Day 3
Today started early with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast. Neither of us could stomach another fish based soup and we wanted some energy for our Great Wall hike. We hired a private car for the day, 8 hrs for 700 RMB or about $115. This is signifantly more expensive than the $0.30 train rides we have been taking. However, the less touristy spot on the wall was 1.5 hr drive and we wanted to be there when the gates opened to take advantage of beating the tour buses. This paid off. We were able to walk right to the cable car and right on the Great Wall. We hiked west on the wall until it was no longer up-kept. We hiked about 1/4 mile longer but realized it was unsafe. The Great Wall was absolutely amazing. It is very hard to imagine how in the world people built these walls over 1,000 years ago. It would have been a feat on level ground but unfathomable with the steep cliffs.
After turning back, we ran into two people wearing OSU shirts, so we stopped to take an O-H-I-O pose. Pretty cool.
We were able to hike out and back in about 2.5 hrs, so we still had time. We decided to hike to the farthest East end of the up-kept wall. We couldn't figure out how far this exactly was, but the picture was awesome to take from where we came from. Even 1.5 hrs out of the city, the smog was still present. You could barely see where we had made our first turn around. The pictures do not do it justice as the terrain was unbelivable. The steps were uneven and some of the walking areas were ramps vs steps. The second part of the hike brought beautiful fall colors. It was different hiking in the fall as most pictures show the Wall with green trees. That perspective would have been neat also as the Wall would have stood out in the distances.
We hiked just above the four Chinese characters way in the distance, which is about 1.5 miles from this point. It sure did feel longer than a 3 mile hike.
We made it back to the parking lot at about 1:00, so we had enough time for the driver to take us to the Olympic Village. This was cool to see since it is so recent. We walked around the Village and were unimpressed with the amount of dirt, rust, and over all smog. During the Olympics, Beijing put on a ban on the amount of drivers so the smog would clear. It definitely made a huge difference. The amount of smog got worse each day we were here. My thought is that it gets worse throughout the work week with all of the driving cars. We are on the train right now to Xian and you cant even see 1/4 mile from the train. We expected the smog to get better as we left Beijing but we are over 200 miles west by now and it seems to be worse.
I really did enjoy seeing the Cube and the Birds Nest. I could only imagine the electricity that was in the air during the opening ceremony.
We made it back to the hotel at about 4:00. We both were beat and quickly showered from a sweaty and smoggy day. At about 4:30, we decided to take a 10 minute nap. Guess we should have set an alarm. At 7:30 a wrong number called our room and woke us up. Neither could get out of bed and I remember seeing 10:30 and then again 2:00. We both tossed and turned from 2:00-3:30 before getting up to work out and start the day. Sounds weird to type, but we were fully rested. I am expecting 3:30 natural wake ups to go away at some point.
Day 4
After an easy cardio session and stretching, we ate would could be our second breakfast at 7:30. Our first was a PB and J and banana split between us at 3:30 and our second was across the street from our hotel. We shared a warm egg noodle like soup, a long unsweetened doughnut like bread, and egg fried rice. Our best breakfast yet. That breakfast was $7 compared to what would have been $60 for a Western breakfast at the hotel.
We stocked up on supplies at the neighboring 24 hr mart. Aquafina bottled water was 1.3 RMB. At a 6 RMB to 1 USD exchange, water is a cheap $0.22 per bottle. We bought peanut butter, crackers, bread, chocolate spread, and chocolate cookies for the train ride lunch and dinner. All for 48 RMBs or $8.
We started the day on the subway to the Beijing Zoo. I was excited to see the Giant Pandas. They did not disappoint. Very cool to watch. All four were eating, so no exciting play time. The rest of the zoo was very very disappointing as the exhibits where the animals were housed were not maintained to American quality. PETA would be rioting if they saw the poor conditions. We saw the polar and black bears and left.
We made our way to the Temple of Heavens. It appeared to be close on the map, but it took us over an hour from the zoo. They were charging more to see it and neither of us were excited to pay to see a temple. We decided to experience the Beijing bus which is very different from the subway. We had read that the buses were not for tourists as there is no English and they are not as well cleaned and maintained. We road it for a few blocks before it randomly turned off the road we wanted to be on. A very cool experience. The ride was 1 RMB per person. Each subway ride was 2 RMBs. Getting around Beijing has proven to be very cheap. Most areas in the subway have signs in both Chinese and English. The amount of people is about a constant NYC rush hour.
After packing up for our Beijing exit, we made our way via subway and bus to the bullet train to take us to Xian. We got some weird looks as no other people thus far on our journey were walking around with a backpack on their backs and stomachs! Despite easy to navigate subways, the bullet train was difficult to find. Luckily we found an English speaking gentlemen who pointed us in the right direction.
Despite English being translated on much of the signage throughout Beijing, I was shocked at how little people actual spoke. Most of the people that we ran into spoke no English at all. However, most were pleasant to interact with even without verbal communication. We found that most people were very friendly, welcoming and helpful. We felt safe the entire time despite getting weird looks. Kristen was the only celebrity as two Chinese girls at the a Great Wall asked for their picture with her. I was also surprised that the Chinese were taller than I expected. I had the perception that they were all short, but that did not hold to be true. I would be interested in knowing the actual average heights between US and Chinese citizens.
All in all, Beijing was a great experience. The way that citizens live their lives is so different. Some of the city is in hutongs which are self sufficient. Others live in hire rise towers. It doesn't appear that people leave the surrounding area from their hutong. Each hutong has different shops that have all life's necessities. The smog is legit here. After spending three days in it, I am happy to leave it. I have no doubt that Beijing has an effect on the ozone. The sun was "shinning" all days, but you can see from the pictures that it never comes out. It only shines about as bright as a full moon in the US. The Great Wall was amazing to see and walk on, the Chinese culture was so very different than that in the US, and the Olympic Village was cool to see in person.
Our train ride to Xian is somewhat interesting. I was expecting to see the country side, but the smog only allows about a 1/4 mile view. We just passed a city about 250 miles from Beijing that is being built all new. There were about 30 new sky scrapers being built. It appeared that no one was living there at the moment as it was all under construction. Seems like a great idea to try and move people out of Beijing. On to Xian and the Terra-cotta Warriors for a night.
Beijing pictures click on the link https://picasaweb.google.com/101721597279495771132/Beijing03?noredirect=1
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love the pics! I´m so completely jealous!
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