Beijing... a unique experience

This is the only part of Beth and I's Journey when we were not flying together. I used my round the world ticket leg to get from Bankok to Beijing by way of Soule, and Beth booked a flight on Malaysian airways that had a layover in Kuala Lumpur. The reasoning for this is that my flight was essentially free and for Beth to book the same flight (outside of a RTW ticket) it would cost her about 650 US. Luckily her flight and mine arrived in Beijing with in a few hours of each other.

Beth and I met at the baggage claim, and bundled up to prepare ourselves for the 3 degree wintry chill (about 35 F). We made our way to our hostel (Sitting on the City Walls Hostel) before scurrying around town for a Thanksgiving meal. Thanks to a friend of Beth's, we were able to scout out probably the only "Texas" BBQ joint outside of the United states. After walking in the blustery winter winds for a kilometer or so we found the gift from god, Tim's BBQ. Greeted with a Chinese staff all sporting Texas flag button downs, and a house full of BBQ lovers from all over the world, we settled right in for Thanksgiving feast. There was a special menu that featured turkey, sweet potatoes, and all the other normal American Thanksgiving sides. And then there was the BBQ menu with brisket, ribs and everything else I love. Beth and I decided to go big and get everything.

Brisket and Mexican Martinis, okay.

We completely stuffed ourselves. I felt like I was back home.

The first 2 full days in Beijing were spent at the local sights. We went to the Forbidden City and walked and walked until all the different sections started to run together. I will say, the city is one of the most impressive places we have been. We took advantage of an audio guide to learn about all the different buildings and courtyards that were used during each emperors reign. Although very cold, this experience was certainly worth every second. We checked out Tienanmen Square afterwards, then made it back to our hostel for some tea and a movie.

Sporting the Panda in the Forbidden City.

Not sure the guard liked this very much.

The next day we spent at the Summer Palace and the 2008 Olympic stadium. After many bus and subway stops in the cold weather we realized the ideal time of year for sight seeing was not in December.

The Summer Palace in the winter time (notice the frozen lake in the background).

Lastly, I have to mention the great wall of China. We finally made it there on our last full day in Beijing and it was a good one, clear skies and the warmest day we'd had since arrival. We decided to avoid the over priced tours and take the public bus to the wall. The section of the wall we headed for was called Mutianyu. This a little less touristy than others and you can toboggan down from the top. The bus ride worked out well and we were at the entrance in about an hour (much less than we expected). We took a Gondola up to the top and toured around for about an hour or so. Let me just say... the Great Wall is much greater than I thought. Snaking through the hills, the wall is easily 10 times larger than anticipated, and this was just a small section. Tobogganing down was super fun. There are no real restrictions on speed. The workers just tell you that if you want to go fast, push the control bar forward, and if you want to slow down, pull it back (safe, right?). I decided to go long as I could without braking, but this sled ride was certainly more than just dangerous. I nearly flew off the track and into the woods within the first 2 minutes of the 10 minute ride. I liked it though.

At the top of Mutianyu.
You can see the Great Wall snaking through the hills in the background.

In one of the towers.

Taking a little jog on the wall.
Evidently, there are Marathons held on the Great Wall
every year in May.

The last part of our China experience I would like to share is the Hustle. We got seriously hustled there.

1. I bought a sweet panda hat on the street for about 3 US dollars. I handed the guy 100 Yuan (15 bucks) and he gave me what I thought were the correct denominations back (but in a DIFFERENT currency.... Belareus) which totaled around 2 cents.

2. We ordered Chinese pancakes just outside of the great wall. These are very common and usually have banana, chocolate and other sweets in them. The only problem was that we forgot to ask about price before we sunk our teeth in. When I finally asked "how much?" the lady said that I owed around 16 US dollars. I was in a rage and somehow talked here down to around $8.

3. When leaving the great wall, we hired a taxi to take us down to the bus stop. We paid the driver with a One Hundred Yuan note and after a few minutes he came back to Beth and I and said that we need to give him a different bill because the one we gave him was counterfeit. Being intuitive, I realized that this cabi may have switched our bill out for one of his (fakes ones) and tried to get rid of it by exchanging it with us. I called this guy out on it and argued for about and hour. After about 20 Chinese locals huddled around us and we argued and argued, Beth and I decided to just take the fake money and pay for the taxi with our smaller money, but not for the full price of course. I talked him down another few dollars before leaving. My original plan was that Beth and I would go back to the street where I bought the panda hat, and I would purchase another one with THE fake note, trying to get back at the hobo who gave me Belareus currency a few days earlier. What ended up happening is that Beth and I went out for a nice expensive Peking Duck dinner that night and we may or may not have slipped in our 100 note there.

In the end, I think that China won. If you ever go, be careful.


On to Japan.

I can't believe people eat these.
The Scorpions were still squirming.


A night shot in the courtyard of one of our hostels.
This was in an area of the city referred to as a "hutong," which is basically a typical
Chinese neighborhood that reflects the traditional culture.

We met up with Cindy Xu.
She is a friend of one of Beth and I's friends.
She showed us around town for a night.

Outside the Duck Restaurant on a rickshaw.

Quacky always wanted to be served extra Quispy.

So delicious!