Traveling through Southeast Asia. Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia are all on the list of places to visit. There will be sights to be seen, treks to hike, beaches to relax on, and food to be tried.
While kicking it in Xi'an, China, we figured a ride on the city wall was in order. The wall has been restored and it turned out to be much larger than I had anticipated. But, as an added bonus, there is a bike rental place on top. After paying 40RMB ($5.90) each to get on the wall, we can rent bikes for 20RMB ($2.95) each with a refundable 200RMB deposit. Well we wanted to save on the deposit cost and be extra cheeky, so why not get a tandem bike? The bike worked fine, though it was a little wobbly from having a bent front end. To go all the way around the wall it took us about 110 minutes and that was with an easy, steady pace with only a few stops for quick pictures. The view during the day was of a normal Chinese city in my mind, but they sure know how to light up the place when the sun sets.
That night we went out for for a dinner recommended by Lonely Planet of yangrou paomo at Lao Sun Jia. I could it it everyday. It is a beef soup with noodles and spices with bread crumbs thrown on top. Super delicious as all the flavors mixed perfectly. The restaurant was pretty hard to find and we walked past it several time, but we just worked up an appetite for the 24RMB ($3.54) per person we paid to share a bowl with beers.
We found Little Sheep, a place on Ghost street (a popular restaurant area) that served Mongolian hot pot. The food was very good and it helped to pacify Renee's shabu shabu craving. We ordered the original broth that had a water based soup side and an oil based spicy side. The meat and vegetables were ordered to go with it and we mixed them in as we saw fit. The meal with beers and a water came out to be 60 RMB ($8.81) each and hit the spot after our long wall hike. As the broth boiled down, the spicy side got spicier and the soup side just got more delicious. All around a great experience and Lonely Planet did not lead us astray.
After pondering the several different sections of the Great Wall that are accessible from Beijing, we decided on the Mutianyu portion. From Dongzhimen Subway station we walked to the Dongzhimen Bus Terminal that is right outside of the station exit and took bus 916 for 11RMB ($1.62) to Huairo to transfer to a minibus/car for 25RMB ($3.67) that took us to the wall. The whole ordeal seemed a little sketchy at first, but it all worked out as planned and is probably the cheapest way to get to this section in about to hours each way. Our hostel offered tours for 190RMB ($27.91), but it seemed like we would have less time at the wall and more time at some shopping center where the tour company gets a commission. We repeated the journey in reverse to get back to the hostel, though we had to pay 30RMB ($4.41) per person because the car service knew it was late and we just wanted to get to the bus. The cost for admission to the wall was steep at 45RMB ($6.61), with the added bonus of the ticket becoming a postcard with postage after it was checked; so we will see if it gets delivered.
The benefit of this section of the wall is that it was restored fairly accurately, has 23 towers, and offers a beautiful, mountainous environment around it. If people are pressed for time they can take a cable car to and from the parking lot and wall, but that seems to be too lazy. Renee and I spent over five hours there and we were pooped from all the climbing. Just to get to the wall from the parking lot was a three kilometer uphill hike and then the wall itself climbs up and down the surrounding hills. The steepest hike is between tower 22 and 23 with 455 steps to the end of the tourist section where you then have to turn around.
There are a few vendors on the wall selling water, snacks, and beer; they were not too annoying and even a god-send depending on how hard you tackled the climb. The real treat is taking the toboggan, "slideway," down from tower 6. It was pricey at 50RMB ($7.35), but our legs thanked us for the reprieve. You can get going pretty fast if there aren't any pokey people in front of you.
The wall seemed a little bit of a let down in terms of what we expected, but I guess we didn't know what to expect as it looks like pictures we had already seen. I'd say it was worth it and we would probably try a different portion to see if it could inspire any awe in us. One option for the truly dedicated is a 7km hike between two portions of the wall that are not as restored and less touristy; next time!
Ah, while I don't like paying for pure;ly touristy stuff, I did get a "I climbed the Great Wall" shirt. The trick that the hawkers play is to say it cost a dollar, and then when you are looking they move the decimal point over and hope you don't know the conversion. A dollar is 6.7RMB, but the woman said the shirt was 65RMB. I called her on her bluff and she tried to say it was a mistake, but that 7RMB would be too cheap. After some back-and-forth, and threatening to walk away, I got the shirt for 12RMB ($1.76). Yeah, it was cheap; but it was made in China, so I'm sure she still made a profit.
We have discovered a new love. I'm thinking of going steady with it, and Renee isn't jealous; she may even join in. I'm not talking about a human, but rather a dumpling. . . We have patronized to this shop three out of three days we have been in Beijing and will probably return in the morning. The owner/dumpling maker now recognizes us and laughs. The menu is huge, around 20 different varieties and we have only just skimmed the surface. He only can say "Herro" and I motion for a serving by holding up my finger. So far eight dumplings cost 4 rmb ($0.60) and I'd say that is a deal.
Today we ventured to a fried chicken stand to accompany our dumplings, and we were not disappointed. A piece fried drumstick cost 2.5 rmb ($0.38) and is super crispy with the added curry/other spices putting the Colonel to shame. Over all our stomaches and wallet (16 dumplings and 2 drumsticks for $1.92) agree, this is the greatest food (street or restaurant) we have had. We offer our sincere apologies to the Peking Duck that previously held the much-coveted title.
