Day three in Beijing was reserved for the Great Wall. And
great it was. With more info from our hostel pal, Alfie, we decided that the
Mutianyu portion of the wall would be our best bet. It is located only two
hours from where we were staying, and Alfie assured us that it offers the best
views and would be less crowded than some of the other accessible sections of
the wall. The night before our big day, we made some friends at the hostel bar
who were planning on doing the same trip as us. Ken and Manki are from Hong
Kong and were visiting Beijing for the holiday. Ken is able to speak a bit of
Mandarin (Cantonese is his first language, being from Hong Kong) so he said he
would be able to find a taxi for the four of us to hire for the day. This
turned out to be far more economical than taking the bus trip the hostel
offered, and it was definitely much more convenient than trying to navigate
public transportation on our own.
New friends at the hostel.
Ken’s English is pretty good, so we ended up having some
interesting conversations throughout the day. Both guys are studying design and
fashion. Ken had brought along his sketchbook – so talented! About an hour into
our hike, we stopped for a picnic. While snacking away, we started talking
about the differences between Hong Kong and mainland China. It was the first (and only) conversation I’ve had in China regarding politics. Ken told us about
the state of Hong Kong and how it’s gotten worse since 1997 (when China regained
possession). He told us that one of his teachers described the current climate
in Hong Kong as a cancer that has grown so large that it cannot be cured. He
also told us about the ‘fake election’ that was being held in which only 900
people (prominent leaders in business, medicine, etc.) in Hong Kong were able
to vote. Because of the language barrier and my limited knowledge on the
subject, it was difficult to understand fully what this ‘cancer’ is, but my
understanding is that Hong Kong is becoming more and more like mainland China
and that this is seen as a threat to a lot of people. Ken said he views it as a
threat to his freedom. Access to information, for example, is something that we
take for granted as Canadians. Social media and sharing sites like Facebook,
Youtube, and Twitter are blocked in China. More alarmingly blocked are sites
like Amnesty International. These sites are still accessible in Hong Kong, but
for how long? Ken said he hopes to eventually move somewhere else – to get away
from the ‘cancer’ and to be able to pursue some sort of career in design. We
spent about five hours on the Great Wall and conversation drifted from the not
so serious topics of movies and books to UFOs and ghosts.
Picnic time
Ken's awesome sketches
Aside from the conversations, there was quite a bit of
huffing and puffing (mostly coming from Nicole and me). A few sections of the
wall were pretty challenging, and as mentioned in my previous post, we foolishly
decided to indulge in that giant thing of beer the night before. However…now
that I think about it, had we not had that much beer to drink and share with
new friends, we likely wouldn’t have met Ken and Manki. All’s well that ends
well.
The weather was beautiful: the skies were clear, the sun was
shining, and the temperature was just right for the task of hiking up thousands
of stairs. I kept stopping to take it all in (and catch my breath). What an incredible day!
Some chick doing her makeup?
We all snoozed on the trip back to the city. Nicole and I
got our stuff from the hostel and after about half an hour, we had found a taxi
driver who agreed to take us where we wanted to go.
Our vacation from China
Because Conor Duffy is the best boyfriend in the world,
Nicole and I were able to spend a night at the incredible Regent Beijing. I
wish I had a photo of what we looked like upon check in. Backpacks on, wind
blown hair, and outfitted in our Great Wall climbing clothes, I felt a little out
of place in the lobby of the 5-star hotel. Not five minutes after entering our
room, I headed to the fitness/ spa area with my bathing suit in hand. Pool,
Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, oh my. What a perfect way to wind down after seeing
one of the world’s great wonders. Hungry and tired after our day, we ordered room service. We could have ventured out to find something a
little more budget friendly but as my good pal Tom Haverford says: “Treat Yo
Self!”
We decided that we would give ourselves an 18-hour holiday
from China. We had zero interest in leaving our little, clean oasis (China is a lot of things; clean it is not).
I almost cried tears of joy when I saw the bathtub.
After two months of awkward showers, this was paradise.
Awesome view of new Beijing.
Worth every penny.
Wifi, soft mattress, Western food. Heaven.
The next morning we checked out, said good-bye, and I was in a taxi on my way back to the train station. *cue dramatic music*
Bye Beijing!
One of my neighbours for the train ride quietly texting
and not spitting chicken toes onto the floor :)
A little trip to the dining car for some tea and snacks.
Yan Li, one of my neighbours for the train ride asked me to join him for dinner. Under normal circumstances (back home), this would be weird, but I have had so many encounters with strangers in China who go out of their way to help or give in anyway possible. Usually I'm not by myself when encountering said strangers, so this was a little out of my comfort zone, but I went with it. His English was very limited and my key Mandarin phrases were of no help, so we used a translator app on his phone to communicate. He told me (his phone told me) 'you are brave'. This made me smile. I did have a few moments of pure anxiety throughout the solo portions of my Beijing trip, but they were fleeting. And after it all, I realized that I am a lot more brave than I had thought. Even my once-picky eating habits are slowly diminishing: I tried squid and pork fat and they weren't that bad! He raised his drink to "cheers" before each sip he took and we shared some photos of family that we had on our phones (he has adorable twin baby boys). Back in the cabin, I read, listened to music and got a full night's rest.
The following photos perfectly illustrate how I felt about my train ride to (left photo) and from (right photo) Beijing:
My short but sweet jaunt to Beijing taught me a few lessons:
1) Always, always, opt for the sleeper instead of the hard seat for long train rides
2) Despite not speaking the language, there are always ways to communicate
3) Weird food is often tasty
