Day 7: Hello Beijing!
After a 5 hour train drive, Shealee’s aunt’s family driver picked us up from the train station to chauffeur us to their home. We made a pitstop at the Luo Hong Art Museum or as Shealee kept calling it “the famous bread place.” It was so much more than that! What a beautiful place for coffee or afternoon tea. The building was two part. Lou Hong is famous for his bread and cake making, but also enjoys photography. Part of the building was the art museum of his photography and the part we partook in was the Swan Cake exhibits and the Blackswan cafe and gift shop.
Tucked away at the back of a gated neighborhood we found our new home for the next few days. We dropped our bags and changed into warmer clothing! (Beijing is more northern than Xi’an and it was raining.) We drove to a very nice and westernized nearby shopping center to grab some dinner and happy hour beers at the German Brauhaus.
On our way home we stopped at a western grocery store, Jenny Wang, to pick up some snacks to keep at the house this week. We walked away very happy: Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles, Hello Kitty Pringles, Vanilla Wafers, Butter Lovers Popcorn, and yogurt (of course).
Day 8: Chinatown, China
A combination of shopping and eating made this a perfect day. The rain left, but the brisk and enjoyable weather stayed. If only the sun would shine through the smog! (Abby and I are getting very excited for Thai island weather in a few days!) We started this day off with a visit to the Beijing Olympic Park where the 2008 Olympic games were held. The track and field section was in a architecturally stunning Bird Nest themed structure. We didn’t pay the entrance fee to enter the dome, but wandered around the rest of the park that was free. It was incredible seeing in person all the buildings and fountains that were specially built specially for this event. I felt like I was in attendance at the games, but without the crowds!
Lunch time rolled around and it was time for our first Roasted Duck experience that Shealee had been raving about! Beijing is known for their roasted duck, so we stopped at a place not far from the Olympic Park to see for ourselves. A delicious and neat experience it was! We entered a large nice restaurant where entire ducks were being served: head and all.
Our duck was on it’s way and we were given the ducks’s certificate similar to buying a nice diamond and receiving its grading certificate. Quite interesting, but completely necessary considering that every part of this duck was offered to us! The organs were served first and optional to order. Shealee requested the liver. (The table next to us indulged in some hearts.) Next, our roasted duck was delivered and a master carver came to slice it up for us. The technique was really beautiful… after the beheading. The first plate was a few roasted skin slices from the chest served with sugar. These were greasy and delicious and to be eaten right away to keep from cooling. The next two plates were the main course which was a mixture of dark and white meat. These pieces are sliced to be eaten in a type of tortilla roll up with soy-like sauce and green onions. So yummy! The head was then delivered next to my plate and I died a little before passing it to Shealee to enjoy some duck brains. Last, soup made of the duck’s bones was offered. I did branch out and try a bite of liver, but at this point I was over the adventurous foods. No bone soup for me!
Next stop, Chinatown! I know, I know… you can’t call it that when you’re already in China, but that’s what it was. A huge 4 story mall of knockoffs and haggling. We went in with strategy and left a trail of eyeing vendors behind. Obviously these vendors start at a much higher prices with a couple of western girls than they would a Chinese person, so we walked the place like we didn’t know Shealee. She would then tell us the price she was getting on something so that we could have confidence in being stubborn n our price until we reached something similar. By the time we finished an entire floor vendors would find out we were together and had just masterminded them all… so many haters!
We celebrated our success at the most precious of tiny bars, Adam’s. The ambience was amazing as we people watched out the window while listening to Maroon 5 on the comfiest couch booths with our happy hour drinks!
Day 9: Tiananmen Square & The Forbidden City
We arose to another gloomy but cool day and had our usual yogurt and bread breakfast before heading into the city. First stop, the ever so famous Tiananmen Square! Shealee informed us that many people come here to commit suicide by lighting themselves on fire as an act of rebellion against communism. And my parents weren’t thrilled about this either as the square is commonly on the news for other bizarre happenings. We passed through security and took a moment to snap a group selfie and stare at the still-standing guards.
Just behind the square we headed into the Grand Palace, also known as The Forbidden City. This is where the last dynasty came to an end. It was ruled by many emperors and their many wives for almost 500 years. We were given automatic ear piece guides that would tell us the history and stories behind each area of the palace. As you can imagine, this place was huge. The detailed carvings and colors of the buildings and the ceilings were incredible. The palace had many courtyards, a beautiful garden, an opera theatre, a different home for each of the wives, and many many more buildings of meaning.
After a few hours of stumbling around trying to multitask walking, learning, and holding our ear pieces like secret service agents we had worked up an appetite. We decided to navigate the Beijing bus line to reach a famous food street, Da Shan Lan. THE BUS WAS CHAOS. Explaining the experience does it no justice. So many people. The first bus was so full we couldn’t get on before the doors slammed in our face. We knew what to expect for the next one. We pushed our way on and were yelled at by Nazi bus security to keep pushing back further into the pits of hell (the middle of the bus). We were then shoved around by those exiting for 5 stops. We slowly made our way toward the exit door in hopes we would be able to get off at our stop instead of being held captive. Thankfully everyone on the bus was also getting off at our stop, so we were able to exit.
Da Shan Lan area was really nice. The buildings were old and looked like a Medieval town. Shealee said some of these buildings are in fact hundreds of years old. They embraced the Chinese charm by dawning red and yellow lanterns and the unique Chinese architecture. We found lots of nice restaurants and shops, souvenirs galore, sketchy soups, skewers of meat, pastry shops, and a bowl of famous Beijing Noodles. Oh and these miraculous sugar creations made into ballooned animals or flattened. Either way, super cool!
Before heading home for the night our driver recommended one other neat area, Hou Hai. It was gorgeous! This was a very long street of shops and bars that wraps around a lake. Many people were out on paddle boats and the lake was surrounded by trees that looked like weeping willows. A very pretty sight. We found a bar with an open window second story overlooking the lake. Even better the seats to the booths turned out to be swinging chairs attached to the ceiling. A perfect place to end the day.
Day 10: The Great Wall of China
Rain couldn’t keep us from conquering the Great Wall of China and many other fun adventures today! We learned a valuable lesson: when it rains in China, you buy umbrella hats. Easy as that. Problem solved. It rained all night and all morning, so we ended up leaving the house later than planned in hopes that it would stop by the time we reached the wall a couple hours away. Upon arrival it was still sprinkling and to make the best of our foggy wet sightseeing we decided to purchase umbrella hats at a stand. Of course we sent Shealee, our token haggler, to get them for 10 yuan (about $1.50). Best purchase ever. These things were a blast.
Luckily the rain actually stopped as soon as we got on the cable cars to get up to the wall, but the fog never lifted leaving us with little visibility. All in all a really neat experience. She took us to the Mutianya location instead of the typical tourist location, Badaling. The wall was real here and not restored. And the mixture of location, rain, and the last day of the holiday meant almost no people were around. It was very serene.
Back in the car we were headed to find a restaurant with “mountain” food. Shealee explained that this area was known for their unique organic creations. We pulled over at a shack with riverside picnic tables. The best part is Abby and I never know what’s going on fully. Shealee and the driver just speak Chinese all day and decide our next move. I think she forgets that we don’t know what they just discussed and assumes we know what’s about to happen. So we just follow over to this little tank and watch as a cook uses a net to catch a huge rainbow trout. Next he beats it to death and we end up eating it. Interesting experience, but even funnier when you have no idea what’s going on until it happens and you piece it together.
We were seated at a table with beautiful scenery of the mountains and river next to us. Once again the driver and Shealee ordered a few more items of which Abby and I are completely out of the loop. Three dishes appear soon. From left to right: Baked pepper leaves, spicy shredded potato, and pork with mushrooms. All were amazing, especially the pepper leaves! Eventually our trout was brought out. Eating rainbow trout reminds me of fishing in New Mexico on family vacations growing up. I would have never imagined then that I’d be in China eating a rainbow with chopsticks!
On the road again we were headed home as the sun began to finally peak out. A little further down the road we drove up on a beautiful field of lavender. The view was spectacular and there was even a picturesque “LOVE’ sign in the middle of the field.
Miles later we pull a u-turn and Abby and I look at each other in confusion again. A few turns later we discover we are pulling into a mini farm/petting zoo for the few minutes left of daylight! They had emus, bunnies, geese, a mini horse, a friendly deer, and ALPACAs. They were super cute. Poor babies were soaked from all the rain.
Day 11: Farewell China!
Our final morning of yogurt and bread before heading to the airport! Shealee’s flight didn’t leave until late afternoon so we said our goodbyes at the house before the driver picked Abby and I up. Bittersweet. I feel like we saw so much here in China, but we are so excited for Thailand and gorgeous beaches. Ready to shed these skinny jeans and enjoy some sunshine!
China Afterthoughts:
1. Never in a million years did I think I would survive traveling China without one stomach ache or illness. Thank you Jesus!
2. I have high hopes that Thailand has softer beds. It is customary to sleep on really hard beds in China and my shoulder is about to remove itself from being a side sleeper.
3. I wonder if snack breads/carbs are as common in Thailand. Not sure if I’ll miss this or love it.
Goodbye Shealee and securities of traveling with a local. Hello challenges of traveling solo! Trading in hard beds, fall weather, smog, and city life for hostel beds, summer heat, sunshiney days, and island life. Thailand or Bust!
Wander On,
SK
Love your last post as you left China! Have fun in Thailand. Loves.