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Our arrival to beijing was a nail biting,heart pounding experience!We cleared customs smoothly and dashed past all the persistent taxi drivers,in the hope of catching a cheap bus into the city.11p.m made it not the most comfortable of arrivals,however it certainly wasn't new to us!Jumping off at the final stop,our hope of a quick and efficient taxi ride down the road soon vanished.We were immediately swamped by a dozen taxi drivers,and kids,all of which were furiously yelling their piercing mandarin.Completely disorientated we battled to explain our hostels location,but it was instantly apparent they had no idea what we were saying,and vice versa.Our address of course was'nt written in mandarin,so the challenging China experience began here and then!
Every other passenger on that bus had now disappeared and hannah and i, standing on the side of the road half 12 at night began to feel extremely un-comfortable at the many Chinese taxi drivers,and kids all laughing,and pulling at our sleeves!"30 Yuan,30 Yuan Good Price",was the only information we were receiving."Ok,ok you know where it is yes???"To this once again fits of laughter,followed by un-nerving stares!At this point tempers strained we decided to gamble on the fact we could'nt understand them,however that they could understand us perfectly(AS YOU DO).With 8 legitimate taxi cars sitting there,the guy we prayed understood us the most,proceeded to walk us to a beaten up un-marked car.We could'nt believe it!!!"No,No in a taxi"!!!By now suspicions attack the brain and all you can think of is the worst possible scenario!!!The Don't mess with me else i'm gonna turn into the 'Incredible Hulk' look becomes a necessity as we tried again,"In that taxi car,20 Yuan,no more.Or else we walk"!!!"Ok,ok,ok"!
Pulling away from the piercing mandarin we still couldn't fight off the paranoia!"Hannah,look behind you in case that man in the un-marked car follows us.Or anyone else for that matter"!!!"I'll watch the driver".Sitting in the front, my eyes stayed focused on the taxi drivers hands,and actions.Pitch black now,the taxi made a sharp turn into a tiny alley way it seemed,and we both at this point prepared ourselves for quite literally the unknown!The further we bounced along this dirt-track the more un-known it became.The hearts pounding part had arrived.We really didn't know what to do!And then all of a sudden a white man came into focus(offering us hope),and then a big red sign saying FAR EAST INTERNATIONAL YOUTH HOSTEL.We could'nt believe it!!!All along their intentions were pure.They knew the way,and got us there as asked.Thank God.Well, thank someone up there!!!
So China began!
Two days after arriving,we set off to begin a long awaited trek on the 'Great Wall of China'.AWESOME!!!We arrived in 'Jinshanling' and trekked 10 kilometers along the sometimes steep and forever bending wall.We passed 24 watch towers on the way before reaching 'Simatai'.It was phenomenal.Views of Mongolia to the left and China to the right,gifted one truly special visions.The 'original wall' was begun over 2000 years ago during the Qin Dynasty.The effort required hundreds of thousands of workers,many of them political prisoners.An estimated 180 million cubic meters of rammed earth were used to form the core of the original wall,and legend has it that one of the building materials used were the bones of deceased workers.Seeing it snake off into the distance is an awe-inspiring moment!
The next few days after the trek, our legs thankfully repaired themselves so we set off around this rapidly growing city.We explored the many traditional 'Hutongs'(alley-ways) to Beijing,and got our first true indigenous taste of Chinese culture.Pundits talk of the 21st century as belonging to China,and China itself,as everyone knows,belongs to Beijing.Seat of power to the Mongol,Ming and Qing Emperors,the city is definitely no stranger to prestige.This we soon discovered once exploring the impressive 'Forbidden City'.Named because it was off limits to commoners for 500 years,it occupies a primary position in the Chinese psyche.Its fantastic.This gargantuan palace complex(the largest and best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China) was pretty much the emperors pleasure dome,and up until 1911 China was governed from here.720,000 sq meters,800 buildings,and 9000 rooms makes it an incredible site!
Moving on,we soon experienced some more Chinese ancient wonders.The 'Temple of Heaven' which was amazing,and said to be an icon of such value that it shorthand's the city.And the 'Summer Palace',which was where Royalty would come to elude the insufferable summer heat.Once again extremely beautiful with three quarters of the park being occupied by Kunming Lake.
Of course an evening of stuffing our faces on the legendary 'Beijing Peking Duck' was a must, so we headed down a hutong with some friends and enjoyed this once imperial cuisine.Amazing,fatty,rich,intense,its all of these mixed in one.The process of preparing the duck i have to say is extremely intriguing.Chefs go through a lengthy process,as first they are inflated by blowing air between the skin and body.The skin is then pricked and boiling water is poured all over the duck.Sometimes the skin is rubbed with malt sugar to give it an amber color,and then it is hung up to air dry before being roasted in the oven.When roasted,the flesh becomes crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.The bird is then meticulously cut into 120 slices,and served with fermented bean paste,light pancakes,sliced pancakes and green onions.Sounds tasty eh?The problem with this is you stuff so much,the thought of having duck ever again in your life time makes you feel even more sick!!!
The rest of our time in Beijing(7days) was spent enjoying the immense city culture.We walked the colossal Tiananmen Square(Mao's great creation),visited a chinese Tea House,a Silk Factory,and of course bargained like crazy at some fantastic three storey high authentic shopping stores!BARGAIN i say!
11 days came and went so quick before we knew it we were sitting in the airport 12 p.m, waiting for our flight to HK to Singapore(7.am).An agonizing 7 hour wait ended unfortunately with a bitter experience as we got conned into paying dep tax.Completely zombified,we fell for it hook,line and sinker,as an official(well acting as an official) asked us to pay the 100 yuan fee each!We paid(5.am) and by 6 a.m all these guys in white shirts,and pretend badges had vanished,conveniently just as all the appropriate staff arrived!THEY GOT US!!!
Boarding the plane feeling a little bitter we soon concluded that the 200 yuan(13 quid) con wasn't the end of the world and nothing could dampen our incredible experience in the incredible BEIJING!!!
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