Trip 2 Wrap

Sunday we wandered out in the late afternoon. The first stop was a shopping area just off Tiananmen Square that looked a lot like Main Street Disney.

One block away and the scene changed considerabley. No souvenirs for the kids here!

How about a yogurt that has been sitting in the sun though? (quite popular)

We decided to move on to the Wangfujing area which is a bit more upscale.

We rested for a while at an outdoor cafe and drank beer. Then it was on to Snack Street which started off tame enough (glazed fruit)

Then we moved on to all of the unrefrigerated meat --- starfish, snake, centipede sticks and beetles (gurgle):


I'm headed home soon, so putting a bow on Trip 2. Thanks for checking in!

Off to the Wall

On Saturday we headed out to see a section of the Great Wall at Mutianyu. We were led by tour guide Catherine and driver Mr Li.

Mutianyu is about 90 minutes from Beijing. We stopped midway at the Jade Factory which was a bit like an upscale Stuckey's minus the gas pumps. It was packed with tourists from India and the Middle East. They did have some nice pieces...

S0ldiers along the way...

Mr Li was a great driver and clearly committed to maximizing our time at the wall -- lots of weaving and horn honking on the drive up the mountain. I captured some of the excitement on video but couldn't get it to upload. Here's where we almost have the head-on with the tour bus (in a rush to the Jade Factory no doubt).

At the ticket office for the wall, we faced a decision: take the Gondola or Chairlift or walk up the pathway. Somehow we settled on option 3. It was foggy (smoggy?) and you couldn't really see the wall from the entry and it didn't look too bad...

I knew we were in trouble when Catherine stopped dead in her wedgies and said she better meet us there. Didn't want to hold us up and all.

About an hour later, we reached the actual wall (starting point was village in background):

Our European collegue suggested we head up a bit higher to see one of the towers about a 1/4 mile up. It looked to me exactly like two of the towers downhill to the right, so I opted to hang out with the elderly chinese beer vendor (who hauls his goods up the hills each day).

The wall itself is truly incredible.

And the trip back down was much easier:

If you find yourself here in the future, I strongly suggest options 1 or 2:

Dumpling Class

On Friday evening, the hotel held a Dumpling Class in the guest lounge.


We each took our turns making pork filled dumplings. I decided that I was not cut out for this work.

Afterwards, we had the finished product for dinner. Then the hotel let us tour the Presidential Suite (sorry no pictures as my batteries ran out).

Later, we hit the foot massage place.

On the TV: the very Chinese "Journey to the West"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrzTxGZrV0Q

Enjoy!

Duck Outing

Thursday night we headed out to the Silk Market to let the newbies try out their haggling skills. Traffic was a nightmare and it took us over 90 minutes to go about 6 or 7 miles (cab fare - $7.50).

After the Silk Market, we headed to a restaurant that specilized in Peking Duck (Dadong).

The duck and accompanying dishes were all excellent.

Downstairs - another empty, high-end shopping mall and the Rolls, Lambroghini and Aston Martin dealerships.

Back at the hotel, a package was waiting. I was happy to find my underwear, back from the laundry.

Wednesday Walkabout

Wednesday I took a walk around the hotel and adjacent shopping mall.

Still no shoppers, but a lot of families enjoying the green space.

You see this dog everywhere in China --- usually with no leash but with an ederly Grandma hovering nearby.

Later it was time to watch the Soccer match. They are crazy about the Football in China...

Day of Toil

No time for outings on Tuesday.

Accordingly the focus turned to snacks. On the Chinese table we had the sweet buns, pistachios, cookies, chocolate wafer bars, sour balls, meat flavored chews and of course the tofu strips...

In the American cupboard, more traditional offerings supplied by the Home Office (somebody has a girl scout at home)..

Back at the hotel, it was time to sample the other door prize from the Monkeyface Dinner.

No need to fit the Great Wall winery on your itinerary.

By the way, the pull tab lives on..

Dinner with Monkeyface

On Monday, we met back up with our project partners from the branch offices.

Mr C hosted a banquet after work in celebration of the next phase of the project.



We traveled through a major traffic jam to get to the restaraunt in upscale office building. The show started at 7:15 so we left our banquet room for the main dining hall.

There we found "Monkeyface" who performed a Chinese dance with changing masks.

The Mistress of Ceremonies not only sang...


.... but also oversaw the Beer Drinking contest.....



I was the big winner, taking home a case of Harbin beer. A banner day.

Jostling for Harmony

Sunday we visited the Forbidden City located at the center of Beijing. The Forbidden City served as the home for 24 emporers of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Construction started in 1406 and it was occupied until the last emporer left in 1911. During this time, the average citizen would have been forbidden from entering.


There are almost 200 acres within the walls of the city. Inside you have your Palaces of Earthly Tranquility, Heavenly Purity, Middle Harmony, Preserving Harmony and Supreme Harmony (among others).

Reaching any of those states is unlikely today given the average crowd visiting.

It starts just outside of the city in Tiannamen Square...

By the time we got to the main gate we had been swept up into the pack. Forget pursuits of Harmony and Tranquility, here you need to focus on not having your eye poked out by an umbrella.

There is little shade throughtout most of the city and it was hot so we were glad to get to the Imperial Garden towards the end of the tour. Here you will find the great Hill of Accumulated Elegance:

It was an interesting tour and impressive place but we were glad to head back to the tranquility and harmony (and AC) of the hotel guest lounge!

Market Day

We headed out shortly after breakfast on Saturday to the Panjiayuan Antiques Market (a/k/a the Dirt Market) to see what they had to offer.


There were a lot of paintings and other 'hand-made' artifacts - some wood furniture as well that all looked new.

Anybody need a giant stone statue for their front yard?


Lunch was at Beijing Noodle across from the Pearl Market. They keep a live snake in a glass container by the front door (not reassuring). We made a bit of a spectacle of oursleves trying to get a table by the air conditioner. A Chinese family stepped in on our behalf to negotiate the relocation (they had to sit with us to make it happen).

After lunch we focused on jewelry, particularly pearls and ended up with several purchases from Sharon's store (below).

By mid afternoon we were ready to escape the heat and headed back to the hotel. Room service brought a surprise snack of rice milk and fried meat pie pastries. The pastry filling was kind of sweet and somewhat of a miss in my book.

For dinner, we met up with some co-workers fresh from the States and hit the Sanlitun area:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanlitun

I tried to stay out with the late night contingency but started to fall asleep again and had to use my "Take me back to the XYZ hotel" card for a cab. Luckily I made it home without having to provide any further direction. By the way cabs are cheap here ---- $4 to go probably 8 miles across town.

Good Morning Beijing

Saturday morning and I am still not adjusted to the time. I keep waking up at 3 AM. I can usually fall back asleep for some time but usually done by 5.

We're off to the Dirt Market this morning. Reports later.

Walking around Houhai

No leash? No problem. Grab that dog by the hand and hit the streets!

We spent most of Friday preparing for upcoming work sessions with our branch office partners.

These guys appeared on the ledge of the building across the way during our morning meeting and proceeded to get to work.

After another fine lunch in the company cafeteria, we took a walk to get some air. We stopped into the Volvo dealership to check on prices. The XC90 is going for about $95K USD in Beijing --- probably twice the asking price in the US. Makes all of the new cars on the streets of Beijing that much more impressive.

In the evening we headed to the Houhai (Ho Hi!) district in search of dumplings. Dinner plus drinks was $15 for three of us. The dumplings and noodle soup was very tasty but we were lacking variety (the waitress was trying to tell us as much but we didn't understand until later).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houhai

Houhai is an interesting neighborhood with shops, bars and a small lake in the center.

Almost every bar and restaurant had large TV's showing the World Cup.

After dinner, it was back to Hotel lounge for some live music by Mandy and Dawn. Lots of Barbra Streisand and Minnie Riperton!