On Saturday, May 22, we had booked a Great Wall tour with our hostel. There are three on-the-beaten-path options of sections to climb the Great Wall from Beijing: Badaling, Mutianyu, and Simatai.
Badaling is the closest to Beijing, about 30 minutes, with the easiest climb and is supposedly pretty touristy. Simatai is supposed to be a very steep climb and is the farthest options from Beijing, but the least touristy. We chose the middle option, Mutianyu, and our tour included breakfast, lunch, transport, and entrance fees ($46 = amazing!).
The bus picked us up at our hostel and we met the group we'd be traveling with for the day. There were a lot of teachers from Korea who were in China for the holiday weekend, so it was fun to compare stories.
When we got to the base of one of the mountains that the wall sits on, we had the option of hiking up the mountain or riding on a ski lift. We were not in hiking shoes or outfits and it was hot, so we opted for the ski lift.
As you know, I've never been skiing and, therefore, had never been on a ski lift. I'm so glad we chose this option! It was like I got to fly above the Great Wall!
A view of the wall from the ski lift:
We had 3 hours to spend on the Great Wall before lunch, so Liz Teacher and I took are time and mozied up and down the section of the wall, taking pictures and reveling in our blessings.
These steps were literally at a 45 degree angle...
The wall's sheer magnitude is mind-blowing. Then, you put it on top of a mountain range and it really makes your head spin - so much man power. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Yay! Great Wall!
Our way down was on a toboggan slide. This was so much fun! It just twisted and turned all the way down the mountain!
Badaling is the closest to Beijing, about 30 minutes, with the easiest climb and is supposedly pretty touristy. Simatai is supposed to be a very steep climb and is the farthest options from Beijing, but the least touristy. We chose the middle option, Mutianyu, and our tour included breakfast, lunch, transport, and entrance fees ($46 = amazing!).
The bus picked us up at our hostel and we met the group we'd be traveling with for the day. There were a lot of teachers from Korea who were in China for the holiday weekend, so it was fun to compare stories.
When we got to the base of one of the mountains that the wall sits on, we had the option of hiking up the mountain or riding on a ski lift. We were not in hiking shoes or outfits and it was hot, so we opted for the ski lift.
As you know, I've never been skiing and, therefore, had never been on a ski lift. I'm so glad we chose this option! It was like I got to fly above the Great Wall!
A view of the wall from the ski lift:
We had 3 hours to spend on the Great Wall before lunch, so Liz Teacher and I took are time and mozied up and down the section of the wall, taking pictures and reveling in our blessings.
These steps were literally at a 45 degree angle...
The wall's sheer magnitude is mind-blowing. Then, you put it on top of a mountain range and it really makes your head spin - so much man power. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Yay! Great Wall!
Our way down was on a toboggan slide. This was so much fun! It just twisted and turned all the way down the mountain!
At the bottom, lunch was waiting for us and it was delicious! I love lazy susans! This seemed to be pretty typical of a Chinese dining experience. Many dishes all served in the middle of the table. There seemed to be no main course, unlike Korea. Everything was amazing! This is what was left when we were finished.
After a long bus ride back, we moved into our new room at the original hostel, showered, and rested. We made plans to meet some of our Great Wall friends to go out to eat some famous Peking Roast Duck. I learned of a restaurant near the hostel from one of the hostel employees and so we made plans to meet everyone on Wangfujing Street and then try to find the restaurant.
Without too much effort, we found it. Here's a picture of the outside.
We were all new friends, so ordering was a bit of a challenge because we didn't know each other very well. There were also 9 of us, which is difficult no matter what when you don't order individual servings.
We ended up ordering two sets, and a couple extra orders of fried rice. Each set came with a full duck and a variety of side dishes. I couldn't explain them all even if I wanted to.
Here's one of our ducks being sliced up!
Then, our waitress came over to show us how to prepare and eat the sliced duck. You take a thin pancake, add onions, a peanut sauce, and the duck, roll it up and enjoy! So good!
Not much was left after our feast...
Afterward, we walked down Wangfujing Street in search of a night market.
After a long bus ride back, we moved into our new room at the original hostel, showered, and rested. We made plans to meet some of our Great Wall friends to go out to eat some famous Peking Roast Duck. I learned of a restaurant near the hostel from one of the hostel employees and so we made plans to meet everyone on Wangfujing Street and then try to find the restaurant.
Without too much effort, we found it. Here's a picture of the outside.
We were all new friends, so ordering was a bit of a challenge because we didn't know each other very well. There were also 9 of us, which is difficult no matter what when you don't order individual servings.
We ended up ordering two sets, and a couple extra orders of fried rice. Each set came with a full duck and a variety of side dishes. I couldn't explain them all even if I wanted to.
Here's one of our ducks being sliced up!
Then, our waitress came over to show us how to prepare and eat the sliced duck. You take a thin pancake, add onions, a peanut sauce, and the duck, roll it up and enjoy! So good!
Not much was left after our feast...
Afterward, we walked down Wangfujing Street in search of a night market.
When we arrived, it appeared there were only food shops and we were all stuffed. Then, we stumbled upon a fried scorpions on a stick stand and a few in the group decided to give it a try! They were still moving before the fried them! Yikes!
We had a beer near the market and then got in a taxi for Hou Hai. It is an area with many bars and restaurants that sits on a small lake. It was absolutely beautiful! We were all pretty tired, but had some beers and continued sharing stories about Korea and our other travels until we just couldn't stay awake anymore and headed back to the hostel.
Here's a picture of Hou Hai.
We made plans for the next day to visit the Summer Palace with two of the girls we hung out with that night. They were both teachers in China, so they had a lot of fun stories to tell, too!
We had a beer near the market and then got in a taxi for Hou Hai. It is an area with many bars and restaurants that sits on a small lake. It was absolutely beautiful! We were all pretty tired, but had some beers and continued sharing stories about Korea and our other travels until we just couldn't stay awake anymore and headed back to the hostel.Here's a picture of Hou Hai.
We made plans for the next day to visit the Summer Palace with two of the girls we hung out with that night. They were both teachers in China, so they had a lot of fun stories to tell, too!
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