This is a phrase
that Gemma has said numerous times everyday, and with reason. A
simple task like crossing an intersection will increase your heart rate
ten-fold. A green pedestrian light does NOT mean its safe to cross. The only
rule we can gather is that you cross the road whenever you want and just be
sure to dodge any oncoming traffic! There is pea and corn flavoured ice-cream
and it’s not uncommon to see middle-aged woman with a boom-box dancing in dark
alleyways (choreographed style) for no apparent reason! And that’s just to
mention a few!
China is a weird and wonderful place, and at times you
feel like you’re on another planet. Beijing is a very social city, where people
congregate on the streets at sundown for a game of cards or dominos, eat their
meals on the roadside with their family and mates and people pedal their bikes selling
their goods around the streets. Also no smoking signs in restaurants are
completely ignored, for example last night we stumbled across this amazing
little dumpling eatery and our neighbors enjoyed a big hearty cigar following
their meal (oblivious to the no smoking signs all around us). The rules seem
back-to-front to us, but that’s the beauty of travelling feeling completely
lost and absorbed in another culture.
Our first 48 hours in Beijing we spent wandering the
streets, getting our bearings and taking in the sights.
Our first stop was the Forbidden City, (only to get there
ten minutes after last tickets were sold) we didn’t actually get to go into the
grounds, but still enjoyed wandering around the outside, which was still
breathtaking. There were a lot of tourists around, but very few westerners.
This was made more apparent by the amount of people staring at us, I was
stopped by a group of young giggling Chinese girls who shyly asked if they
could have a photo with me, which Gemma thought was very funny. But she was
also the victim to a few sniper shots as well, with several ladies snapping photos
of her while she was unaware.
It felt odd being stared at to begin with, we weren’t sure
if it was my blonde hair, or the fact that we appeared to be the only people
wearing shorts, my hairy legs, or just the fact we were western. We just had to
laugh and figured we’ll never know why.
Beijing is known for its amazing shopping, both high end
and also for its serious market shopping. After researching online we opted for
Yashow Market. I had been to the Silk Road market on my last visit to China it
was complete chaos so I didn’t feel like venturing there again.
Yashow Market sells pretty much everything, but copies, if
you ask them if it’s real their answer is ‘it good quality - I promise’. So we
headed in, clothes, shoes, bags..you name it, it will be in this market!
The basic instructions I had read for buying at these
markets is to ask a price, and then make an offer of about 20-30% of that
price, if they don’t accept walk away. The old walk away trick has been a favourite
for travellers for years in Thailand and is losing its effectiveness over
there, but in China, still works a treat. A guy saw that we were wearing Vans,
said to us Vans only 100RMB (approx. $20) and we kept walking, we didn’t even
ask for a price, and he kept dropping the price until it was at 40RMB (approx.
$7)!
I did need a pair of trainers for our Great Wall hike, so we
found a stall positioned away from the other vendors to avoid being bombarded. I
found a pair of shoes that I liked and asked for a price. 550RMB ($100). No
chance, so I just walked away without counter offer. Immediately her calculator
came out and she asked me to give a my offer, so I punched in 140 and told her
that’s all I have for shoes, next thing I know I got my new kicks for 140RMB
($25)! Gotta love a good bargain.
The market place was a sensory overload, so we only lasted
(1-1.5 hours) and departed with my new shoes, some baby Ray Bans for our little
niece/nephew and a hectic power adapter with surge protection, all for less
then $30. On our way to Panjiayuan Flea Market, a large outdoor flea market, we
quickly stopped at Uniqlo as there seemed to be some mental sale going on. The
clothes were cheaper then normal, but the mental part was the 7000 staff on
each of the three floors yelling and screaming (who knows what?) at the top of
their lungs, it was more intense the Yashows market and we just looked at each
other and laughed - surrounded by complete chaos!
We finally made it to Panjiayuan Flea Market, and it was
probably one of the most impressive flea markets we have ever visited. We could
have easily spent hours and countless dollars here. It was a labyrinth of
treasures and trinkets as far as the eye could see. There was a mix of stalls,
some were proper shops and then others were just a rug thrown on the ground and
all their bits and bobs on display. The range and quality were mind blowing. Beautiful
artworks, unusual sculptures and ornaments, antique pots, vases, tanks, teapots
– the list goes on. We brought an old Chinese cast-iron doorknocker that we would
like to frame and make into a little display piece. We would have loved to of picked
up some more souvenirs but luggage space is unfortunately a restricting factor.
After a day of walking and exploring Chinese markets, we
decided to top it off with duck for dinner! We read some great reviews on a
very ‘hole in the wall’ duck restaurant - Li Qun. I had been to DaDong on a
previous visit, and it was great, but the restaurant was huge and clean and a
bit too sterile to feel authentic. Li Qun was the complete opposite. We were
dropped on the side of the road under the glow of a red neon ‘Li Qun’ sign. We
followed a trail of duck graffiti on the walls of a dark alleyway that led us
to a doorway to duck heaven.
The restaurant layout was a little bazar, it was like a
house and each room had a series of tables set up inside. No fancy tables, no
shiny tiles – just a place to eat and the beautiful aroma of oven roasted-duck filling
the air. The food was top notch! A whole duck, a table full of salads and
fillings, and some other local cuisines plus drinks came to a grand total $60. We left Li Qun feeling very full and
satisfied (our meal would have fed three people easily). We would highly recommended
this restaurant if you ever visit Beijing. They had a wall of fame where we
were surprised to see the Ambassador of Australia and countless celebrities and
movie stars who like to frequent this little spot! Although judging by the
quality of the food, it makes a lot of sense that this underground joint is
very popular.
The next day we decided to visit a famous Hutong nearby (a
Hutong is basically a pedestrian street with traditional old-style Chinese
buildings filled with shops and restaurants).
We entered the Hutong and were greeted by a canopy of
willow trees with beautiful red Chinese lanterns hanging from their branches. Beijing
has a constant haze, so it was almost like walking in to an old Chinese movie.
There were street performers dressed up as old Chinese warriors and it was easy
to lose yourself in the surroundings.
We strolled around here for hours, and found ourselves wandering
down little side streets soaking up the atmosphere.
We found a great little restaurant tucked in behind the
main road and got ourselves some tasty lunch (Gemma claims that this was the
best meal she had in Beijing)!
A visit to Beijing isn’t complete without eating something
weird, and what better place to try some new cuisine then Donghuamen Market. A market well known by
tourists due to its cuisines, including live-scorpions, starfish, small birds,
snakes, silk worms, spiders, lizards and just about anything that should never
be eaten. Like most Chinese markets, it was noisy and crowded, but the
atmosphere and exotic aromas were amazing. We did a lap of the market and
decided to play it safe with some chicken skewers, then a few dumplings, and
then we moved onto some sort of flattened bbq squid and some small bird of some
sort. I have eaten scorpion, spider and snake before, so I felt no need to do
it again as they weren’t exactly mouth watering. We had a good laugh here and
once we’d had our fill, ventured home. Tomorrow would be our last day in China,
and we’d be hiking the Great Wall.
The following
morning our driver came to collect us, and by early afternoon we were to be dropped
off at Guibieko where we would start our 4-5 hour trek to Jinshanling along the
Great Wall. We chose this particular trek as majority of the wall in
un-restored and doesn’t attract as many tourists. But, long story short, our
driver didn’t know where it was, so after driving around for ages we made the
call to drive directly to Jinshanling to explore that section of the wall for a
few hours. Slightly disappointing, but I
think in the end was probably a blessing in disguise.
West of Jinshanling,
has been restored and is stunning. But to the east, the wall is in a raw state
and over run by nature - this is exactly how we wanted to see it. Where we
entered, the wall had been restored, and then after climbing 200m up some
serious stairs, this is where the restoration had stopped. There were no more
stairs, just piles of rocks and rubble, and a path that has started to be
overtaken by nature. The further we ventured, the more decayed the wall became,
we preferred this over the restored section. Its impressive to see that this
wall still stands after being battered by harsh mountainous weather for so many
years, and still manages to look intimidating. We ended up hiking for about 3
hours and made it to the military exclusion zone half way to Guibekio. It was a
lot harder then we expected since there was some steep sections and broken down
parts that pretty much required climbing! The only downside to the day was the
cloud cover. It masked what would have been a truly breathtaking view. The wall
wraps itself around the mountains like a sunbaking serpent and with clear skies;
it would be amazing to see it all the way to the horizon.
Tired and weary
after the adventurous day, we took ourselves for one last Beijing dinner. So we
picked a restaurant nearby that looked full with local people and headed in. We
ordered 30 dumplings and another beef dish, some drinks and got ready for our
last Beijing culinary experience - it didn’t disappoint. This place is known
for their Laomen dumplings, and had an extensive menu. We were filled to the
brim, and all for 125RMB ($22) for the two of us.
It was a 530am
start, and we were out the door and on our way to the train station to board
our train to Mongolia. On leaving our hostel we were greeted by a torrential
downpour! Our taxi driver dropped us to the station, the only problem being
that we needed to cross a massive eight-lane intersection. Our trip to Beijing would not have been
complete without navigating yet another Chinese obstacle. The rain was hammering
down and people were running in all directions, I tempted death by running down
a slightly flossed and slippery overpass with 20kg on either arm.. we somehow
made it to the station and although our pulses were racing and we were wet and cold, we had survived China
and made it out in one piece!
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