The Great Wall of China

On Monday Katie and I went to the Great Wall of China with Alex and Andy, our two American roommates. We decided to save some money and take the public bus to Baldaling instead of doing an organized bus trip our hostel offered. Finding the right 919 bus was a process. There are about 20 buses numbered 919 at the same station, which is huge, but not all of them go to the same place. A Chinese Man with a Red Cross Badge kept yelling - the Chinese way of talking- at us to follow him and we were hesitant at first because we had no idea where he was going to lead us to. But after refusing a few times we finally decided to follow him because we were having no luck on our own, and it turns out he was just trying to help us. We were so skeptical because the Chinese are not very kind to strangers, most people turn away from us when we show them our map and ask for directions.

The Great Wall was amazing!! I can’t believe I was actually there! It’s huge, obviously, and just goes on and on forever through the hills and mountains and the views were incredible. It was a tough hike and we weren’t even at the hardest section! The stairs are uneven and different heights. And there are some parts where there are no stairs and you have to walk up or down a steep incline/decline. It kept going up and down and left and right, but it was fun! We hiked for a few hours and took a “trolley” ride back down. It was more like a miniature rollercoaster ride you could find at the Marshfield Fair. There was also a bear park near the entrance so we got to feed the bears, who would have thought!?

Katie & I climbing the Great Wall

When we got back to Beijing we went to the Olympic Park and saw the Water Cube and the main Stadium that looks like a bird’s nest, all lit up, it was pretty cool to see.

The Water Cube

2008 Beijing Olympic Site

For dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant and yes the Chinese food here is totally different from home. I actually like it so much better!!! I had grilled eggplant in some kind of sauce, once again I had no idea what the sauce was, but it was good! I also tried wide rice noodles (delicious) and chicken with chili and asparagus, complete with bones! The chicken was cut into bite size chunks but there was still bone inside, and its custom to just spit it out on your plate. It was gross but everyone was doing it…And after that dinner I felt really strange. I got lightheaded and hot and almost fainted, I felt almost like I was drunk even though I only had a sip of Alex’s beer. But the feeling finally passed and I was ok and then I tried snake and starfish at the market. The snake was chewy and gross and the starfish was really crunchy and not so good either. I didn’t have the guts to eat the other things Alex tried but he claimed they were all much better than what I tried.

Our last day in Beijing was more relaxing. We all ate breakfast together at the hostel. I had a coffee, two eggs and a banana for 22rmb (which is just over $3). Everything here is so cheap, giant water bottles for 5rmb, food for as little as 1rmb and dinner tonight only cost me 25rmb (almost $4) for a big bowl of chicken & rice noodles in broth, which was delicious! We toured the Forbidden City and went to the Temple of Heaven. We got our first massages today for $14. It was a 70 minute foot massage, which started with soaking our feet in hot ginger water, and a very nice and longggg foot and calf massage. They also gave us a 15minute free back and neck massage. It was one of the best massages I’ve ever had and my feet felt great afterwards, I can’t wait for the next one!

We are on the overnight sleeper train to Shanghai right now. It’s a 12 hour ride and we get in at 7am. I am looking forward to Shanghai, and the warmer weather there. It was 48-degrees Fahrenheit when we left Beijing tonight. It was in the 50s & 60s while we were there and the weather forecast says 70s in Shanghai, yay! I just hope the people on the subway in Shanghai aren’t as pushy as the people in Beijing. They would literally walk right into and elbow us to get on and off the train. The trains were also packed, I felt like I was stuffed in a can of sardines sometimes!