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Published: April 22nd 2007
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For those of you who enjoyed my menu item photo yesterday, I’ve got another for you. Scorpions to be grilled and eaten on a skewer. And no, I did NOT try them. I spoke with someone who had who said they were quite crunchy. I didn’t care to hear further details. More about this in the food section, to follow!
The booking agent told me that we would leave at 8.00 sharp for the trip to the Ming Tombs and Great Wall. So, I set my alarm accordingly and had just stepped out of the shower when the phone rang. My tour guide. They would be here at 7.30 and I “should prepare myself.” Well, I “prepared myself ”as quickly as I could and, like the obedient person that I am (no snide comments, please!) was in the lobby at 7.30. Of course, we had to wait until 7.45 for the other, less obedient, members of the group who were also staying at the hotel.
The first stop was the requisite “Let’s sell the foreigners some jade” stop. Great big place. Interesting information about how jade is crafted, but I wasn’t buying.
It was nice to get
Ming Tomb Gate
When they buried the emperor, they went through this gate. On one side is life and the other death. If you go through the gate to the other side, you must yell in Chinese something that means, "I'm coming back to life!" It was really funny to see whole tour groups jumping back to life and yelling at the tops of their lungs! out of the city and we drove further to the Ming Tombs. I must say that if I were coming to the city again I would probably pass on this. It was interesting, but I had seen the Forbidden City already and that sort of spoils you, I think. At least it did me. We strolled around for about 45 minutes and then hit the road again. This time we were going to a Chinese “traditional medical center.” Again, very edifying discussion about acupuncture points. A traditional doctor takes your pulse with three fingers. He checks both your right and left wrists. This tells him about your liver, spleen, kidney, lungs, and other vital organs. He also looks at your tongue. Long story short, he will find something that the medicine they sell there (you guessed already, didn’t you?) will cure. The two prescriptions (including mine) were each at least 450 yuan, or about 45 Euros. I don’t think there were any takers in our group.
I should mention that I remembered on this tour why I don’t like tours like this. While the people were interesting and we had a small group of about 15, I felt like
I Climbed the Great Wall!
But not far because we didn't have enough time! we were rushing the whole day. We didn’t get to stay long enough at any of the interesting places and too long at the “Let’s sell the foreigners some stuff” places. Our group included an Italian family, a Chinese family, an Indonesian couple, an Italian olive-oil producer, a Romanian, and a few others.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to describe the Wall. Serpentine. Gargantuan. Rolling. Coiling. Massive. Long. Picturesque. Crawling with people. Incredible views. Touristic. Steep! Treacherous. Amazing. These are a few things that come to mind. But in this case I think that a picture is worth . . . well, you know.
After I returned, I set out to the night food market just down the street from my hotel. What fun! Crawing with people (everyplace here is crawling with people), this street is filled with food stalls for about two city blocks. They sell everything to eat. Some yummy, some not (at least not to my taste). My dinner, which cost about 2 Euro included a delicious wrap filled with beef and vegetables that had been grilled to my order, wrapped in a thin crepe, corn on the cob on a stick, and
a quarter of a fresh pineapple on a stick. I didn’t eat the scorpions . . .I managed to drip the sauce all over my (relatively) brand new white shoes that I bought in Shanghai and on my new carry bag (sorry Rob), and retired into one of the mega-department stores in the area to try to repair the damage. While there I did a bit of window shopping, and then a little real shopping, including some delicious Tsingtao beer to bring back to the room to refresh me as I write.
By the way, the shower here was great . . . I mentioned earlier that I thought it wouldn’t be. And even though the staff doesn’t speak much English they are friendly and attentive. For about 28 Euro a night, I’m not complaining, even if I have to swap power plugs between my refrigerator and my computer because one of the outlets isn’t working! The Beijing Times Holiday hotel is a great bargain, especially considering its location within walking distance of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
I haven’t decided yet what I will do tomorrow. My colleague, Keith, has put me in touch with two
graduates from InHolland who live in Beijing . . . Willem and Tony . . . and we will have Peking Duck tomorrow night. Other than that I’m free. And I saw a real coffee shop right around the corner. Perhaps coffee in the morning. That will be a treat! I must say though, that the fresh jasmine tea I bought the other day is also nice in the morning. When in Rome . . .or Beijing - you know the rest.
Lessons learned today: Go to the Great Wall on the normal bus. I think it's 919. Go in the morning early. Take a picnic lunch. Take the "pull car" up to the wall. It will save some hiking. (It's like a Disney car ride up and down the mountain). Take your time to enjoy the views. I saw people rushing around, never taking a moment in the madness of climbing to enjoy the vistas. While going with a tour minimizes the hassle of buying individual tickets, the rush just isn't worth it. I could have spent the whole day here, too. It's really breathtaking.
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