IN A NUTSHELL: The Great Wall!
My Plan Today, I decided to go to "Mutianyu" section of the Wall instead of the
more famous, easier to get to, touristy "Badaling" section. There are other sections as well, but
I had narrowed it down to those two before heading out today. When I walked out early this morning,
I could see the sky for the first time! The wind yesterday had blown away the persistent smog and left
Beijing looking like a completely different, and much prettier, city. They sky was blue, the weather
was sunny and cool and it was a perfect day to go visit the Wall.
McDonalds Has Failed Me I knew I should have used the facilities before I went, but
I wanted to get going early. I thought I was in luck when I saw a McDonalds across the street from the
long-distance
bus area.
I went up and first saw a sign for "hand wash" which MEANS toilet in Japanese, but here, it was
really just a sink, but then I turned around and saw the unmistakable man-and-woman symbols. I followed
and it led... right out of the restaurant into a private corridor with a door marked "STAFF ONLY" in English
and Chinese. Err. I walked back in and a foreigner (probably American, judging
by the accent) stopped me. "You're looking for the bathroom?" he asked. I said, "Yes." He said, "They shut
it down, apparently. That's why I came in here, too." "Oh." He wished me luck as I walked out, but I saw
no other candidates in the area. I gave up and looked for my bus.
The Bus Driver That Did Me a Favor? By some amazing coincidence, bus number
916 pulled up immediately and when I said Mutianyu, a woman gestured for me to come up
(despite that the bus evidently only
went as far as "Huairou" where I would switch to a mini-bus according to Lonely Planet.)
There were even several empty seats.
One thing I LOVE about buses in China (besides that they're so cheap - this 45-minute ride cost $1)
is that there is a driver and then there is a money woman. I can double check about destination and cost
for as long as I have to without having to interrupt the driver (which I've had to do in Japan
and in the States.) I was a bit nervous on the ride because we drove through some really poor areas - the
same dilapidated falling-apart brick buildings as I saw in the city slums - with trash on the dirt roads
and nothing at all familiar. I was relieved when we entered Huairou, a big, modern city that looked
even nicer than Beijing. I moved toward the front of the bus since I had no idea what stop to actually
get off at, but the lady said firmly to stay on. Then, a couple stops later, EVERYONE got off
and the lady STILL told me to stay on. I had just started objecting when the bus pulled into some kind of
bus parking lot. Using my Lonely Planet glossary to have a conversation, I soon realized that the lady
was saying that there was no bus or mini-bus to Mutianyu and that I would need to take a taxi. Then
she said that the bus driver would drive me. I was a little concerned but figured since the lady had been
helpful up until now and that the driver seemed like a decent fellow, I went ahead and
followed him into his car. (I later learned that picking up rides from strangers is pretty commonplace in
China, even for non-Chinese... illegal taxis abound.) And so he drove me up
into the hills where Mutianyu was, about 15 minutes away. He pointed the Wall out as soon as we
could see it from a distance,
and the whole time I wondered if he was giving me a ride just to be nice (which it kind of felt like)
or if he expected some compensation (which I was also prepared for.) Lonely Planet said that the
mini-bus cost 20 Yuan (about $2.50) so I decided to give the guy a 50 if needed be. Of course, Lonely
Planet also said there was a BUS, so where was it? Was the driver putting one over on me to make
a quick buck or were the buses not running yet because it is an off-season weekday? I guess I'll never
know. When he did finally pull up to Mutianyu (in which I was pleased to see a lot of souvenir stalls,
tourists, and tour buses (hey, I want to take one of those) because I was worrying how I was going
to get back to Huairou) he kind of paused.
Yep, he wanted money. I gave him the 50 and he folded it and tucked it away in his jacket.
I used the 'thank-you' gesture that I learned from Kenyon and tried to confirm I could get a taxi here
(seemed to be a 'yes')
before going on my merry way.
Too Clever For My Own Good I know what you're thinking: I've read
a whole page, so where's the Wall already? Almost there. Promise. Anyway, my first order
of business was to find a toilet. I ignored the loud souvenir stall people, who apparently thought
I was coming down from the Wall and wanted to buy stuff, wishing I could tell them how badly I had to
pee in Chinese so they would leave me alone. Luckily, a restroom building came into view quickly and I walked toward the
woman side, some really persistent saleswoman following me. I was just about to round the corner when
I heard the person behind me say, "toilet! pay!" and I realized she was not a salesperson.
I turned and apologized massively, handing her the 1 Yuan bill she asked for. I don't think she understood my apology,
but what could I do? I'm so used to ignoring everyone who talks to me unsolicited that I didn't pay
attention to yet another one (and I was in such a beeline to the toilet, I didn't see the pay table with
tissues for sale). It was a nice, clean loo but the existence of the large wastebasket made me once again
unsure
of what exactly to do with my tissue when I was done with it. Oh, well. Onward.
A Typical Chinese Squat Toilet
One Thousand Stairs I don't know if it was because I heard my
dad's voice in the back of my mind, but taking the cable car up just seemed, well,
Wimpy. I opted instead to dodge the T-shirt saleslady guarding the entrance and
take the stairs up the side of the mountain to reach the Wall. I'm glad I did. It was a lovely, lovely walk up.
I was practically by myself, the air smelled wonderful, and the increasingly
panoramic view of the mountains of China receding into the distance was unbeatable.
Best of all, little signs marked my progress every 50 stairs so I knew how many stairs I had
climbed as I got my nice endorphin rush. The Wall came in and out of view and
when I was nearly upon it, I hit 1000 stairs.
The Wall! I LOVED the Wall. It could have been me and that I enjoy
that sort of thing, but walking atop this raised stone highway was pretty darn cool! I met
some other people up there from various places around the world, but few enough that I was able to get
some tourist-free photographs.
(The woman in the below photograph was deliberate. She was
selling drinks and I just found it funny that she was hiding up there on the battlement, ready
to bombard any view-seekers; she almost caught me, but her back was turned when I got
to the top of the stone steps so I turned around.) The views were amazing. You could see
other inaccessible sections of the wall as well as ruined towers snaking up into the mountains.
I was surprised how steep it was on the wall itself. I walked as far as they let you in one direction and
had to carefully mount foot-high steps for a portion of it. But, wow, was it awesome!
I guesstimated that the wall was about 15 feet wide and
the sides were 6 feet at highest and 3 feet at the lowest in the castle-like pattern. The pictures below just don't quite capture
the whole feeling.
The Pretty Darn Cool Wall of China
Haggle, Haggle, Haggle At the bottom, I actually did want to buy souvenirs, but
I did not want to buy them from someone obnoxious (which ruled out several dozen stalls.) I ignored the people in my face and kept walking forward until
one woman just called from where she was sitting. Yep, I had a good feeling about that place so
walked on over. I decided to go big and buy all the souvenirs in one place since it's a hassle
to haggle multiple times and because she was adding things I wanted anyway and lowering the price if
I bought both. I love the English that Chinese salespeople know: "Best price" "Low"
"Too much!" and "I lose money!" I had to 'walk away' several times, but I ended up with some neat stuff
for a good price.
However, because I bought stuff from her, the other salespeople assumed that I was a stupid foreigner
who would buy from anyone and they became even more aggressive. I didn't get it. I was done! Then
I immediately took back my words 'cause I wanted to buy a shirt, too. Luckily, I was close to
the entrance and able to fight the rest of the way down after my second purchase.
A little rattled, I took the first illegal taxi driver who offered, and gave him a good
deal because a: I had no idea what the going rate was and b: I was so happy that there
was a taxi there that I didn't care. (Our entire conversation: Me: "How much?" Him: "50" Me: "How about 40?"
Him with a big smile: "45." Me: "Okay." Really, 45 RMB is about 5 dollars and 50 cents, so we're talking the Haggle of
Penny Pinching here.)
Lucky Bus and Learning New Gestures I was willing to have him take me all the
way back to Beijing, but
he was just going back to Huairou. He dropped me off at a bus stop and the right bus came up in less
than ten minutes, practically empty. Yay! I did actually do a bit of touring in Beijing afterward (and sampled
some pineapple on a stick) since I had time, but I realized too late that most tourist places
close at about 5:30, at sunset. I learned a new gesture, though. At this Ming dynasty compound near
Beijing Station, I asked the guard on duty if it was open, although I don't think he understood English. He
gestured at me. He had one hand palm-down and the other hand HOLDING HIS MIDDLE FINGER UP until it
was touching his palm. His expression was not the one a person would have while flipping me off, but
I was baffled. I tried to ask what he meant and he did it again. I finally turned away.
Later, after Kenyon asked her Chinese tutor, I found out that it simply
means "Closed."
