C & C globetrotting around the world…

Our first time in Asia! Once arrived in Beijing, the heat hit us. What we learnt on our first day is that distances are HUGE. What looks like a small square on the map and would only take 5-10 minutes to walk in any other place we’ve been, took like 30 minutes here. So the tour we made was 5 times longer than expected and the heat paired with the humidity totally killed us. So we went to the Gate of Heavenly Peace and Tiananmen Square (which didn’t seem quite that big, probably because of Mao’s Mausoleum in the middle). We then walked to the Front Gate (Qian Men), which is very imposing and kind of out of context since the city wall has been demolished, but nevertheless very pretty.

After the first day, we must say that we are not as shocked as we thought we would be for our first time in Asia. I think it’s mainly the heat that overwhelms us and not so much the amount of people. That just feels like rush hour in Montreal. What is a little different though is the fact that people spit everywhere, kids have a hole in their pants (so they can quickly pee on the street) and the toilets are squat toilets. It’s difficult to find some old-fashioned normal bikes these days in Beijing. It seems like they were mostly replaced by the motor-scooters and electric bikes, even the grandmas and grandpas in the hutongs drive one of these new soundless vehicles. I guess for the huge distances, we don’t blame them, hehe. The good thing is, they have bike lanes everywhere, but crossing the street is always a challenge.

Due to a downpour, we stayed home during the next day and only went to the Dong’anmen Night Market where there’s lots of interesting little animals to eat: fried or still live scorpions, grasshoppers, snakes, and who knows what else. Since it was only our second day in China we didn’t feel brave enough to try some of that “exotic” stuff, but maybe eventually we will get around to it. Or maybe not. To be seen.

We also visited one of the major attractions in China: The Forbidden City which was built by the Ming dynasties at the beginning of the 15th century and was off limits to ordinary people for more than 500 years. It is the world’s largest surviving palace complex and covers 72 ha. We walked through the various courts, passed many pavilions and wondered through the maze of walls. The architecture is very beautiful and impressive, especially by its vastness, which we then also admired from the top of Jingshan Park. This artificial hill was made from the earth excavated to build the Forbidden City’s moat and it is said that it should protect the Forbidden City from the evil spirits of the North (as well as sand storms).

Every town has a Drum Tower and in Beijing we visited it since there was a performance, which we enjoyed very much before finding our way back home passed Beihai Lake and through the hutongs. Hutongs are the traditional Beijing neighbourhoods with little picturesque alleys off the main streets. Each house then has a courtyard with the rooms around it. Life is being lived in the courtyard and on the street as the rooms are too small and too crowded. Unfortunately a lot of these are being torn down to make room for apartment buildings. Our hostel in Beijing was also a courthouse in a hutong (Red Lantern House) and it was really really nice. The courtyard was the common room where people ate and met to chat. It is really surprising how quiet it is in the hutongs even though there’s the hustle and bustle just outside.

The Summer Palace, where the emperors came to withdraw from the heat and noise of the city, was really nice and great escape from the concrete for us as well. We walked through the woods past pavilions, through the Long Corridor with its interesting wood paintings, up Longevity Hill to the Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion and took nice pictures from the Cloud Dispelling Hall. We then took a boat ride on Kunming Lake from the Marble Boat to South Lake Island and the Dragon King Temple.

Probably Beijing’s most famous dish is Beijing Duck, so we had to have it. It was good, but nothing to rave about. Maybe our expectations were too high. What we did love eating though were small dumplings and kebabs. They were easy and always very good. Actually all dishes we had were delicious with lots of peppers, onions, hot peppers and garlic.

Another must-see of China: The Great Wall. We went to the Mutianyu section of the wall, which is renowned for its 26 Ming dynasty guard towers and stirring views. A little bit of history: The original wall was begun over 2000 yrs ago by the Qin dynasty when separate segments were linked. Later during the Ming dynasty, the wall was rehashed with brick and stones. Today most parts open for tourists are restored or being restored to their original state. That is why there are now cable cars to bring you up. We did it the old-fashioned way and hiked up. The stairs were really steep and when we got to the top we were exhausted, but it was nice since it was in the forest and you better appreciate the Wall. After having hiked up, you really wonder how they were able to build such a huge construction at the top of the hill and for such a length! Once you’re on the Wall, your hike is not finished though! The Wall has very steep sections and you are constantly going up and down on the Wall, making it quite a hike. We did a large part of the Wall and several guard towers and had beautiful vistas, but unfortunately because of the mist, the pictures might not show the full beauty of it. Nevertheless, it was a fun adventure. We also finally got to buy some cheap t-shirts (3 CAD each) with “I climbed the Great Wall”, etc. It’s really funny how they start off with a price of 15 and then they do sell it to you for 3 telling you they are losing money. Good one! But for $3 for a t-shirt, we really can’t complain, especially since in Beijing prices were as high as in Canada, if not more. Chris was even thinking of starting a business importing t-shirts from Wal-Mart to Beijing, ;-).

We also went to the Olympic Park to see the “Bird’s Nest” and it was interesting to see where the 2008 had been held. We met up with Lydia, an old class-mate, so we had a mini AvH reunion in Beijing, far far away from Baie d’Urfe…

We found out that travelling by train is not as easy as we thought since the trains are already sold out a few days in advance. Other travellers we talked to are also amazed by how hard it is to get things done here and said that other countries they’ve been to are much easier to communicate in. So we started in the hardest country, but that means that it’ll only get better. Plus, by then we will have a bit more experience travelling and backpacking. We’ll see about that.