China: The Great Wall

Since learning about the Great Wall of China (or in china they call it the very long wall) in elementary school I wanted to see it for myself. Then after marrying Blake, and talking a lot about travel and the places we want to see, China was a big one for him. We decided that we would make the trip some time before we died. However we never knew that we would have the opportunity so early in life. Because the Great Wall was a must see on this trip, we woke up at the break of dawn with only snickers for breakfast to catch the first bus there. That day was blistering cold, the coldest we have even been in our lives. But the sky was clear and the crowds were minimal, which was really important to us (have you seen pictures of the wall in the summer?). 

There are many parts of the wall you can go to, we visited the Mutianyu part of the wall. There we had to take a cable car to the top, once there we could choose between two different paths, a steep up hill climb or an easier walk way. Of course we choose the up hill path, the steep steps helped warm us up. It is just impressive how people could have built such a massive structure with no machinery. We walked a good ways, passed some "walk no further" signs and got to a peak of a hill on a part of un-restored wall. It was overgrown with trees and other vegetation which made it feel rustic. From there we could see parts of the wall extending through the mountains in three direction.

Because we wanted to make sure to experience everything while at the great wall, after walking down all the steps we had just climbed (I quote Blake, "PLEASE, I BEG YOU, NO MORE STEPS"), we started on the easier walk way. There the sun was shining and it even became warm enough to take off some layers. On this path instead of stairs there was slick stone from visitors and a lot more tourist. One thing we were not expecting was the slide to get down from the wall. The slide zigzags for almost a mile bringing you the 328ft from the top of the wall to the bottom. We each got a little toboggan with a brake lever, you could really pick up some speed on those things. It was an adrenalin rush. I could go back just to ride it again.  

China: Donghuamen Night Market

We had looked online and thought there would be real fun to be had at the Donghuamen Night Market. This is where we ate lots of creepy crawlers. As it was not the easiest to get around Beijing (even with the English translation our mouths just couldn't move that way), we were worried we wouldn't be able to find the place. But we followed a map and there was no mistaken when we got there. The street was lit up with vendors all along one side of the road. You could buy anything, from noddles, rice, and duck to bull testicles and giant centipedes. As we walked down the street the cooks would call out to us in English trying to get us to buy their food. It didn't take much convincing for us to eat crickets, snake, scorpion, octopus, and other random things. We would have eaten more, like the tarantula or sea star (how do they eat that any how?) but they cost too much. We just couldn't justify spending $12 to eat a tarantula. We had so much fun there we spent two dinners trying new things. It was just one of those places that you only see TV. 

China: Beijing

^^made all out of Jade^^

^^ the birds nest and water cube, only missed the Olympics by a few years ;]^^

^^Zinglish?^^

^^ our hostel courtyard ^^

^^crab apples and other fruits covered in sweet glaze^^

^^This print, and only this print of Santa Claus is all over Beijing^^

As I said before, we loved our hostel. When first walking into the courtyard it felt like we had stepped into an old Chinese film. There was a few let backs to the place, like the toilets and shower were on the first floor (we were on the second) outside in the cold. Thank goodness there was hot water or I'm afraid I would have gone 5 days without washing. But when nature called in the middle of the night there were only 2 choices, try and wait till morning or brave the cold walk down stairs. When we did venture out at night, Blake and I both felt like something was creeping around in the shadows. You could film a ninja movie at the place, I tell you. 

While in China we would have loved to go and explore different cities, but with so little time we decided to stay in Beijing. The city has so much to offer, so we were able to fill each day with plenty of activities. And being in a place like China everything was new and exciting. Everywhere we turned there was something reminding us that we were not in America anymore, from the signs on the buildings to the foods in the market. 

We had fun exploring and trying new thing. When walking the streets we would drop into any restaurant and try our best to decipher the menu. The dishes we ate were very similar to USA Chinese food. The meat however was a little less recognizable, forget about skinning and boning the chicken they just chop the whole thing up and serve it fried, or in sauce. Something I found interesting was unsalted peanuts and sunflower seeds were a common appetizer, and instead of serving cold water they would give use hot boiling water in a tea pot to drink. I know I have already said this, but Beijing was holy cold, so hot water was appreciated. There was also yummy weird sweets, like donuts things (sweet ears?), rice cakes, and my favorite were the crab apples covered in sweet glaze. I could have eaten those everyday. 

When people come back from China, many talk about how cheep the shopping is, right? Well, I don't mean to bust your bubble but it is not as cheep as it sounds (Cambodia is where it's at). Plus you have to be really to fight for a good deal. The salesmen are super pushy, there is no such thing as relaxing window shopping, if you walk into or touch something they expect you to buy. But after a little bit we grew thick skin and found it fun getting them down to 1/10 the price of their first offer. It almost became fun, but in no way relaxing. Every time we passed a shop you here, "hey lady, you come here now, I give you fair deal". If you did happen to see something you liked and asked for the price, then left without buying their "lowest offer" they would follow you out the store yelling one of two things, ether bringing the price lower or mean words for being cheep. HA! It is not for the faint of heart. This was mainly at the silk market, and we did leave with bags of good deals.