was spent wandering round the Summer Palace, a grand tourist sight filled with temples, lakes and other mystical Chinese architecture... we hired one audiotape between us and took turns playing guide to the other two which turned out to be highly enjoyable. The highlight of our spell there was certainly the photos we had taken dressed as emperors... you will definitely get to see them at some point! In the evening, Stu took us to the Muslim quarter of Beijing and we dined at a lovely looking restaurant where I missed meat for the first time in ages... it just looked so good but being a good Judische, I managed to stick to the Tofu. After dinner and heavy drinking we ended up in a club till 'Vics' which was a definite improvement on D-Power. Stu, in very drunk mood, told me that I could wee anywhere and on anyone, whilst he glared naughtily at a tramp by the side of the road... I thought about it but decided I could probably hold for a few more seconds. Anyhow, next thing I remember we were waking up on Thursday morning and boarding the coach, whilst mentally preparing ourselves for the challenge of a lifetime... climbing 10km of the great wall in the blazing sun of midday mid-August China...

It didn't seem so daunting as we set off... all 13 of us in sync, striding up the pathway yet to reach the wall. We could see it in front of us and whilst looking daunting, it seemed manageable, and after all we knew that in 5 hours we'd be at the guesthouse enjoying a nice refreshing shower. Joined by 5 or more vendors, we set off on what would most certainly be a epic hike similar in many ways to our tumultuous trek up Ayers Rock and the gruelling challenge presented to us in the jungles of Northern Thailand. Me and Nick were instantly drawn to the back of the group, Nick being a lifelong stroller and me not wanting to work up to much of a sweat. However that was inevitable and as the hike wore on, the T-shirts, shorts and socks began to soak as we began to stink. The first three hours were the hardest: almost all uphill, reaching small towerous havens every few hundred metres but with the end nowhere insight, the legs began to tire and the body began to wilter. To cut a long story short, we all did it! Some quicker than others, but I did it, I took the photos and reluctantly, I also bought the T-shirt (from the crazy lady who carried my heavy bag down for me - I thought it was only right). We enjoyed a pleasant night in the local guesthouse before returning to Beijing the following morning to catch the overnight train to Xi'an...