asia - day 16 - the great wall

this day was very exciting for me! after all, the primary reason we headed up to beijing was to see the great wall. my mom's friend (dongdong) had offered to take us there and we gladly accepted - to meet a friendly face on the other side of the world is very comforting and quite surreal for me. she and her husband met us at the hotel with a few traditional beijing breakfasts (baked goods) and drove us to the great wall. along the way, we passed the olympic site - the bird's nest and the aquatics centre. i think vince wanted to get closer but we had a long drive ahead of us:



after about an hour or so (or was it an hour and a half), we arrived at the great wall. dongdong had suggested that we go to the restored section for our first visit, badaling. i don't say this too often, but it was exactly as i imagined - no more, no less... which isn't to say it wasn't incredible because i had high expectations for this excursion! badaling is the most visited section of the great wall but we were early enough to beat the crowds. i had underestimated how cold it would be - luckily, dongdong was prepared and had a sweater for me to wear under my hoodie. a super soft cashmere sweater to boot! :)





i quickly learned that beijing is the type of place that if you never go, you're missing out. if you go just once, you're still missing out. dongdong mentioned that there are other sections of the great wall, some of which are not restored so it's basically the original wall in rubble but that it's a fabulous hike, natural (if you can use that word to describe something manmade) and very beautiful. if we go back - no, when we go back - i would definitely like to check out these more rustic sections. i'd go back to badaling to trek along farther too. i'm actually aching to get back to to hike longer and to see more.




see vince peering at me in these next photos?




do you see us? do you see us?



the sheer magnitude of this amazing manmade structure had me in awe the entire time. whenever i would pause to look off into the distance, there were miles and miles of walls reaching out and out and out. it seemed never ending. every time i thought i saw the end, my eyes found a little more. it was incredible.



eventually, we got to a point where we had to turn back. not because the wall ended but because dongdong's husband was waiting for us and we had a lunch reservation. it was getting very busy so we decided to take the alternate route back - this trail is actually beside (and below) the great wall.




vince and dongdong:



we passed behind the one world, one dream sign. i actually hate this sign - i think it's a big eyesore. every time i looked at it, i kept thinking, "w-w-w-whyyyyyyyy?"



descending the great wall is a pretty neat hike too. you see the great wall from a different perspective and avoid the huge crowds - look at how many people are on the wall!



as we returned back to our starting point, we ascended the wall again.



then we were done. i was a little sad to be leaving - i could literally spend whole weeks there. i think vince was sad too. he really loved the great wall - i could tell because he bounced ahead of us numerous times, taking photographs, looking back, waiting for us, and running ahead again.



we realized how famished we were as we drove to a restaurant for beijing duck. mmmm, the restaurant was packed, the food was plentiful, and we ate and ate and ate 'til we could eat not more.



dongdong's husband brought his own tea and it was divine. i wasn't sure how to drink it without getting the leaves in my mouth. maybe you're supposed to drink them.



after lunch, our friends dropped us off at the lama temple with instructions on how to take the subway to the temple of heaven. then, just like that, vince and i were alone again in beijing...

not that we minded! we love travelling, just us two. so we set off, like two happy (and full) children out to explore the world. the lama temple was lovely but i have to admit that i had pretty much had my fill of temples after visiting so many in japan. nevertheless, i'm glad we visited because the lama temple is one of the biggest and most important tibetan buddhist temples in the world. all things considered, it's actually quite amazing that the monastery has survived all these years.




wait, i just noticed this - is that vince taking a photo in my direction off in the distance? hmmm, i think so... it looks just like him!





this was the highlight of the lama temple: in the pavilion of ten thousand happinesses is a 2 meter tall statue of the maitreya buddha, which is carved from a single piece of white sandalwood. i looked up and up but couldn't really see the top.



it was getting late so we left to head to the temple of heaven. we took the subway, which was immaculately clean and very modern.



i must sound like a broken record when i talk about beijing because the temple of heaven was one of my favourite places! vince often wonders how i can possibly have so many favourites. what i wasn't prepared for was how big the grounds were - there was so much to explore and so much to see. i could spend a whole day here, walking around, people watching, testing out the echo wall, taking photographs, and just lounging. unfortunately, it started raining when we were there but it was mostly a light drizzle so we powered on.




the first time we tried the echo wall, we thought it was busted.



then after the loud girls near us left, we tried talking normally on either side of the wall (we were really far apart) and we heard each other!!!



vince howling at the sky for good weather on the circular mound altar. it rained some more.



we spent so much time at the temple of heaven that it was dark by the time we left. it was a little scary because people suddenly just cleared out and we were all alone on unlit paths, trying to find our way out. we were so disoriented! after a long, long time of walking in virtual darkness, we found the right exit.



we went to the pearl market to look for a fake LV wallet for vince.



he found one! i kept telling him not to buy it. i said, just buy a real one! but he wanted the fakie and it started falling apart not long after our trip.



after a little rest, we went out again in search of food. dongdong had recommended an excellent hot pot restaurant and it took us a long time to find it but our tenacity paid off. the restaurant was very busy (and i think near closing time) but we were seated immediately. we fumbled our way through the menu and ordered a few dishes for a very interesting hot pot experience.



i typically go through 1-2 raw eggs in a typical hot pot dinner - i mix an egg in my soy dipping sauce. but there was no soy sauce in sight. instead, we had a peanut dipping sauce. i didn't know what to do with the raw egg i ordered so i cracked it into my peanut sauce and started eating it. it tasted fine but i immediately regretted it. here i am, on the other side of the world, eating raw eggs in peanut sauce. what was i thinking? thankfully, i didn't get sick. i have a stomach like an ox! vince was smart and didn't eat his raw egg... but he did smuggle it out of the restaurant!