Communism alive and well in China (RANDY)
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2004
1
27
30
Trip End
Dec 21, 2004
Gwangju, Korea Rep.
Friday, December 17, 2004
We had one heck of a time finding our hotel which unfortunately soured us of any excitement we felt toward arriving in a city of 13 million that will hold the olympics in 2008. Beijing (formally known as Peking) is 750 sq miles in other words it's huge. A peek at the map shows a destination rather close although takes forever to get to. Need help? Forget asking the locals, or shopkeepers, or taxi drivers. You're on your own.
As always, once arriving in a new city we go straight to the toursit info desk, where you are usually met with a smiling face, lots of pamphlets on lodging and a free map of the land. The tourist desk in Beijing (very nice airport which to Julie's sheer joy housed a Starbucks...god she loves those latte's!!) was a frikin joke. One lone fella behind a very long desk who spoke absolutely no english. I curiously peeked behind his counter to see what might be underneath and laughed my ass off. There was nothing!! We managed to find one of his coherts who who was willing to sell us a map for a dollar. Judging by the fact that were are here to boost their economy with our tourist dollars, i took the map and walked with little resitance from the local who was trying to scam me for a dollar.
i have to mention, if I haven't already in a previous log, how we are feeling about constanly being charged the tourist price, or someone always lurking about to help us for a commission. We have been thru this many times by now, and are quickly learning the game. Even though things are already cheap as dirt, a line is being crossed by people taking advantage of us because we lack the knowledge/language, or are new in town. No longer will we buy from the first vendor, no longer will we get sucked into the first price just to have the locals all laugh as we walk away. It was cute in the beginning, although that has worn off. Julie and ¤Áhave been taking this approach now, and on average have saved quite a bit from the first offer. Don;t get me wrong, were not upset, just learning to level the playing field. For instance a boat trip was first offered at US$25/ea which we in the end obtained for US$4.50 each. This whole trip so far has been such a learning experience you have no idea.
OK, so back to us walking the street freezing our ass off in search for accomodation. My research at home turned out to be lacking and we had to settle for a little shithole just south of Tianenmen Sq. Off course we bardered the price down by about 40% and it took close to two hours to heat the room with the heater provided. We were pissed, probably the first time we really felt at odds in our travels so far.
Next day we managed to fine the hostel we were looking for and checked in. It was a great spot complete with all the amenities. There was a little dumpling restaurant across the street where we ate for most of our stay. great noodle soups and really good chicken or egg on a bun. We also managed to get tipped on a spot for Peking Duck from some fellow Canadians, which was so incredibly juicy and tasty Julie and I were in heaven. We of course were the only caucasions in the restaurant which made for fun times.
We really took things pretty slow in Beijing. The cold certainly hampered our interests in exploring. We found a great outdoor market although it was so draining haggling with the chinese vendors, it left us beat. We ended up getting some winter coats and gloves and were finally armed with warm clothes to conquer the great wall of China the next day.
Julie booked the great wall trip, and decided we needed the full plan as opposed to just a taste. The wall was 2000 years in the making and is over 6,000 km's long. It was constructed to keep the Mongolians and nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes to the north from entering. We ended up on a full day's journey that included a 4 hour walk of the wall (10km's).
Funny at first from what I've seen in previous photos and TV I though it would be cool to rollerblade the wall...boy was I wrong. Just like everything else in east asia, things normally start off nice, but go downhill really fast! Our journey would have us traverse 36 towers. After tower number 3 the smooth surface and well preserved appearance of the wall came to a screaming halt. All of a sudden we were forced to walk across jagged rocks, uneven stairs and ledges, and along raised portions overlooking very large drops down the mountainside with no handrails. At points the inclines would be daunting to the seasoned hiker. Quite the trip. Julie shortly into it developed vertigo, and started losing her balance. God bless her soul she continued along with the help of our little sherpas.
We stopped halfway along to snack on the peking duck leftovers, and continued our trek. In the end we were really happy to be finished as we were exhausted, and so proud of ourselves to have conquered this wonder of the world.
our last day was spent visiting Tianenmen Sq, and the grave of Chairman Mao. In the end as walking down the street I thought to myself what a great place this is, and I wished we had more time to spend.
Off to Korea for Kim Chi, Bulgogi, and Sum yup sal.
Cheers all
