Oregon Invasion Part 2 : Beijing !

Beijing : Day 1 of 2

With M & K safely back in Beijing, A and I set off for Hongqiao International Airport (we can now both say we have flown out of both of Shanghai's international airports...) Once we figured out how to check in (my Chinese colleague helped me purchase tickets through the AliPay App... and it didn't send me a typical confirmation like you might get in the states. But we found the Juneyao airline counter, checked in, found our terminal, then set out to find food. We then collapsed into some available seats until we boarded our rather posh looking plane. We were sitting in the first row of seats so we had plenty of leg room (always important), though the headrests could have been a bit higher...

Juneyao Airlines!

Waiting in the terminal...

A and her Kungfu
(A Chinese fastfood chain).

 The flight was uneventful, and we landed in Beijing around 12:30am. Once the plane was on the tarmac we took a bus for 15 minutes from the plane to the terminal. This seems typical here... In that time we began talking to this really cool guy from San Francisco and A realized she did not have her phone... aaaaand uneventfulness over. Once we arrived at the terminal I approached the first employee I could find and in terrible chinese told him, litereally, "Her phone... doesn't have... We go where?" Thankfully he understood despite my god-awful pronunciation and directed us upstairs to the lost and found. Once there, we were directed again to the lost and found in the next terminal over. The gentlemen there, thankfully, spoke a decent amount of English. I handed him the stub to our ticket and he phoned someone to have them check our seats for her phone. Sadly, it wasn't to be found. I reassured A with the fact that it's likely more valuable to someone to resell it rather than spend hours trying to crack her password and decipher the English language to find any valuable information. Nevertheless, I let her borrow my phone to send her Mom a quick email to have her remotely turn it off and to notify her carrier.

We resolved that we wouldn't let this ruin our trip and we would just have to use my phone for all of our selfies. We giggled, and still a bit bummed, made our way to a cab. We arrived at M&K's somewhere between 2 and 2:30am. I don't remember. I was still fuming that our cabby likely had a "broken meter" or essentially a meter that ran too fast and charged us double. Commonly, taxi's will try to give any laowai they pick up at the airport the ol' run-around. Knowing this, I followed along on the GPS on my phone, and he didn't. But upon confirming with M&K later, the trip should have cost us half of what it did. After some googling, I came to the conclusion he had tampered with his meter and that if he were asked about it, he would likely just say it was broken, and then haggle out a price. Oh well. It was late, it had been a long night with already one crisis. So I had paid and sent him on his merry way. In the future, if I suspect this I will take a picture of his ID and report him... note to self...

Morning came early. Like 3-hours-of-sleep early... By 7:30 we were boarding a bus that would take us north towards the wall. After having seen the weather forecast we decided this would be the better day for any outdoor adventures, as it would likely rain the following day. Our Oregon-grown group of 4 was joined by some of M&K's coworkers. S, Koffee K (named so because he brought me coffee upon request), and B. S was a native Beijinger and we were more than happy to have her with us. She was able to work her magic and met some cool hikers on the bus north. They invited us all to come along with them to a different part of the wall that was in ruins and made for an excellent hike. Sounded like an adventure to us! We all jumped at the opportunity. 

My first glimpse of real hills in 6 months.

The second bus we were hoping to take, the one that was to take us to our destination, never came. After a couple of phone calls it was revealed that particular bus didn't run during the holiday. Cool. Well, our self-appointed guides felt bad for dragging us along and then goofing it up that they paid for taxi's to take us out there. Wahoo! Yay ghetto, unofficial Chinese taxi's!

The first Great Wall Sighting!

We drove passed the Beitaishang Reservoir, over the Yanqi River, up the winding road of Lianyinge Mountain Village, The drive was pleasant, and exciting as we scoured the horizon for that first glimpse of the Great Wall. The ground was covered with patches of snow still clinging to life in the shadows. Twenty minutes after piling into the "cabs" we arrived at our destination: A little road that wound through a small hillside town called Lianhuachicun, a good hike north of our original destination: MuTianYu.

Crawling out of the taxi and turning around I saw a giant authoritative, blue sign, and laughed. Look at us, we're such rebels. Just to make sure we pointed it out to our guides. They laughed and waved a hand at it as if to toss the sign aside, and started up the road on foot. We all shrugged and followed after them.

So happy to be hiking again!

"The American and English girl are very good, better than the Chinese girl." A and I (yes, they thought I was English, maybe the hat?) were complimented on our aptitude for hiking as we lead our pack behind our guides. They laughed because "the Chinese girl" or S, was bringing up the rear. I think A and I were just anxious to get to the wall, so we were bookin' it, doubletime!! Some of the inclines really had us struggling, I felt we were hiking straight up at times. I forced myself to keep my eyes from gazing upwards, I knew if I saw how much further we had to go, it would be difficult to muster up the energy to press on. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised when we finally arrived at the top.

A quick photo at our first nice viewpoint!

Directly behind us... are some trees. But directly
behind the trees... IS THE GREAT WALL!

We finally arrived!! Nearly jumping for joy at the treasure of a view! Combine that with our rebellious act and you've got quite the state of euphoria!

A Panoramic shot of the hills and wall of MuTianYu, Beijing.

So what do you do when you arrive at the Great Wall of freakin' CHINA!?!?!
Take selfies... duh!

TAKE ALL THE SELFIES!

SELFIE!!!

FOOT SELFIE!!

SELFIE!!

BFF SELFIE!!

SELFIE WITH S!!

 We said goodbye to our hiker friends as they continued onward to a 2.5 hour hike. Us, not being prepared with water or food for that sort of physical activity, continued along the wall to the restored toursity bit.











On top one of the towers we decided to do a bit of dancing and show off some of our moves. And we all wanted to say we've danced tango/swing on the Great Wall... so there's that...

After the hike up we decided to take advantage of our local resources and Toboggan down the mountain to MuTianYu Village. The track looked perfectly engineered to Chinese standards, and the carts definitely appeared as if they could pass a safety inspection. So we giddily paid our 80kuai and hopped in line. We had a lovely conversation with the British lads in line behind us. And some twenty minutes later, it was our turn to saddle up.
  A and K took the lead as they fear nothing and would likely go the fastest. M and I took up the rear knowing we would likely hit the break from time to time. So, we folded our legs up to our nose and prepared for take off. Once you get around the first bend, the speed picks up pretty quick. Unfortunately for A & K, our group followed a family of four from France (I eavesdropped on their conversation in line) and the mother was really slowing up at the corners which caused some serious rubber-neck traffic. Made us a bit peeved, really... WE HAD A NEED FOR SPEED, DANG IT!

The course was a tad confusing, constantly warning us not to slow down,
then warning us to slow down. How does a person manage?!?!

A Google Map screenshot of our route.

A tourist map of the area we trekked.

After the chute, we walked through the village a bit and gathered up whatever souvenirs we deemed worth haggling for and continued on our merry way. Eventually we made it to the main road and haggled ourselves another cheap unofficial cab back into town. Once there we caught the bus back into Beijing proper. Lo-and-behold our hiker friends were on the same bus!


Back in Beijing our first mission was FOOD! We were SO HUNGRY! We weren't terribly picky, but knowing that A and I wanted to try Peking Duck, S recommended a Muslim/Chinese restaurant on Houhai Lake. And it was a brilliant recommendation! Dinner was DELICIOUS and there was more than enough food. In the end, we each paid 60RMB, which is about what you'd pay for a club sandwhich at a western restaurant.

Seriously, the food. So good.

Peking Duck. So good.

People ice skating on Houhai Lake.

After dinner we walked around the frozen Houhai Lake and did a bit of shopping before heading home and falling into bed.

And with that we have...

the end of day 1.

Beijing : Day 2 of 2.

Another early morning, though slightly better rested. We headed into the heart of the city to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Yesterday, the skies were beautiful, today was a different story and we all donned our face masks as the AQI was hovering about 250. It's not fog in the pictures... it's smog.

Exiting the metro station at Tiananmen West (I think?) we all began to question every life choice we had ever made. We emerged from the metro stairwell and into the largest crowd I have ever been amassed in... ever. This is one of those moments when you realize how many people live in China. This is also a moment when cultural differences (particularly manner, or lack thereof) shine through.

Oh, hey Mao! How's it goin'?

Here's the kicker, supposedly they only allow 80,000 tourists a day inside the Forbidden City. So now, we are in competition with all these people to get in and buy tickets before they stop issuing. Lucky for us, our group comes with 2 tall, intimidating westerners to use as beacons and scouts, 1 blonde to use a diversion, 1 Beijinger, and plenty of Western stubbornness and competitiveness. We were well equipped for such a task.

The rather frozen moat surrounding the Forbidden City.

We bulldozed our way through the crowds, made it through the 1st security gate, bought tickets, and through the second security gate in about an hour...give or take. Take THAT ya fiendish mobs! Ye may take me seat on the metro, but ye will nae take me tourist ticket!!!

 Once inside the Forbidden City, the crowd lightened up... a bit. They weren't kidding when they called this place a City. It's massive! It's just hall after hall and courtyard after courtyard! Most of the halls have been converted into museums and gift shops; their days as living quarters long behind them.





The inside of the Forbidden City.

A and I in front of the Main Hall. The smog makes it looks like we are standing in front of a green screen or something...

Jumping for joy! Except M...

Now we're all into it...

Oregon Invasion!!!

The intricate ceiling inside the Hall of Perpetual Enlightenment... or something like that...

The gilded sides of the rooftops.

You know that epic scene at the end of Mulan... here it is, in real life!

They know how to flaunt staircases here...

A little building in the garden. Perhaps the shed?

The exit gate of The Forbidden City.

...

We fought our way through the crowds, and made our way back to the metro in search of lunch before heading to the Summer Palace.

 Bellies full of Korean food, we made our way to the Summer Palace (颐和园; Yíhéyuán). While there was still a crowd, it was minimal in comparison to what we experienced at Tiananmen Square. Fortunately, we are all versed in hiking. And the further you hike around the lake, the lesser the crowd.

The Summer Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It covers about 1.1 square miles, three quarters of which is water.

This place is HUGE, so we pick a few things to zero in on. Our ultimate destination: that topmost building!

The ladies.

Longevity Hill (万寿山; Wànshòu Shān) sits on Kunming Lake (昆明湖; Kūnmíng Hú)

Fortress of Doooooooom!!!

Ooooh Pretty colors!

And lines!

And angles!

The pinnacle attraction at the Summer Palace: The Temple atop Longevity Hill. Aptly named as you need a long life to make it up all those stairs...

Any track stars need to run some stairs?

I know of some great stairs...

More stairs...

I stop to admire pretty painting of a badass lady...

before ascending more stairs...

A section of the Palace that was closed to the public... for reals. That gate was not moving.

The view from the top.
A bit on the smoggy side.

Longevity Hill Temple!

Group Selfie! We made it to the top!!

This is a perfect example of the enforcement of rules in this here Middle Kingdom...

The Stone Boat. Sure, it's beautiful, but I don't believe it's sea worthy...

We're too cool to walk normally. So we strut our stuff right out the exit gate...

...and head to dinner!!! Tonight: HOT POT!!!

What is Hot Pot? It's somewhat similar to fondue in that you dunk food in a liquid...

Basically you order lots of raw meats, vegetables, noodles, tofu (a staple in Asia; eaten by many people, not just vegetarians), and they deliver a big bowl of boiling water/oil (the hot coals are in the little smoke-stack looking thing in the middle), and you drop the food in, wait a few minutes, pull it out with your chopsticks, dip it into your personal bowl of yummy peanut sauce and stuff your gob. It's delightful! Worried about handling raw meat with your chopsticks then eating off of them? Just stick them in the boiling water for a minute, you'll be fine!








After dinner we made the stroll on home, admiring the sites along the way. This here is the drum tower near Houhai Lake.

Another angle of the drum tower. It's very tall...

Both evenings on our walks home we enjoyed some festive New Years fireworks. A treat we didn't get in Shanghai as they are banned within the outer ring of the city...

M&K live in Ganlu Hutong. A Hutong is a very popular type of neighborhood in many parts of China. Think of them as small gated communities (with or without an actual gate), often surrounding a common courtyard.

The homes are puzzle pieced together, but usually don't exceed 2 stories tall. Some Hutong homes even share bathrooms... eek! M&K had their own facilities, fortunately for all of us...



Well, that about concludes our trip to Beijing and the Oregon Invasion. From this point we begin to part ways. The next morning we rose early (again) to get to the airport for our 2 hour flight back to Shanghai. We also wanted to get to the airport early to check if they ever found A's phone. Alas, they hadn't. And they took her power pack at security as it didn't have the amps labeled or whatever. They didn't take mine though... so that's weird. (Or just China....)

I ended up getting incredibly sick the next day (a 2.5 day fever peaking at 103.2, but with the help of A, my roommates, and some Swiss meds I was able to pull through. A had to leave whilst I was still incredible feverish, and perhaps a bit delusional. I do distinctly remember waking up at one point having the clear and singular thought, "my brain is melting out my ears." Then I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Good times.