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This is indeed a Great Wall!! This is totally not overrated. The wall was definately worth the visit, and something we will forever remember. We started the day with a trip we organized with a hotel across from where we are staying. The girl could at least communicate in english with us, so we decided to book the trip with her. Our hotel also do trips, but because of the language barrier it is just not easy to explain, so we chose the path of least resistance. This was such a good decision, because we really did this in style.
We were picked up by our tourguide and driver at 7:30 the morning. We thought we were going in a mini-van, but no we had a grand black Buick all to ourselves. With aircon, wich turned out real good, because this was a very hot day (38 degrees C). Leo was our tourguide for the day with driver Ché. We first went to the Ming Tombs in Dingling and saw the tombs of Emperor Wanli who reigned in 1537 - 1619. Then we went on to, see the Great Wall of Cina at the Mutianyu section. We opted for the
cable car ride up and this was very nice. We ended up with beautiful blue skies and stunning views. Since this was saturday, there were again about 9 million chinese tourists on the Wall. But still it was worth it. This section of the wall is very well restoured and althouh there is many stairs, it is not too bad to climb. We walked all the way to the top part, and then back again. This took about an hour an a half. Then it was back down again. This time we took the toboggan option. This is a sleigh with a chair, and you go down a track made of stainless steel with speed, if the person in front of you is not too slow. Very good fun.
By this time it was really really hot and after a nice chinese lunch we got into the aircon black car and went to a Jade factory, a silk factory, and of course a tea factory. All three were very interesting, especially the double worm cocoons that spin the delicate silk. We ended this very successful day going to a foot massage place at the olympic park. Some students practise
on you, but while they do this, the teacher comes in an gives you an overview of your palm, which is associated with your health condition. We got some very interesting feed back on our current situations and this is I think where they make there money. This guy now prescribes some herbal stuff too you which will help, in solving your health issues. This is of course not so cheap, they also tell you that you need to get rid of your extra thick skin underneath your feet, so you end with a pedicure. Nice!!!!
Although we were very tired, we decided to go to Wungfujing street, which reminds us a little of the vibe in London. Here is again about 9 million chinese people walking around, but we also saw quite a few western tourists here. Huge malls line the streets, and then there is some markets where all sorts of things can be bought.
So far we have enjoyed our first days in China very much, and we are totally absorbing every sound, smell, taste and feeling. The food is great, although sometimes is a big surprise, because of the language barrier. Our translator (iPad)
helps a lot to get a message across, however getting the appropriate reply back is not so simple. Our translator also acts as a navigator, and helps keep us on track and not getting lost. It is especially very handy when getting a taxi. Getting the message across as well as seeing where you are going.
Today we also tried the subway sytem. WOW, this is so easy and extremely cheap. For a one-way ticket anywhere in Beijing costs only 2 rimbad (that is about R2). So today we realised where the 9 million bicycles in Beijing went...........the subway took them. Why ride bicycle if the subway is so cheap. Taking the subway to the summer palace only cost us 2 rimbad for a 25 km ride!!! A taxi would have cost us 150 rimbad. So saving money on the taxi ride, we opted to take some boat rides on this huge lake at the summer palace. It was again very hot today, so walking around the lake is extremely exhausting.....plus we have significant less skin on our feet since our pedicure, which makes your foot very sensitive. Mmmmm.
We also visited the Temple of Heaven this morning,
with some great parks around. So here are again about 9 million chinese residents trying to chill out. They do this by playing all sorts of sports, or practising dance, or violin, or singing, or doing some karate. There is a very nice calm, relaxing feeling to this place, and I understand why the people of Beijing would come here to relax on a sunday. And tonite we ended the evening with some peking duck for dinner. This is a bit overrated, and we will stick with normal chinese dishes from now on. Last night was also a bit of a gamble with a chinese fondue/hotpot. It ended alright but again we were a bit lost in translation.
Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing, and so far we are very impressed with this city which is quite modern. We expected something like vietnam or Cambodia, but this is very nice. The only down part of being a westerner in China, is that they see you coming a mile away, and of course prices tripple instantly. We made peace with this, and try to negotiate, but mostly we lose the game.
Hoezit my China!
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Nelda
non-member comment
Wow
Wow dit klink fantasties, soos gewoonlik beny ek julle vreeslik. Geniet elke oomblik. Ek hoop nie julle het daai food with a bite geeeit nie?????