September 3, 2018
One of the things I advise people to do while traveling is to keep some time free “just in case.” Just in case you need some ‘me’ time or some time to veg out. Just in case someone tells you about a new activity to do or an sight to see that you didn’t know about. Or, just in case you want to go back to a place you’ve already visited because you liked it so much.
Even though we only had a few days in Beijing, we left the last day open on our schedule “just in case.” We checked the weather report and saw it was going to be bright and sunny both in Beijing and the neighboring countryside. With that in mind, we felt another trip to the Great Wall to see it without the veil of mist and rain was warranted. We just needed to figure out the best way to get there.
We nixed the idea of using the hotel’s car service because it was too expensive and taking the local bus because we hadn’t had time to figure out the ins and outs of Beijing’s public transit. We also ruled out an organized bus trip because the idea of waiting for hours as it picked up folks from hotels around the city didn’t seem to be the best use of our time.
When all was said and done, we decided to hire a driver (with some English speaking ability) to take us to and from the Wall. A few keystrokes on the laptop, a credit card number later and we were booked.
At 7:30 a.m., Hank Li met us in the hotel lobby waving a paper sign with our names on it. He happily lead us to his large, new(ish) Volkswagen sedan. It was clean, comfortable, and came stocked with bottled water and bananas for snacks, a very pleasant gesture. We were told to sit back and relax for the 1 1/2 hour drive.
Along the way, he pointed out anything he thought we might want to know about and chit chatted to the extent his English (which was pretty good) allowed. He stopped in a little village for us to take some pictures of the scenery, and even offered several times to stop if we needed a bathroom break (not that we really wanted to explore the availability of rural squat toilets).
In no time at all, we arrived at Mutianyu’s lower parking lot. Mr. Li accompanied us to the ticket booth to assist in the purchase tickets for the shuttle bus, entrance fee and return transportation to/from the wall. At the shuttle bus area, we synchronized watches and arrived at a mutual meeting time in 3 1/2 to 4 hours – and then we were left to our own devices.
Our excitement at seeing the Wall on a sunny day built as the shuttle bus took us part way up the hill. It built even more as we were whisked higher up the hill in the open air chairlift.
As we ascended higher and higher, we got our first glimpses of the Wall free of clouds – it was even better than we had hoped.
We turned (not too far since we were on a chairlift high in the air) to look at the valley far below – the view was stunning.
We stumbled a bit getting off the chairlift (would be so much easier on skis) and then took a short staircase down to the closest access point at the Wall. There it was in all its glory stretching out to the left and right of us, basking in the glow of a cloudless sunny day. We were just a bit in love with the scenery.
Since we had taken a different route up to the Wall, we found ourselves several watch towers away from where we had explored our first day. It really didn’t matter to us, we just wanted to get in a couple of hours of good walking/hiking and, of course, we also wanted to take more photos.
What we hadn’t expected was just how steep some of the sections of the Wall were in this area. The steps were uneven heights – some were an inch high, while others were almost as tall as our knees. And, the inclines were killers. Some of the staircases stopped people in their tracks, unwilling to risk a misstep either going up or coming down. But, we forged on – all the way to the last watch tower before the Wall is closed to tourists having become overgrown and unpassable.
Along the way, we stopped to take photos or when our legs became wobbly from climbing. We also stopped and offered to take photos of couples, groups of friends and families – and, they offered to take pictures of us. We were having a great time on this fabulous Wonder of the World.
At the last watch tower, the Wall goes off in multiple directions. Off in the distance, we could see other sections that nature has taken over.
Before heading back to our starting point, we ascended one last steep set of stairs to take in the complete panorama. It was that staircase that almost broke me as my legs threatened to dissolve like jelly about four steps from the top. Guess I’ll need to hit the gym when I get home.
The return trip back down the wall was a bit treacherous, as the steep steps we’d climbed looked even steeper looking from the top down. Luckily, we’d budgeted enough time to allow for creeping slowly down the more difficult sections. I felt for the mothers and fathers who were having to maneuver frightened children down the stairs while trying to keep themselves upright.
We finally reached the point on the Wall where we were to meet our transportation back down the hill – the toboggan run. Hurtling ourselves down the hill through a half pipe of steel on a small sled sounded like great fun to us.
Unfortunately, we had to wait in line before this portion of the adventure. Since we were coming up on the time to meet Mr. Li, I sent him a message via WeChat that we were in the toboggan line and he responded not to worry, he was on our schedule.
Soon enough, we were at the front of the line taking pictures as we sat on our sleds and then we were off.
At the top of the hill, I was able to gain enough speed that it felt as if I was taking the turns just like the luge in the Olympics; however, about half way down, there was a bottleneck created by three women ahead of us who were scared and riding their brakes. We even had to come to a complete stop at one point because they were freaking out. Unfortunately, fear ruined their experience and put a bit of a damper on ours. It was a blast nonetheless.
On our way to meet Mr. Li at the agreed upon spot, Sindy went into full negotiation mode with a T-shirt hawker. We are both the proud owners of reasonably priced “I Hiked The Great Wall” t-shirts because of her fine haggling abilities.
Settled back in the car, content with our second Wall trip, Mr. Li whisked us back to Beijing. As we entered the outskirts of the city, he drove us by the Olympic complex and even stopped at a good vantage point for us to take pictures. It was the cherry on top of a great day.
Instead of returning us to our hotel, we asked Mr. Li to drop us off at a restaurant Carlyle recommended for Peking Duck. Mr. Li said he knew exactly where it was and agreed it was a fine restaurant.
He pulled over at the entrance to Hoa Hui lake and told us it was just down the pathway. We said our goodbyes and headed off in the direction he pointed. We walked and walked, but the restaurant did not appear where he said it would. So we walked a bit more – nothing except nice views of the lake and bars that weren’t yet open.
Yelp and Google don’t work in China (without a VPN). Luckily, we were able to bring up a few maps on the iPhone and match them to the description Carlyle had sent in an email. Only problem was, the restaurant was a good 1.5 miles from where we were standing. Apparently, Mr. Li had not known exactly where the restaurant was located; I was a bit miffed.
My mood soon changed as we followed the map directions and found ourselves in a delightful section of a hutong where the alleys were lined with cute little shops, food vendors, art galleries, etc. Had we not been dropped off at the wrong spot, we would have missed wandering this section of Old Beijing. We even found an artisan chocolate shop for Sindy, but we weren’t drawn in by any of the flavors.
Our walk took us by the Drum and Bell Towers, two temples we hadn’t yet visited and into the hutong where we’d taken our cooking class. I guess everything does come full circle.
An hour after being dropped off, we stood in front of Hua Jia Yi Yuan (we verified it was the right place by comparing it to the picture in Carlyle’s email – thank goodness he’s thorough).
It was too late for lunch and a bit early for dinner, but we were ushered in and given a table in the courtyard. We were moved to a second table when the waitress saw that the sun was in our eyes making us squint at the menu. The menu was actually a book with way too many options. One of the hostesses spoke English, so she walked us through the choices and helped us decide which of the Peking Duck dinners we wanted to try. We order the half duck as our main and an order each of veggie dumplings and cucumber salad to start.
Part of the dining experience is watching the chef debone and carve the duck, separating the meat from the skin.
The many portions of our dinner were laid before us. The waitress kindly stepped us through how to properly construct the right bite of pancake, sauce, fruit, veggies, hawthorn jelly, duck meat and skin.
I’ve never tasted anything like it before. Each bite was a bit sweet, a bit salty and filled with the succulent goodness of the duck pushed over the top by the sliver of indulgently crispy duck skin. It was so, so good. Although I almost wish we’d gone out for Peking Duck earlier in the trip, I was glad we’d saved it for our last night. It was the perfect capper to our week.
I was a bit nervous that we might have difficulty finding our way back to the hotel because of the lack of available taxis we’d experienced on our first night in Beijing, but as soon as we stepped onto the sidewalk and waved our hands to flag down a passing taxi, it stopped to pick us up. Easy peasy.
Back at the hotel, we wandered up to the concierge lounge for a diet soda and to check out the dessert options. As we sat on the comfy sofas sharing a small slice of sweetness contemplating the lights of the city stretched before us, we struck up a conversation with a woman whom we’d seen off and on in the lounge. She is a medical researcher from Boston helping to set up an Alzheimer’s screening program in China. She often travels to Beijing and Shanghai and was interested to hear about all the activities we’d done in the last five days.
Based on our recommendation, she’s going to set up a cooking class with Carlyle for herself and her colleagues as a bonding activity. It was nice to be able to recommend specific vendors and pay it forward. The three of us talked for quite a while, closing down happy hour.
Another soak in the jacuzzi to mend our aching muscles ended a wonderful day and a fabulous trip. Beijing, you have a little piece of my heart.
