Beijing is Bueno! - Blogabond

Just been taking it really easy this week. The hostel is really ace and too easy to just laze about in.
However i haven't just whiled away the days reading about how to survive robot uprisings and messing around on the internet, honest!

Had a trip to the flea market which was good fun lots of tat as expected but some cool communist bits and bobs and plenty of "Maomerabilia", if your REALLY lucky you might get some as I bought a fair few bits and bobs then had to have a practice pack to ensure I didn't need a new bag or a trip[ to the post office, fortunately neither is required, you'd think I'd be pretty good at packing my bag by now after about 8 months! It will be nice to not be living out of the same slightly tatty bag soon.

Smog over the forbidden city

Went to the forbidden city, was trying to do it on the cheap so I went to the parks north of the city from which you can get an excellent overview with the intention of not bothering going in if I was satisfied with what I saw, however due to the shocking smog I thought I aught to go down and have a closer look so I wondered down to the Northern gate which is actually an exit and was met by literally thousands of tour groups and in a moment of swanky traveler naughtiness made like a lost child looking for his mum and walked in through the exit, expected to be met by some sort of ticket inspector at any second (there usually everywhere in China) but non came and before I really realised it I was in!
Was well busy inside but impressive stuff. Didn't really know what I was looking at as I didn't have a leaflet, apparently you don't get one if you steal your way in...

Next day the weather was crap and that night the wind suddenly blew and it rained, the first time for me in about a month.
The weather was well timed as it blew all the clouds and smog away by the morning and at 6am with a very crisp blue sky above I set off on a bus ride to Jinshanling the starting point of a 10km walk along the great wall.
The weather really was perfect as you could see for miles but it was seriously chilly despite the lovely sunlight.

Lovely blue sky

The wall is everything I expected, truly impressive engineering takes it over impossible terrain it really is a super structure. Shame Genghis just road around it!

The walk was lovely a few steep parts in places and plenty of hawkers trying to sell you books, postcards and t shirts but it wasn't too busy and worked out fairly good value as the Thai student card once again came in to good use and also the tour company who where charging 18 quid each for the 3 hour bus ride there and back (expensive because there is no other viable option apart form taxis) only charged 2 of the 3 people in our group so we got there for 12 quid each instead, making it far more reasonable.
I'm turning in to a bit of a dodgy geezer I'm ashamed to say. I'll be nicking apples of next doors trees next!

written by

Dan on October 23, 2008 from Beijing, China

from the travel blog: Been there, Dan that!

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