Leaving Beijing in the smog

So I'm sitting in the hostel waiting to take a "hard seat" on a train to Xi'an (Terracotta Army!). This is the lowest class available - it's basically just a seat, for 12 hours. Well, after 9 days continuous train travel, 12 hours is a mere spit in the ocean (spitting being the operative word - we are in Beijing after all - yeuch!!)

Anyhow so our almost-week has zoomed past. Tuesday was spent chilling and wandering round Beijing with our new-found Canadian buddy Kate, eating an enormous meal (for 4) and leaving loads :-( but for under 4 quid!! This is that badboy:





We headed to the Temple of Heaven for a wander round, it was very pretty. The main part was built without the use of nails - not fingernails though.





Wednesday was SUPPOSED to be our Great Wall day, but SOMEONE (Len) didn't bother booking it when Rob and I were out at dinner, so it was too late by the time he got on it. So instead I rented a bike and braved the streets of Beijing (where the predominant rule seems to be "first come first served" regardless of any actual regulations). My bike weighed about the same as a tank, and the seat was all bust up so my plan of cycling all the way to The Summer Palace (about 8 miles!) was dropped pretty sharpish, and I just went out to see the main Olympic Ground. I was stupidly excited (it may have been all the fumes I was inhaling) and even the disappointment of not being able to get very close didn't quell my enthusiasm. Then I went for a lovely cycle-meander back through the streets, getting a feel for the city, ya know....

THURSDAY, we managed to get up to the wall, we had to leave at 06.30, though we almost didn't as the only person who takes any responsibility (me) failed to wake up with the alarm, or maybe I fell back asleep? Anyway, we got taken by mini-coach on 3 hours trip to Jinshangling, from whence we commenced an almighty trek 8k (or 10k - depending on who's telling you) to Simitai, up and down a crazily undulating wall which followed the peaks of all the mountains. Some MASSIVE climbs involved, I was very proud of myself for not falling over. Rob & I took about 3.5 hours, and bypassed the walk down from the wall for the ZIPLINE! across the river which was amazing.

Great Wall:








View from a tower



Some steepness


Friday morning, Rob and I heard tell of a western cafe (I am getting a little tired of all the Chinese food - too much MSG is sending me frantic!!) with good breakfasts & bottomless cups of coffee (a good kind of frantic) so went there. We then tried to find a place to book our tickets but every time we try to find a building it's been knocked down! The whole city is a massive building site, I swear!! So we just headed out to the Summer Palace which was really lovely, we wandered round for hours, it was so beautiful, the setting: (a big park surrounding a MASSIVE lake)




...the buildings (beautifully ornate)





the exhibits (similar)





and a MARBLE BOAT





No - it doesn't float :(



and then decided to walk to find lunch, which took FOREVER, but for the two of us cost under 1 pound (2 pastry things, a drink, an ice cream and water - EACH) and headed back here for some more western food.


Today was the Forbidden City, which is ENORMOUS again, and our feet were killing, so we had a good but not exhaustive explore. Stupidly amazingly ornate ornaments, cutlery, weapons, clothing, buildings, EVERYTHING, and lots of messing around from us (we wondered what you had to do to get forbidden from the Forbidden City) and then our best Chinese meal so far.


Easy to spot travel buddies:











Now Rob & I are hanging round waiting for the right time to leave for the station, Len has decided he's not overly interested in the Terracotta Warriors and is hunkering down in Beijing for 3 more days before meeting us in SHANGHAI - the city of factories apparently.............


Here are some pics to prove we got to the Terracotta Warriors:








Catch you on the flipside!

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