China Jan 07

I was flying from Thailand to Beijing whilst wearing shorts and sandals.  An Italian man told me, "You can’t possibly get off the plane dressed like that!  It’s -2!"  Oops.  When I got off the plane, I froze.  Fortunately I had a pair of jeans in my pack and quickly put them on at the terminal.

I got in a cab and gave him the name of the hotel where Meike and I would be staying.  He stopped in front of a very nice looking four star hotel.  I went inside to check in, and they said they had no booking for me.  I showed them the print up from the website, and he told me that my hotel, which shares the same name, was located a bit farther up the street.  I got into another cab and went to the place.

The cabbie stopped at the entrance of an alley, pointed up the alley, and said, "Your hotel is down the path."  HUH??  No road access?  I put on my pack and walked to the hotel and was not remotely pleased.   It was a run down place with a lobby which reaked of urine.  I asked if I could get out of the booking and was informed I could not.  I asked them if there was a kitchen with room service, and he said there was not.  I checked in and went to my room and discovered there was no frig or tv, and the room also reeked of urine.

I went back to the street and took a cab to the hotel I’d just been to and booked a room.  I asked them about the other hotel, and they said that the other one named itself the same name so they could get more business.  Unbelievable!  When you pull up the site for the name of the hotel on the internet, the nice one is shown in photos.  I took a bell boy who spoke English back to the other hotel and began checking out. 

The lady at the horrible hotel said, "We must first check your room."  I asked, "For WHAT?!  HAHA!  I was in the room for less than two minutes!  Do you thing that I stole the bed in that time?!  Lord knows there’s not a mini-bar I removed food or beverages from!"  I began laughing loudly, which she didn’t seem to appreciate.

I later went to a shopping center the Italian man told me about and purchased warm clothing.  I was taken to the bank by the Chinese barter system.  I’d walked in the place not wearing warm clothing.  When I was leaving, a Chinese store person pointed to my newly acquired shoes, and asked, "How much did you pay for them?"  I told her, and she began laughing at me.  LOL!!  She said, "The store people normally initially ask for a price 500% more than they actually expect."  (And I thought I’d been getting great deals…stories will be told about me over fires in their lodges for centuries and they check the time with the Rolex watches I enabled them to purchase…)

Day 2

I went to the airport and met Meike, and we returned to the hotel.  Although we’d been romantic in the past, I took the safe route and booked two rooms.  Another reason I’d booked two rooms was because Jimlim continually called my room and asked loads of jealous questions.  Jealousy really annoys…especially right AFTER she dumped me.  LOL  (Footnote:  I didn’t know until a couple of days ago that Jimlim had been using her mother’s mobile to make these calls.  She told me a couple of days ago that she is banned from making long distance calls after her mother received the phone bill.)

When we arrived at the hotel, Meike insisted that we share a room.  There were two double beds so I consented…bad idea for reasons I’ll not share here…I’ll simply say that while we both shared an attraction even after a couple of years had passed, she wasn’t quite the same…

We hired a car and driver and went to the Great Wall at Badaling.  It was so extremely windy on top of the wall, and the temps had to have been way below freezing. 

I saw a camel and a horse atop the wall and noted that, unlike other camels and horses I’d seen, these had very long hair…indicative of the extremely harsh wheather conditions their ancestors endured over the ages. 

Unlike any other market place I’ve been in, the store owners at the Wall were quite harassing.  They’d impede the forward movement of older or disabled people and attempt to make them purchase things.  One person actually grabbed my arm, and I promptly smashed his foot with mine. 

The placement of the wall was amazing; the ground it rests upon is the most militarily commanding position around, which means the stones had to be carried up the extremely steep mountain side.  The mountain side was so steep that it would have forced the nomadic horseman invaders to dismount at the base of the mountain and proceed on foot, which would have made them ineffective fighters after making the gruelling trek to the top.  In the few places where there were ‘saddles’ (the dips between hilltops along a ridgeline) and horsemen could approach quite close on horseback, the wall was constructed in such locations which would have forced the invaders into extremely narrow valleys where ambush would have been very easy for the defenders. 

We didn’t visit Ming Tombs because someone was too cold.  I was also quite annoyed that someone didn’t want to use a tour guide.  I really appreciate learning all the historical details of a place I visit and have no issues springing for a guide.

We returned to the hotel and went to bed.