Asia » China » Beijing
May 21st 2008

Published: June 7th 2008

The Great Wall

I seem to very luckily meet people just as i'm losing others! Judit and Daniel were going back to their flat on the other side of Beijing and just as we were getting a taxi, Dan (I guy that incidently I had seen in Yangshuo! Very random sighting - I remembered commenting to the others on this guy that had really good chopstick skills when we were in a cafe, I was really jealous! Dan said he actually remembered us too and thought he had something on his face coz we all turned round and looked at him!) asked if I was going the same way, not quite, but ish was enough and since he had been to Beijing before I even got a guide to my hostel - bless his cottons! We arranged to meet the next day to go and see the Olympic Park as I had yet again not planned a single thing and thought it might be quite cool - get a bit of architectural sight seeing in since I had failed so miserably in HK! It took a while to figure out where to go and to be honest I could never relay the information because

Half Mast at Dawn

The Chinese Flag stands at Half Mast on the morning of the last day mourning for the Sichuan Earthquake

I haven't the foggiest! We also soon realised that we had both been counting on the other for a camera - mine still lay pretty much on it's death bed (it could technically stil take photos but the screen was fussy and and the zoom jammed) and Dan had run out of battery. The one time that you need the overpriced street stalls and one can't be found for love nor money. We walked around the whole Olympic site in awe of the outragous buildings and the shear size and scale, but also how much still needs to be done. (at least here that have electricity and no labour laws to stop them working 24 hours a day! Unlike SA) We found batts and ended up in Starbucks again (think they're actually taking over from Maccie D's!) With real tea and apacket of oreos we were set up for returning all around the park again for the photo taking portion! (not sure when I'll be able to get hold of these photos so you guys might just have to imagine it for a while!) Basically the main stadium is a nest of strips in a big balled shape, the Aqua

Set in Stone, The Chinese Dragon

Forbidden City

centre is like the Eden project, but square, and the technology centre looks like a huge computer hub. Dan was leaving that night to go back home so we went for a Peking Duck in Beijing but unfortunately it was entirely mediocre and I will have to go back with money so that I can go to one of the fancy places!

I had a bed day after that, which was absolutely necessary! I did however venture out long enough to try and get my camera fixed and almost ripped off on the process! I guy looked at my camera for 2hours (he was asleep when I arrived so I highly doubt he actually spent all that time on my camera!) and turned the screen from fussy to blue, not solid blue, but blue enough to not be able to tell quite what setting works for the photo when you take a shot, and tried to charge me 450yuan! Cheeky bloody git! He couldn't really speak much english so we had a slanging match using a guy that spoke some as an interpretor. He kept on saying the camera still works, the picture's still good, I explained that that

Red Walls and Bamboo Forests

Forbidden City

was the fact before, I need to be able to see the image clearly in order to tell settings and review properly. He then said that to replace the screen would be 800yuan on top of the 450! Not on your Nelly! I eventually got him down to 260yuan and when I gave him 300 he gave me 20 change and waved me out the store. Something I have noticed about China and I think I may've had bad luck but everyone seems to be on the take; they see westerners and see pound signs and if you try and get something for a reasonable price they mutter chinese under their breath - I know you're swearing at me! After the ordeal I met a really nice canadian called Christina and we went out for pizza, lasagna and free whisky and cokes! (it was needed, alrite!)

Haggling for your life

The silk market in Beijing is a bit of an institution, anything you could possibly want all under one roof. Christina and I went with another girl from the hostel and got bartering! The ladies in the shoe and handbag department grab you and try to pull

crumbling relic

(the wall not our guide!)

you in to look at some ugly knockoffs, the pashmina ladies shout "another one for your mother!" (sorry Mami couldn't afford it!) and the stalls seem like they pile on top of one another. It's actually all quite exciting, just watch your bag and make ready the death stare for anyone who gets too grabby! The starting price is always riddick, slice it by ten and you're almost ready to start.
Chinese bartering tips: Don't give away your price too soon, keep saying 'too much' and 'give me YOUR best price" until you're down to a decent amount, then when they shove the calculator in your hand (they type out the numbers on the screen and pass is between you) slash the price right down. They will sometimes usher you out of their shop, this is fine, you went too far but the person with the exact same product next door will be happy to have you! They will often say no, no! Joking price! Don't act too interested, stand your ground and they will start coming down. If they are going too slow the 'walk away' quite often helps, sometimes you are still bartering and you're way down the

Across the Mountains

The Great Wall

hall. A guy once started at 1000 for something I didn't even want, just looked at, and he was down to 100 by the time I was 3 stalls away, I hadn't even said a word! Beware they all speak very good english so watch what you say (or speak in another language!) Don't take it too seriously and keep a smile on your face, if they get aggresive walk away, don't go back and get it from someone who's nice to you. And finally, you must be prepared to buy it at the price you say, don't get into a barter situation and when they go down th the price you'v specified walk away, it's not fair and a waste of everyones time. I bought two gorgous, very 'me' rings for 17,5 Yuan (67p each!) and a set of 6 chopsticks with carved dragons on them for 45 Yuan. I always said I would never buy souvieners but I really wanted to have these for back home because I am finally getting good at using them! I also saw a stunning Jade pendant but thought it would be too expensive so just left it, how very restrained!

[h1

Scrambling Up The Wall

Our Guide, Her Slacks and a Walking Stick were unstoppable!

left]Shhhh! If I tell you I'll have to kill you ....

Leo Hostel does I trip calld the 'secret' wall - apparently no tourists and no shop-stops, just a look at an unreconstucted section of the Great Wall. I had originally hoped that I would be able to find someone who wanted to do the Great Wall in an independant way but no such luck so quickly paid up for an organised tour. It was the first time I had done something like this and at 180Yuan I thought it was a bit steep, I was worried about the number of other tourists and them slipping some kind of money making scheme in there, but I was looking forward to seing a chinese attraction that wasn't done up like a christmas tree. There was about 10 of us and we were dropped off in literally the middle of nowhere. We had passed the baddaling section of the Wall, which is the most touristy section and although is was all very impressive I was happy no to be in that huge surging mass of people. We met our guide who didn't speak any english and I felt very safe in

Jasmine Flowers

Envelop the hike along the wall with their scent

her hands - Chinese, 60ish, wearing a pair of pale blue slacks and tweed jacket, love it! We hiked up the hill/mountain to the wall it's self, no cable cars or toboggan rides here. We scrambled up on the wall and could see for miles, not a soul to be seen, just acres of hills and miles of wall snaking it's way along the ridges. It might not be as impressive to some, compared with the reconstructed turrets of Baddaling, but I absolutely loved it; it had the whole real mccoy feel about it and a crumbling rugged aesthetic which made us feel like we were discovering it! (I wished I'd had an Indy style hat on and a rope for abseiling down the sides!) The tour did exactly what it said on the tin, we hiked, sometimes scrambled, the wall for 3 hours and didn't see a single soul apart from the one guy who has a little stall in one of the watchtowers, no pressure to buy and because he spoke a little english he gave us some information about the wall. This section is in really bad shape and has become very overgrown with trees and grass

Graffiti, Bricks and Hills

The 'Secret' Wall

breaking through the stones and the stones themselves lose and crumbling don't make for easy hiking, but to make sense of my title you would have to go there. Jasmine is one of my favorite scents in the whole world and an unusual version of it appears sporadically along the way so that every now and again a wave of its frangrance will envelop you. Slowly does it down the near vertical mountain path to the village below, I was not going to go arse over tit again when I didn't even have a bike to blame! We had a very yummy lunch in the village and a nap on the ride home.

That night I bumped into the two Berkshire guys from Yangshuo again and said I would join them at the Silk Market again the next day, I really wanted that jade necklace because I hadn't stopped thinking about and figured I could just go and see what the starting price was. (these guys incidentally had an awesome plan for cheaper stays in cities - they stayed at the cheapest crappiest hostel they could find and then scouted out the best hostels with free activites! That's how

Not a Soul to be Seen

The Great Wall

I found them at Leo, they didn't stay there, just hung out watching the free DVD's that were on all day!) I spoke to the guy with the Jade and he was an absolute sweety, he explained the ways to check for real jade (verified my the boys, who'd been to a jade factory in NZ) and then said he would give me a good starting price because I had been around the other stalls, he liked my voice etc. Yeah, Yeah, yeah. I'd heard that before, they all say 'best price, just for you'. His was actually very good, 120 Yuan, I got him down to 70 and was very, very happy. It was a thick chunk for real, dark green jade with an intricate dragon carved out of the surface, stunning!

Rush, rush, rush

I had booked my train for Xi'an so technically I should've been doing something productive with my day - The Summer Palace, Forbidden City etc but I was just so happy with my necklace and thought I would be able to squeeze in a few things before my late train. I'm actually really upset that I never got to see the

Unreconstructed and covered by bushes

The Great Wall

Summer Palace or Temple of Heaven, but there are so many things that I have missed already, because I had to cut my time here short (bloody bureaucracy and visas!), that I will have to come back! The next day I managed to see the Forbidden City, Beihai Park and get into an arrguement with solider and police man! I got up at 4.30 to see the sunrise ceremony in Tiananmen Square but unfortunately we miscalulated and arrived just as the hoards of people were leaving, although it did mean that we managed to see the square at it's most beautiful and quietest! The Forbidden City was, as with everything at the moment, under construction. There is no decrease in the price, even though the main hall is off limits and there is a lot of scaffolding and hoarding boards up. It's such a shame that one of the highlights of Beijing was a bit of a burst balloon. You can get a good sense of the way things were and we were lucky it was realitively quiet. In anticipation of the Olympics everything in Beijing is being repainted - literally the whole city, including the Forbidden City. I had

Snaking Across the Ridges

The Great Wall

mixed feelings about this - restoration - yes. Turning all their valuable old relics into a bright, glossy theme park - no. I actually got more excited when I saw the beams with the original paint peeling off them, but maybe that's because I have just seen too much of China's need to Disney Landify everything - No, the Karst peaks naturally aren't beautiful enough, lets cover them in bright gordy coloured lights for an evening show! I think for an idea of how things looked in their prime and restoration is a necessity but I do hope they leave some of it alone!

After Beihai I was in a rush to reach my train on time which is were I had a couple of run ins with Beijing authorities, I won't bore you with the story and in fact thinking back on it I shouldn't have got so angry. My point is that I think it's very easy to let your first impressions or initial bad experiences to taint the way you see everything in the country thereafter. Because of a few bad encounters i've had I sometimes find myself presuming the worst. The Chinese don't make it

Rough and Rugged - Why I liked it!

The Great Wall

easy for tourists that is one thing that I have found over and again, obviously I'm in their country with no knowledge of their language but I think I have had bad luck with a few particularly unhelpful people. On the other hand others that I have spoken to have not had a single negitive experience, it comes down to luck of the draw and one lesson I will definitely try to take with me is not to presume the worst first!

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