So, my friend, Travis, and I decided to make our way to China for a few days. We booked a room at hostelworld.com for the Beijing Wada International Hostel. I would not recommend this hostel during the winter or when the owner is not around. When we showed up they had lost our booking in their computer system and would only give us a room with one bed, as opposed to the double room we had already booked. The room was fine, but freezing cold! There was one heat radiator, but it was mildly warm despite being the middle of winter in northern China. I had to ask for a second blanket, one I used to wrap around me like a sleeping bag, and the second was over both Travis and I...and I was still cold at night. We also had problems with hot water. There was not much available. On the second morning i let the water heat up for about 15 minutes and finally got a hot shower, and there was even enough for Travis to have a hot shower after me. We were not so lucky the rest of the week. We were able to get warm water one more time during our stay.
Also, the service kinda sucked, except for the owner. We encountered 3 people who "worked" there, but when we asked any questions (about popular sites, transportation, food...) the answer was usually "I'm not really sure". One girl tried to give us directions to a marketplace, either she didn't know what a market is or she made the whole thing up. When the owner was there however, which wasn't often, she was very friendly and helpful. With these two complaints out of the way, the rest of the hostel stay was decent. The room was clean, the bed was comfortable, and there was wifi in the lobby.
On the second day of our trip we woke up early and made our way to the Great Wall. We decided to do this on our own, but maybe we should have been a little more prepared. Supposedly, there are two buses that leave from Dongzhimen outer bus station to the Great Wall, we were going to the Mutianyu section of the Wall. We were running a little late so we missed the bus, but there was another bus that went to a town near the wall and you could grab a taxi from there. Luckily, we came across someone who spoke a bit of English and was able to tell the bus driver where we were going, since we had no luck at all getting the bus driver to understand us. They called ahead for a taxi driver for us and made sure we got off at the right stop. That was nice of them. They told us the price of the taxi would be equivalent to $50 round trip, but the taxi driver had different ideas. We could have easily grabbed the bus back to Dongzhimen station from the Great Wall, but the taxi driver waited for us so we just went with him back to the other bus station....don't do this. He charged us again. Another note, which I was not able to tell Travis before he did it, was do not pay before the trip is finished. Travis paid the taxi driver when we got to the wall, so I can easily see how we got ripped off and the driver thought he could charge us again. We got there and back alright, just spent $100 more than we needed to. So a note future explorers: don't miss the bus times!
The Great Wall was amazing though, great if you will. We took a lift up to an opening in the great wall and walked for about 2 hours. You can just walk along the wall through all the guard towers, but there are a lot of steps. The scenery was nice, mountains as far as you can see. I would have liked to have spent more time on the Wall, but we thought we had to walk all the way back to where we had started, so we turned around. If we had been more observant, we would have seen that there was another opening in the wall where you can take a toboggan back down to the parking lot and thus we could have walked a lot further before turning back. Luckily we noticed on the way back and we did take the toboggan down. It was fun, but there were three girls in front of us who were going too slowly. Once we got to the bottom it was time for lunch, at Travis' insistence, we ate at Subway. Yes, there is a subway at the base of the Great Wall.
I must be honest at this point and say, I am picking up this post at this point 3 months after it happened. The details and names here on out are fuzzy, so I will only state details if I'm sure about the names, locations, etc. I need to keep at this thing more regularly...
Anyway, After we finally got back into the city we were attempting to go to a temple, might have been Lama Temple, but we got distracted by a festival that was being held in a park. We walked around the park for a bit and it was similar to a county fair (minus the rides). There were booths set up around the entire park, some selling food, some souvenirs (all rabbits, of course!), and some were carnival games. You know, the ones where you throw darts at balloons and get a crappy prize.
We also stopped by the shop on the way back to the hostel to get some food and we were able to buy loads of food for a few dollars. I think it was under $5. We were really surprised when we got to the cashier and she told us how much it was.
The next day, we visited Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City.
We attempted to track down some Peking Duck for lunch, but after a debacle with a bike taxi driver, we were dropped off at the wrong place. So, again, we ate at Subway. They are everywhere!
We made our way to the Beijing Zoo via the metro. It was a cool zoo, but I must say, obviously, the highlight was seeing the Giant Pandas!
I also wanted to see the cats. Unfortunately, the tiger cages looked like jail cells. They were so depressing. Those poor animals.
After the zoo, we asked the information center where we could get Peking Duck. As per her directions, we went to the Donghuamen Night Market area. We found a nice restaurant advertising Peking Duck on the window, and it was delicious! What really made the meal worth it was the plum sauce that they served with it.
Walking out of the restaurant, we saw the food stands were being set up. We walked along the road, and I let Travis do the adventurous eating. You can find just about anything you could want in these stands. Travis chose crickets and seahorse. He said the seahorse wasn't good, but he did like the crickets. At the end of the trip, he said his favorite was scorpion. For those less adventurous eaters, like me, there are plenty of normal dishes at the stands too. There are a variety of noodle dishes, fruit, fried breads, and meat. The only adnormal thing I tried was starfish, and I urge everybody who has the chance to avoid it. It tastes like a bad, salty breading that has been burnt.
Outside the palace we got food from the street vendors. I never did find out the name of this snack, but there was one made of bread, egg, and some sort of sauce. The bread batter was spread onto the grill then an egg was cracked on it. A sauce was spread (an onions if you so choose, but I HATE onions) and a crispy piece of bread was put on top. It was then folded into a burrito shape and served. It was really good. They also sold grilled sweet potatoes and corn on the cob, among other snacks.
One last place we went in Beijing was Tea Street. Don't bother. It's a pain to get to and not worth it. There are a few tea shops that sell the same quality tea in more touristy areas, like in the Donghuamen market area. Also, be aware that tea from tea shops in Beijing is expensive. I bought some Green Tea from a shop though for about $40, and I am happy with the quality, plus I have tea from China! haha
Sorry for the lack of some details, both historical and subjective. But this is all I have at the moment. I might return periodically to add details though.
I want to end this post with a saying from a sign I saw at Lama Temple. Before I show it to you, just remember when you are traveling and enjoying all the wonders that this world has to offer, don't be selfish or careless. Take care of yourself, be kind to others, and don't do anything to destroy nature or monuments that should be kept around for future generations to see.
