As we passed the bridge from North Korea to China, I couldn't help but feel a bit of the pressure relax, and immediately revel in the irony of it: "Ah, China, land of freedom and democracy".
We all laughed.
The tour officially ended after picking up the sensitive items we had each left at the Dandong Hotel before heading into North Korea, however many of our group opted to stay in China for a few more days before heading back home.
Me and a couple of others had made reservations at the Sanlitun youth hostel semi independently, but once we got there, we decided to merge our reservations, to get the cheaper dorm-style rooms for the first nights. So I ended up staying with a few of the gang on the first two night, then taking a double-room the others. Some of the others staying in Beijing had taken accommodations elsewhere.
We all agreed to meet up at Tiananmen Square on the seocnd day at around noon, so my roommates and I decided to leave... Until I discovered that the hotel rented out bikes! Knowing that Tiananmen was a scant 6 kilometers (Thank you, iPad and Offline maps!), I vainly tried to persuade the group to bike there, but I ended up being the only one to bike there.
Its at times like these that I feel the most alive. the freedom of biking, combined with being lost, alone in a foreign country. Truly, this is the joy in my life; exploration into parts unknown, in a foreign country, the huge roads with equally huge cycling lanes combined with the small pre-industrial winding alleys lined with family-owned shops, taking in the sights of the blend of old architectural styles, with the new, and the sheer freedom of biking in Beijing, where the roads are governed by the law of the jungle, and where the red and green of the lights are almost optional; it keeps you on your toes, and was exciting.
Then my bike pedal broke halfway to Tiananmen.
This is where its interesting to take things into context. If I had been back home, on my way to work or university and my bike broke, it would have been a hassle, and a big stress, and would have been an overall unpleasant experience... but here, I knew the guys waiting for me at Tiananmen square would just go without me after waiting for a bit, and I had all day before me, but mostly... it gave me an excuse to talk with the locals, which was a blast.
After a while, I got the idea and set out to explore the alleys on foot, and eventually found an old man repairing a motor bike chain, with a couple of old dudes sitting around talking. After showing him my broken pedal, he told me to sit down and relax, and called someone on his phone, then continued to repair the bike.
Eventually his wife comes by with a new pedal, he finishes his work on the motor bike and repairs my bike, I ask him, how much it's gonna be, he tell me a number i judge fair after a show of fingers (because I still don't speak Chinese), and I pay him. He then turns around says something and his friends laugh. I laugh also. Sometimes you don't need to speak the language to understand what is being said "I should have charged that foreigner more!"
Eventually I bike by way to Tiananmen Square, but the guys have left already, so i decided to bike a bit around the Forbidden city, and to take a walk in the gardens. unfortunately my photos of China are limited, my camera having broken in South Korea, and this being a more solo part of my trip, i couldn't just leech photos off the other travelers. I still took a few pictures with my ipad, some of which didnt turn out too bad..
..A chinese cat!
...This is my only picture of my bike trip in the small alleys of Beijing...
The park near the Forbidden city was nice, though.
...Spike, posing for a photo!
..Nice rocks
...But apparently dangerous!
I stopped and relaxed, enjoying some of my favorite tea ever, Baihao Yinzhen, a type of white tea.
...it was kind of expensive, but then again, this is the king of white teas, and I *was* in a traditional tea-house near the Forbidden city...
The outskirts of the Forbidden city.
...The square. The body of Mao is apparently preserved someplace near here, but after seeing Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, I had had my share of preserved dead guys under glass for the time being, so i did not visit.
I eventually biked my way back, complained loudly at the hostel, and got a reimbursement for the repair cost of the bike *and* the original price I had paid for rental.
Yes, I am cheap.
The next day, me and a couple of the others visited the Summer Palace. it unfortunately was not Summer, so it wasn't as green as it could have been, but it was nonetheless very pretty, and we walked a long time in the beautiful gardens and climbed up to the palace proper. There were toll gates, but, after a bit of convincing, I got everyone to go up the *alternate path*, being used by most Chinese, that skirted around the areas where there was a toll. it was a bit of a hike, but was fun nonetheless, and cheap.
Summer Palace...
There was even a lake where we could rent paddle-boats!
..all in all, I really liked the summer palace.
The food in Beijing was really cheap. This really popular place had 18 meat buns for around 4$.
That night, we found a place serving Peking Duck, and ate our fill of that famous delicacy. I really liked it.
Anyways, those of us left decided to tour the Great Wall. The others wanted to go to the more touristic and accessible Badaling part of the wall, but it being really near Beijing, I knew it would be full of tourists, so i opted to head alone to Mutianyu, a part of the wall, a bit farther from Beijing, and in more mountainous regions.
After seeing the pictures of the others, which show a wall, black with people and riddled with stalls.. I am glad i made that call.
Mutianyu was really beautiful, and I got into a budget tour that offered a round-trip bus ticket and a meal for about 60$. By that time, I had already busted my budget, and had made a point of not withdrawing more money from my bank account and not using my credit card, so i had only about 20$ to go with on this last day of my trip.
After arriving at Mutianyu, I found out that this "all-included" tour did not include tickets for the gondola commonly used to get to the wall... so i hiked my way up!
I mean, I am not in tip-top shape, but i can still hike if I want to, and I had 3 hours in front of me before the meal and bus ride back, plus I was poor, so I hiked.
I counted about 1000 steps to the path to the wall before I lost count, but the forested slopes were nice, and i could take it at my own pace, so it was all good.
Once up on the wall, the view was great. I walked about 3km of wall, up a steep hill before heading back. The wall follows the crest of the mountains, so in some areas, people had to go on all fours in order to continue up the wall because it was so steep. I saw a few foreigners and Chinese people, but it was nowhere as crowded as Badaling would have been, and the vistas made it worth it.
I walked all the way to the top of that hill before it was time to head back
This must be so beautiful in spring!
Thiple-A, eat your hearts out! This place is quintuple-A!
Going back down, I made my way through souvenir kiosks, and haggled some souvenirs. Its another thing I like in China; the haggling. If someone at a touristy spot asks you for 20 yuan for something, you know that if you are good enough, you can usually haggle it down to 5... So using a bit of applied psychology, i got some postcards for 3 yuan (asking price: 10) before heading to the restaurant.
The last night was uneventful, and I eventually made my way back to Canada.
For the record this is a picture of that the OTHER part of the wall (Badaling) looked like:
Also, oreo cookies (DO NOT EAT, they taste bad):
... Spike on the tramway in the airport, on his way back to Canada...
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