Nihao! - Part Five

Part four of my China adventure can be found here. Yesterday was one of the greatest days ever with a tour of the Great Wall, today we are once again on the move.

Day five: We're about to board our third flight in only a matter of days, it took us numerous failed attempts of trying to hail a taxi which lead to a reluctant 2km walk with our luggage to the train station, three trains and two hours to get to the airport... I feel like I'm apart of the Amazing Race ha! Our destination? Chongqing! A relatively unknown place to outsiders it is the capital city of a province in the direct center of China, not really one for the tourist circuit.

We landed around midday. Awesomely Isaac's friend Ava met us at the airport and we were to be staying at his apartment for the next two nights, cool. Ava was an awesome guy who impressively wasn't too bad when it came to speaking English, we hit it off quite well. His place was real nice, a homely little two bedroom on the 6th floor of a 30 story apartment complex... which in this city is literally the norm. Chongqing was the first time I really felt like I was in a foreign country, the streets were lined with these:

These were our skyline.

It was rather surreal. Sure I've been in plenty of cities before, I guess Sydney (Australia) would be the biggest city I've been to, but Sydney is an ant standing next to an elephant when compared to this place. There was so many cars, and people, and roads, and buses, and... yep, it was pretty different.

It wasn't long before I realized how grateful I am to be traveling with some locals (Isaac and Ava) because it quickly became apparent that Chongqing doesn't get many non-Chinese visitors. As we walked around town entire streets of pedestrians would come to a stand still just to get a good look at me. At first I'd only catch glimpses as I was swaying my head looking at all the sights, however it quickly became impossible to miss.

A hilarious moment came soon when we were riding in a bus. It was packed so we had to stand in the isle and I was just staring out the windows watching the sights go by, letting my gaze drift. An interesting sight caught my eye so I swiveled my glance real fast towards the back of the bus as it zoomed by, in which I caught in the act the entire bus staring at me. Seeing that they've bring sprung every single person then tried to quickly glance away in a futile effort to try and trick me into thinking that they weren't actually looking at me... haha!

After casually hanging out for the day, that night we had dinner arrangements with a bunch of Isaac's old high school friends which turned out amazing. Apparently this is a very traditional Chinese meal to have, I absolutely loved it. The food was great, the atmosphere was upbeat and the company was perfect. Luckily I have been having quite a lot of Asian foods this last year back home so my chopstick skills are rather accomplished, much to the surprise to the other dinner guests hehe.

 

Delicious.

Isaac digging in!

Isaac's friends were really cool, most of them spoke adequate English so I could talk with all of them. We had a hilarious time trying to tell each other jokes... the jokes themselves weren't that funny, what was funny is trying to tell a bunch of Chinese people Australian jokes and vice versa ha!

Afterwards the group wanted to show me the sights so we walked around the city. During this time I played a little game within my own head called 'Spot the foreigners' where I would try and find other foreigners walking around because I still couldn't get over the reactions I was getting from the locals. In the end I found two others... only two in a city of literally millions.

Pretty cool and modern looking place.

Sheen, Ava, Isaac, ?, Angela, Monies.

Apologies for the blur. Can you guess which one is me =P

The city was pretty cool, but nothing that I hadn't already seen in Shanghai. Whilst walking I would let my gaze wonder, soaking up the surrounding buildings and people, and I must say the highlight of the day in no doubt was the simple act of meeting and hanging out with Isaac's friends. Angela spoke perfect English and seemed very eager to learn more about Australia, Sheen and Monies were both hilarious and we spent a lot of time swapping jokes, and it was just a really nice moment to be welcomed into a new group and be made to feel right at home in a place that is almost as different to home then you can possibly be.

It was our first relaxing day since we arrived, and I knew tomorrow would be much the same. Suffice to say I was feeling quite content with life at that moment.

The trip continues here. Tomorrow we visit one of the coolest markets I have ever been to.

Nihao! - Part Four

Part three of the re-telling of my China adventure can be found here. Yesterday I was enthralled by the wonder that is Forbidden City, and today is a brand new day for adventure!

Day four: Today we were about to embark on the event I had most been excited about for this entire trip, the legendary Great Wall of China! It is on my Life List, and has always been something that I knew I had to do at least once in my life. A not so exciting aspect of our planned adventure for the day was the fact that we had to wake up before 6am ha, but it really is go hard or go home when you are traveling, there is time for sleep on the plane ride home!

For the second day in a row, "Good morning, Beijing!"

We were to be traveling with a tour group on a coach because, and I didn't know this and I don't think many foreigners do either, the Great Wall is actually about 200km away from Beijing. Now I knew that it wasn't so close to Beijing that you could see it, but I didn't expect it to be that far away. Originally I thought we were going take a taxi to get there ha, so this trip was turning out to be both fun and educational.

Gratefully it wasn't just a non-stop 3 hour drive to the wall as on the way we stopped by some tourist attractions. After an hour of driving we reached our first stop, some wax museum of history, that turned out pretty cool. Sorry guys but photography wasn't allowed inside.

The wax museum, it turned out pretty awesome. A must see for any history enthusiasts.

It basically took us on a history tour of the country, depicting famous historical moments in amazing to scale wax scenes, including their faces and clothing. Along the way there were information boards explaining what the scene stood for and why this moment in time is of important and significance to the country. I wouldn't say it is an absolute must see, but it was included within the tour so it wasn't so bad. Back on the bus again and we were off to stop number two.

Now this was a place to see! We had arrived at Ming's Tomb. Mr Ming was an emperor during the Ming Dynasty and was one of 13 emperors to have built and to be buried within their own grand tomb, much like the Ancient Egyptians and their Valley of Kings (see, educational =P). The landscape was just brilliant, and despite the early hour the air and temperature had a very pleasant crispness to it and thankfully the clouds decided to part somewhat.

The mountains are breathtaking.

  

Picturesque!

We went down into the tomb (which was about 3 stories below the ground) to be crammed in with the other hundred or so tour groups into this high ceiling labyrinth of massive brick stone walls and floors. The place was pure stone, and much like my time in Forbidden City, I stopped to marvel that these stones had been laid hundreds of years ago. Our tour guide was Chinese, thus spoke only Chinese, so I didn't have any idea what she was saying or showing us, but there wasn't really much to see anyway. A few ancient looking chairs, some big square boxes which I think are the real coffins of the emperor... there was also a lot of talk and pointing at the massive doors that separated the rooms so I guess they might of been important also. I really had no idea ha.

Thankfully the beauty of Mother Nature is a universal language, thus never needing translations for foreigners, for as we emerged from underground we were greeted by this absolutely magnificent sight.

Wow...

After a brief rest we were back on the bus on our way to the next stop... the wall! It didn't take long to arrive and again my ignorance got the better of me for I soon learned many more facts. Like the fact that the only way to get to up to the wall (from this particular part of the wall we had stopped at) was via a cable cart ride, who would of thought! I'm not afraid of heights so I was very excited at the prospect of soaring high above the mountains.

Looks like it goes a long way up!

A 5 minute cart ride later, soaring higher and higher to the mountains peak, and we disembarked from our cart, exited out through the other side of the mountain and alas we were here...

at The Great Wall of China.

Some of the places were really steep, it was quite a workout ha!

As you can see the wall is HUGE... the way it snakes along the mountain peaks further than the eye can see is extraordinary. Again, my previous knowledge of China has forever changed, I knew the wall was long, but I didn't quite grasp its enormity until I was actually standing atop it. Whenever I talk to people about my trip they always ask me "did you walk the length of the Great Wall?". I laugh and just show them the picture above as my reply.

It was around this time I decided to call my dad (surprisingly we had great reception on the wall ha).

"Dad! Hi! Guess where I am?"

He was at work when he answered, just another ordinary day for him. It's funny because often times when you travel you forget that your old life (and the world for that matter) continues on without you.

"Ha, hi mate, where are you?"

"I am currently standing and calling you..." a slight pause for dramatic effect "... from the Great Wall of China!"

"Haha no way, I knew you were going to say that!"

The memory of calling him from across the world like that is one I will always remember. 

They should hold episodes of the 'The Biggest Loser' here.

I can already tell that these pictures do not give the place justice. No where near in fact. I could spend the next page trying to share with you guys the wonder you feel when standing there, looking over the endless mountains, feeling the stone walls underneath your fingers, breathing the chilled air. But even the best poets would struggle to convey the experience, so I won't even try.

This picture below is my favourite, I feel it is the closest I can offer to sharing my experience with you.

Amazing.

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot to mention about my fan club ha! For some reason middle-aged Chinese women love me... entire groups of them! They were giggling behind my back, asking me to help them down steep stairs (where they would lock their arms with mine), I even got cornered into posing for group pictures. It was all for fun, and Isaac assured me (as he can obviously understand what they were saying) that they were in fact laughing with me and not at me haha... so yes, that was... unique.

It is quite funny now that I think about it... to think that I am in some random Chinese families photo albums.

Also during the day Issac and I became friends with a girl on the bus, Aljay was her name. She was ridiculously cool, a Chinese girl who had moved from her small town to study in Beijing for a few months, learn a bit of French, and is going to France in a few months time to study abroad for a year... now that is quite a free spirit! I am really glad to have met her and she definitely made our day much more enjoyable.

Alas the time came to head home, which meant for another cable cart ride (yay!). The journey home was a fun bus ride of jokes between Isaac, Aljay and myself. We said our goodbyes to Aljay once back in Beijing (I missed her already), then proceeded to meet up with Isaac's best friend from his high school, Ling.

Ling was a really nice guy and gave us a great tour of Beijing Olympic Park.

After being awake and on the move since 6am, and it now being 9pm, I was rather exhausted so it was nice to just slowly wander through the city, a whirl of thoughts, memories and emotions running through us. In my mind I was organizing logistics as once again we were to be on the move with a flight early the next morning ready to take us to a city called Chongqing. There is never a moment to rest on this trip it seems.

Tienanmen Square as we were walking back to our hotel.

And that was the day I walked on the Great Wall of China. Life goal, complete.


Part five here. Next stop, the city of Chongqing.

Nihao! - Part Three

Part two can be found here. In the last post we had just arrived in Beijing with quite the welcome. Today we get to visit the cool destinations of what China is really about.

Day three: Despite the trials of the last two days I could safely say that I wouldn't of wanted my trip any other way, so when I awoke I was extremely excited for what new challenges and adventures we would be having. We'd both had a great nights sleep so it was time to begin the day with no time to lose. First up, Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square!

"Good morning, Beijing!"

Intimidating looking government building. There are cameras and security guards everywhere.

There it is!

Tienanmen Square, viewed from the top of the first building at the front of Forbidden City. Sadly the mist obscures it.

It wasn't until we walked through the first building to emerge on the other side that the enormity of this place really sit in. I think I caught my breath at this moment.

The place was simply amazing. This is just one of dozens of courtyards, each with more courtyards adjacent on all sides.

To think that these carvings are hundreds of years old is remarkable.

Placed everywhere were these boards that explained the history and importance of the buildings and sculptures. The nerd in me was very pleased at this, and spent hours reading nearly every one.

We definitely took our time as we wandered around, despite the crowds it was a very peaceful place to be and it was nice to let my mind wander. Every time I read one of the information boards I would stop and try to envision how it would of been like for the people all those years ago. The emperor ruling from his throne, taking up the responsibility for his people. Did he rule with kindness or tyranny? Did he stay within the walls of Forbidden City, oblivious to the woes of the people outside, or did he mix with his people and drive them towards prosperity. I tried to imagine the years of conflict they faced between rival forces, the day of a battle where the walls would be no doubt lined with arches, the emperors armies gathering to defend their empire.


My favourite notion to think about above all others, and I highly recommend this to anyone visiting an ancient site, is to pick something small such as a brick in the flooring or walls and to think to yourself that some day, hundreds (or even thousands) of years ago, some unknown and long past person stood in this very spot, in an era of human history that I can barely even imagine, and placed that very brick down into place. It is even more astonishing when you try and place yourself in the mind and body of that person and know that as they placed that brick, they had no idea that hundreds of years in the future some foreigner (you) would be staring at it, thinking about them, their lives, and about the day that they casually placed a brick into place.

I find it can create a very powerful sense of woe, to realize that your own lifespan is but a speck of the billions of lifespans that have come before you, that will come after you, and that the smallest actions can reverberate for millenniums. Will the path I make, the actions I take, ever have such an impact?

Moving on!

Cool!

 

Once we eventually reached the end we were surprisingly greeted with a magnificently ancient looking garden. 

It took us 2 hours to traverse from one end to the other, moving at a moderate pace, and that was only a portion of it! It wasn't until later on in the day (or even perhaps until I arrived back home) that it really started to sink in how amazing it was to be there. And I can tell you now that the pictures above are a poor consolation for actually being there.  

By now it was 4.30pm and starting to get a little dark. What's next? Well back home a few of the guys at work (who are engineers) were interested in a building that recently got built in Beijing, as our company played a part in its design and construction. Coincidentally we weren't too far to where it is located so we set out to find it.

It felt like we were on a quest!

We proceeded to look for a taxi, but again we are out of luck as the peak hour of Beijing sets in and there are none free in sight. As we were walking around I noticed how many people were on bikes (there is heaps!) and the thought occurred... let's just hire some bikes to get there!

I admit I was a little hesitant (I know Isaac certainly was) because first of all it was now dark and secondly, unless you've been to China before (or any Asian country really) you can't truly understand how crazy and erratic their roads are. Pedestrians walk out onto the road whenever they please, cars ignore red lights, buses using their superior size to dictate their driving style to force themselves through traffic... it's like an enraged ants nest of moving steel. But hell, let's go for it!

Our speed machines! You could hardly tell they had been used before =P

I couldn't manage to take any pictures whilst riding as all my energy and concentration was spent avoiding parked cars, unpredictable pedestrians and fellow bike commuters. It. Was. Insane! But soooo cool! Riding around in peak hour traffic was a blast! We stayed in the pedestrian lanes but often times had to swerve out into the road lanes to get around parked cars, coming inches within passing traffic. The force of the wind from passing buses was intense!

Crossing the roads had no logic to it from what I could see, basically the pedestrians would gather in a tight group and just move as one out onto the road right into incoming traffic, and I guess just have the confidence that their group size is enough to stem the flow of traffic enough for them to edge their way across. There was one time I got separated form Isaac (as he smartly judged that it would probably be best to wait for the lights to change before crossing) and the 'ball of pedestrians' I was huddled within got stuck in the center of the intersection, traffic flowing past us from all sides! Eventually the lights changed and we made it to the other side ha.

After 45 minutes of dodging traffic, a long chat with a local to ask for directions, and numerous consultations of our map, we finally made it to our destination; the Beijing Poly Plaza Hotel. Engineering wise it is quite impressive as the square block protruding out of the front left of the building in the picture below is actually 8 stories of floors that is completely suspended in the air and held in place by the grid of interlocking steel cables. Well, the guys at work found it interesting at least ha.

With our quest complete it was time to return the bikes and grab something to eat. The ride back was a little easier then before with less traffic on the roads. After returning our bikes we had to walk back to our hotel, but not before stumbling across some awesome locally owned shops. I submitted to buying this awesome decorative scroll for myself:

So cool!

And that leaves day three complete. 

Part four here. So what's in store for our next day? Only the Great Wall of China!