Beijing, China: The Great Wall

With most of the major sites checked off the list we were simply left with the Summer Palace and the Great Wall. We had already planned our trip to the Great Wall for Friday so we spent our Thursday walking around the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is nearly an hour subway ride outside of the city and is set around Kunming Lake. It is suggested by most guide books to visit the Summer Palace as a get away from the heat but let me tell you we did not escape from the heat. It was so hot that day we could not take back enough popsicles and water to cool ourselves down.
While roaming around the palace we stumbled upon the Long Corridor which was a nice pleasant walk along side the lake. Walking along the Corridor we took breaks popping into the Tower of Fragrant Buddha and Garden of Virtue and Harmony. At the Tower of Fragrant Buddha we hiked up this long staircase which brought us to the top where we could over look the lake. I wish I could say the view was amazing but the smog was so bad it left this yellow haze over the lake and we couldn’t really see anything too clearly. At the Garden of Virtue and Harmony we lucked out to see a group of musicians play some ancient instruments. It ended up being a nice relaxing break listening to them play. After they finished we made our way out the east exit to begin our journey to the Beijing Zoo.
Since we weren’t close to the subway we knew we had to catch a taxi but what we didn’t know was that Beijing has VIP “black” taxis. Hopping into the first taxi we saw we made our way to the Beijing Zoo running every red light and seeing the meter quickly double, triple in price as we kept driving. Finally making it to the Zoo, our bill was ridiculously high and I absolutely wasn’t going to take this nonsense. After our exchange of unfriendly words we walked away paying half the total price which was still beyond more then what it should have paid. With this said, Beijing does have “black” taxis and one should never take them because it is a total scam. Always ride in the standard looking taxi because the price is reasonable and they won’t speed through red lights.
Getting back to our time at the Zoo…we went to the Zoo for one reason only, to see cute, cuddly white and black panda bears. All of us except Mark felt that our trip would not be complete unless we saw pandas while we were in China and so we paid our fee and visited the panda exhibit. Although we only saw less then a handful we enjoyed our time taking pictures of them and watching them lay calmly in the trees and on the rocks. After we had our fill of the pandas we quickly walked over to see the white tigers which I sadly regret doing. Walking over to where the tigers, leopards and lions live I was shocked to see what awful living spaces they were placed in. They were individual placed in these small jails and it was just depressing to see. I quickly walked out and called it a day. Tired from walking around the Summer Palace and beat by the heat I was ready for a siesta and so all of us headed home.
The day had come; we were finally going to go see the famous Great Wall. It was an early morning with a minor set back but after three and half hours of being in the car we finally arrived to Simatai Great Wall. As I have mentioned earlier, Mark’s friends had visited China before and suggested we visit this guesthouse that sits at the bottom of the Great Wall in Simatai. Mark had our hostel in Beijing call and arrange with the guesthouse (DongPo Restaurant) to have a car pick us up and take us to them. We arrived around noon time and were immediately taken back by the view of the Great Wall. Eager to start hiking we postponed lunch till after we were done walking the Great Wall.
Pumped and ready to go, we set out hiking the Great Wall with no one around. Simatai is soon to be undergoing renovations and so it has been shut down, but with our connection to the guesthouse we are permitted special privileges to hike in and around this area. The scenery surrounding Simatai is absolutely amazing with the endless watchtowers covering the entire hill side. Since we were in no rush we took our leisurely time walking from tower to tower, stopping to take all sorts of photos. There were countless times one of us would comment on how this is one of the greatest moments of our life. We were all just amazed to be out on the wall and look off into the distance and see it continue with no end in sight. After about an hour and half of walking we finally stopped and had a little cookie break before we made our way back to the guesthouse. It was truly amazing to be out on the Great Wall with no one in sight except for the four of us. I can honestly say, this is one of my top favorite traveling moments and I hope to return some day soon.
Before the girls made their long journey back to Beijing we all sat down for a late lunch at the guest house and had some of the best Chinese food we ever had. Taking the owners advice we went with the sweet and sour chicken, vegetable fried rice, fried cabbage and fried noodles. All of it was absolutely amazing, but the fried cabbage was hands down my favorite; it had tiny pieces of ginger in it and it was delicious. After our tasty meal, Mark and I said good bye to the girls and reconnected with them the following day.
We stayed a night at the guesthouse and had a great time. In desperate need of a rinse from all the sweat we headed down to the dam for a swim. Not sure if it was entirely allowed, we enjoyed our time relaxing in the water and getting a bit of a rinse. As for the rest of the evening, we spent it sitting outside drinking beers and simply admiring the beautiful Great Wall. Still energized from our hike I had it in my head that maybe Mark and I could wake up early and hike the wall again before leaving. Mark was on board depending on how he felt in the morning. Once morning time rolled around our idea ended up being stormed out. From nearly 5am to about 10am all we saw and heard was rain, lightning and thunder; it was an intense storm. Bummed about not being out on the wall we had a leisurely morning in our room and then proceeded to eat an enormous Chinese breakfast. The owner brought us two bowls of noodle soup, a big egg pancake, and a Chinese pancake; we were stuffed. Shortly after breakfast our driver arrived to take us back to Beijing and so we said good bye to the Great Wall.
With this being our last night in Beijing we felt it best to enjoy a nice Peking duck dinner. Not exactly sure where we were going but read popular reviews on this one restaurant we showed up to a fancier restaurant then expected. Doing our best not to be discouraged by this fancy restaurant we all had a nice/expensive evening enjoying Peking duck and steamed vegetables. After nearly emptying our bank accounts we headed back to the same bar we went to the first night the girls arrived in Beijing for a round of drinks and dice.
As quick as this week went by, it was a much needed vacation and I had an amazing time touring in and around Beijing. It was great to finally make it to the Great Wall and I am so happy I got to spend time with Mark, Alison and Beth. The four of us had an amazing time together and will forever share some wonderful memories.