Beijing, China: Days 7, 8, 9, 10

Note: I did not know that Facebook, Google, and Instagram were blocked in China. The next couple of posts I had to rewrite because they didn't save properly, since my Google platform blog didn't work. Helpful tip: either download and pay for a VPN before getting here, or make sure your email address for travel confirmations is not Gmail. 

Day 7: Beijing Arrival, Ghost Street, Street Food

Most of the day was lost in time change and travel. I arrived to PEK in the mid afternoon, got through customs, and eagerly looked for my name in the line of Chinese drivers. I found my lady and we headed off. She didn't speak a word of English, but although the ride had no conversation, it was still quite interesting. Traffic in Beijing is terrible. I don't know what I expected, but I gawked in amazement at cars speeding and winding through each other (when not on a stand still) and cutting each other off. What should have taken us a couple hours lasted significantly less, as she drove on the shoulder more often than not.

While talking about traffic, I learned here in Beijing that traffic signals mean very little. Cars and scooters just go as they see fit. Pedestrians: watch out because buses will not stop for you, they will hit you. (Scary thing I learned - drivers would rather kill you than injure you with their vehicles. There is a set fine for accidentally killing someone; if you live they must pay your medical bills... :-/ )

Not much to photograph out of the windows: hazzy smog sky and random buildings.

We arrived to Dragon King Hostel around dinner time. The front reception ever so kindly allowed me to check in and pay later, after I'd had a chance to find an ATM. I dropped my bag and immediately left to wander the streets. No map or sense of direction, I wandered onto what I now know is called 'Ghost Street.' Flashing signs with moving letters, of course all in Chinese, atempt to lure pedestrians into their restaurant. It felt like a mixture between Vegas and an arcade. Servers and staff stood out on the sidewalks doing cheers and stretches and dances - some sort of pre shift pump up routine for the night I suppose or perhaps just another way to draw interest. Tempting smells reached my nose on the street and pictures in some windows made me second guess whether my stomach could handle certain selections.

I found the Bank of China ATM, thanked it for properly working and giving me money, and wandered the street for over an hour.

What I saw took me by surprise.

The sidewalks, some in disrepair or made of varying materials, often line with garbage, sometimes became impassable. From scooters for sale blocking your way, or the men working on repairing them (yes right out on the sidewalk with tools and welding materials), to construction ladders and huge piles of dirt - it seemed you always run into something you have to step over or into the street to get around.

Side streets hide in complete darkness. Fully modern dressed people step out of dusty narrow alleyways. Over and over I'd see similar scenes all along my walk. Beware of spit - women and men are constantly hawking up loogies and spitting them onto the ground.

Heading back towards my hostel, I ran into a great street food 'vendor'- a man with a flat grill rigged behind his bicycle, loaded with veggies, meats, and seafood on sticks. After looking over everything, a Chinese girl who actually spoke English (not so common in Beijing) helped me figure out what everything was and how to order and make sure they gave me the proper price. So for a whopping 7RMB (US$1.10) I got chicken, mushrooms, corn, and buns on individual skewers, extra spicy, seared and cooked on his grill.

Not far from my hostel, I brought my dinner back with me to eat in the common lunge and quickly made friends at the hostel from the US, Spain, and Holland.

I set out to wander once more, awake from the time change and excitement. Seeking a night market, I lost my way and ended up wandering for over an hour before finally returning to bed.

Day 8: Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Tian'anmen Square, Coffee Scams

First full day in Beijing. I woke early and set out on foot to the Forbidden City  (also known as the Summer Palace) to arrive before it got crowded and to make sure I got a ticket (only 80,000 visitors allowed per day). Finding myself on the East side, I headed to the South Entrance, as they flow the crowds from South to North to create at least a little less chaos. I found the line to buy tickets easily, as well as the price clearly marked (60RMB I think). Walking in you can purchase a self guided audio tour for 40RMB, which is not much, so why not? As interesting as the guide can be for some people, you aren't missing too much if you don't buy one. Signs posted throughout the City describe each site thouroughly, in both Chinese and English.

I'll let you look up the history, but one thing in learned here is that crowds of Chinese people are pushy. Especially the older women. Not going to lie - I grew pretty frustrated more than once. In attempting to see into each temple, you have to fight the crowd otherwise be pushed out of the way.

As you exit to the North, Jingshan Park faves you across the street. Admission being very cheap, it is more than worth a walk around. Take the stairs all the way to the temple at the top and you'll find a Golden Buddha looking out over a beautiful aerial view of the Forbidden City. Also, the bathrooms here are extremely clean, nice, and have Western toilets. (At this point I have yet to use a squat toilet...)

Exiting the park, I made my way back South to see Tian'anmen Square. I hadn't done much research on it, so I was surprised to find that it wasn't a European style Square with a statue in the middle and restaurants all around. (I'm in China.... no idea why I'd expect that...) Instead, I found a large crowd going through security behind huge, red, cement walls. In the middle - nothing really. A food truck, a few trees, tons of people. The Square is used to ceremonies, so my helpful tip would be this: each morning they do some sort of opening ceremony - get there in time for that before heading into the Forbidden City (you have to flow that way anways, so it makes much more sense). I paid the 15RMB to go up into the tower, where apparently important deals or discussions take place (or used to take place?). Inside, youll find a beautiful painting of the Great Wall, whuch you are not allowed to photograph. However, there is a nice view of a large open area to the South - surrounded by museums with a large monument in the middle dedicated to the people.

I went to take a look at the monument before turning back towards the hostel. Random buildings surrounding me, I turned a corner to find myself suddenly in a beautiful shopping area - wide pedestrian only street with high end stores flanking each side. (The Night Market I'd been looking for the previous night is actually here but I didn't know it at the time). Tired of walking, I found a bus going in the general direction I wanted to go. I hopped and somewhat nodded off a bit. Not sure exactly how far we'd gone, I hopped back off, had no idea where I was, so picked a direction and began walking again. I actually was on a pretty trendy street, cleaner than the one from the previous night, lined with shops and cafes. At the end of this steet, the Drum Tower stood out. Luckily for me, two British girls who had Internet helped me orient myself. I'd walked perhaps 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Turning around, I finally made it to my hostel maybe one hour later.

One more thing to note about today: Tea House Scams. Four different times I was approached and invited to coffee. They lead in with a compliment or asking where you're from and going into casual conversation before inviting you to share a tea or coffee with them. Don't fall for it. The American from my hostel did and here's his story: a guy approached him around the Forbidden City. They both wee traveling alone, so they may as all walk together. He was from Taiwan, shared personal stories and seemed to be a nice guy. He invited USA to tea. As soon as they got there he ordered a bunch of tea and food in Chinese. Straight away, varieties of foods and snacks came out. Then this man suggested that it was customary in Taiwan to share a glass of wine with a new friend, even though it was 10am. The man suggests they split the bill, USA agrees, since he did consume half of everything. The bill arrives and it's astronomical. The wine alone cost 900RMB. The man feels really bad, he had no idea how expensive it would be,  yada yada yada. USA pays half. They win.

(He figured it out actually and later went back to the tea house, very upset. The waitress came out and gave him most of his money back.... out of fear? Lesson being that the tea house is in on it!)

Day 9: Great Wall Tour - Jinshangling  

When planning this trip, I wanted to mostly do activities individually or with those I'd met in hostels, but some things I just didn't want to risk missing. The Great Wall of China is one of those things. I set out towards the hostel who led my purchased tour (now that I know how this all works - there was really no need to book ahead - my hostel offered 3 Great Wall Tours and you can sign up whenever). Downtown Backbackers Accommodation is on a super trendy fun street (same area I'd been lost in yesterday). A grest English Breakfast place stands next door, so I grabbed some food before we all took off to the bus.

We had an extremely large group, maybe 35, half of which were French I ended up sitting next to a middle aged Australian man named Gordon, who became my hiking buddy on the wall. The long bus ride passed quickly as Gordon shared his tales of his many travels around the world.

We arrived to the wall shortly before noon. They allowed us 3 hours to hike 6km along the wall and would pick us up at the other end. There is a cable care part way, so if someone felt they couldn't make it, they could turn around within the first two hours and the bus would wait.

The weather could not have been more perfect. Clear blue skies with wispy white clouds here and there made for a brilliant change against the thick, unbreathable air in Beijing. You could see son far into the distance, following the wall as it wound across the tops of the mountain range, disappearing into the horizon. No ending in sight. Jinshangling was renovated in the 80s, so the first 11 towers we passed through stood tall and sturdy. The next 11 made for rougher passage and only had partial walls where towers once stood. Some portions of the wall were extremely steep between the towers and either had broken stairs or simply a slope to had to conquer.

Gordon was happy to take "Happy Snaps" (pictures) for me along the way, and I'd return the favor. We stopped a little over halfway to enjoy our snacks we'd carried with us for lunch. Locals are scattered near each tower, selling food and drinks, but of course it's expensive.

The wall took several dynasties to build,  and again you can look up its history, but it amazed me to learn that many many people died while building it. Such a huge project, in the high altitude, with heavy materials but no tools like we have today, it makes sense that it would be a dangerous job. It's amazing they were able to do it.

Traffic getting back into Beijing was terrible, three hours or more. My hostels hiking tour leaves two hours earlier, so perhaps that would have been better, as you'd avoid commuting traffic.

Beers and snacks with Spain, & Switzerland before bed.

Day 10: Temple of Heaven, Wangfujing Street, and goodbye

After so much walking the previous two days, I opted for the subway today. Their subway system is far superior to anything I've seen in the States. For example, a glass wall separates you from the tracks, opening only when a train is present. However, military videos played on a loop - showing the power and force of the leader. In exiting, I ran into some amazing steet food: egg and some sort of starch made into sort of a pancake on a Flatt grill, rolled into a cone, coated on the inside with a dark liquid paste, and filled with beam sprouts and lettuce. Simply amazing. I ate it as I approached the Temple of Heaven.

Definitely the favorite things I saw inside the city of Beijing by far. Until now I had seen zero green space. Here, you pay 15RMB to enter the park or 35RMB for a "through" pass (get that one).

Inside is massive - trees aligned into perfect rows it large sections, divided by walkways and occasionally interrupted by a rose garden or temple. Locals from middle aged to elderly played in in all sections. They played a game similar to hack-e-sack, badmitton, chess, and instruments. They practiced Thai Chi and danced and song. I really envy this lifestyle of all ages coming together outdoors and actually being active together. I feel that back home, you'll only find groups outside if it involves food or your children's sports, but never for yourself.

Your 'through' pass gets you into several of the temples. The Temple of Good Harvest is perhaps the most well known. It is tall and beautiful, so much so brides come to take their wedding photos here. I could have sit watching the different gowns all day.

However, as I grew hungry, I finally went to the "night" market I'd searched for on day one in Beijing: Wangfujing Street. It's actually open all day too, fyi. In the midst of the towering shopping center lives this tiny narrow street full of the strangest foods you'll ever see. Scorpions wiggling on a stick that they deep fry and grill once you order. Scorpions. Starfish. Spiders. You name it - they have it. Sticking with a safe vegetarian spring roll,  since I'm traveling alone,  I apparently made the right choice. A German later in my travels suggested that they don't properly store the food and put it out again the next day. He also recommended that anything you nuy, get two and give one to the vendor to demonstrate how to properly eat it. An American I met tried the Tarantula. He ate the whole thing, said the legs and head were pretty great, but the abdomen tasted like flies and bugs mushed up and covered in pus. That's because you aren't supposed to eat the abdomen. Lesson learned!

Back to the hostel to spend some final moments with USA, Spain, and Switzerland before heading to the overnight train to Xi'an.

Overnight Train

I enjoyed the train ride more than I'd expected. It a little door less pod with 2 bunks, 6 beds, it made for close quarters. Good fortune brought me together with English speaking locals: 3 girl students, 1 young woman professional, and 1 young man professional. The train is non smoking, save for the ends of each car. Unfortunately the smoke easily flowed into my pod, as we were on the end. Thin carts loaded with goodies for sale from snacks and noodles to slippers pass by. The hard beds were surprisingly comfortable and I actually slept through the night to awake in a new city.