Alpha's Summer Adventure
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John Galt
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Boo Radley
Jim wrote:John Galt wrote:I'm debating whether or not to read these posts. It's extremely tempting but I don't want to have seen everything via this before I actually see it first hand. What I have seen looks amazing though: I can't wait to go to the forbidden palace. The food looks immense as well
John ... a lot of absolute tripe gets posted on this board ... this thread is a shining light for all of us! Read it man! Alpha is obviously having the time of his life! I wish my life was this interesting!
John Galt wrote:John Galt wrote:I've just applied for a place on a Chinese language/culture course in China this summer, so I too may be going to China. There are about 6 applicants per place though...
I've been offered a place which means I'm almost definitely going to China this August. I've been chatting to a few of the other people going and it looks like we'll be able to get some sort of travelling going as well. The course is in Jinan which s reasonably close to Beijing so that's a definite but I'm also looking in to Shanghai and Hong Kong too. Shanghai was almost a certain until Alpha's blog which has made me want to see HK badly. I'm looking forward to your Beijing suggestions too.
This has changed from "almost definitely" to definitely. I loved Alpha's Japan blog and I'm loving this too, it's just that I'm worried about spoiling it too much. Kinda like knowing how much of a blurb to read before it gives away too much of the book.
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Alpha eX
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Location: London
- Contact:
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Rightey
- Member
- Joined in 2008
Zenigame wrote:http://www.madebyluke.com/misc/travel/s ... /19_51.jpg
Girl in the middle: "Dad, the strange foreign guy is taking pictures of us again...."
Awww Alpha's such a tourist.
Pelloki on ghosts wrote:Just start masturbating furiously. That'll make them go away.
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Eyes of God
- Member
- Joined in 2009
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Fatal Exception
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- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Racist chinese lover
- Location: ಠ_ಠ
The above post, unless specifically stated to the contrary, should not be taken seriously. If the above post has offended you in any way, please fill in this form and return it to your nearest moderator.
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Hulohot
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: dan_e1990
- Location: Hampshire
- Contact:
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Alpha eX
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Location: London
- Contact:
Beijing - The Great Wall of China
29-06-09
Climbing the Great Wall of China in a heat wave is a deadly task, it requires a lot of energy and you have to be alert otherwise you may trip on the stairs. We were warned the night before to get lots of rest but we woke up around 6am after just 2 hours of sleep. The alarm went on snooze until we finally got a wake up call at 7am, this got us out of bed. We hurried to get ready but it was already 8am before we went down for breakfast.
To get into the food hall for breakfast, you need a ticket, we were given 5 of these each at the start of the trip. We got downstairs and went to get our tickets when we realised they were gone, we hurried back up the room and couldn’t see them where we left them, they had been thrown as we left them in the paper the room keycard came in. With no breakfast tickets and just half an hour before the bus leaves, we was stressed. We went back down to the lobby and thankfully caught our tour guide, we explained the situation and he sorted it for us, we just have to give our room number from now on.
Again, I didn’t have any time to take photos of the breakfast hall since we only had 20 minutes this time, I will try again tomorrow. I had rice, sausages, raisin bun and a yoghurt for breakfast, I’ve actually forgotten what Antonia had. As I was getting my breakfast, Cyrus, the kid from the other day came up to me and said hello then a little while later, another kid who’s name I didn’t catch, came up to me and started to tell me about what he bought at the Water Cube yesterday. I seem to be popular among the kids, this is what happens when you’re the foreigner of the group. We hurried to the bus after a quick lunch and set off on our way.
Beijing is currently going through a bit of a heat wave, the sun beats down on you, melting skin and turning it bright pink before it settles to a horrible shade of red. Thankfully, for the next half an hour we were on the air conditioned bus with bottles of ice cold water kindly provided by or tour guides. I assumed our first stop would be the Great Wall of China as that’s where we was going but we had one stop before that.
The Beijing Jade Carving Factory seems like it’s in the middle of nowhere, to be honest, neither me or Antonia wanted to go here but it wasn’t a choice we had. We pulled up and I noticed many tour busses parked outside, I figured it’d be a really interesting place but it wasn’t. We were given guest name tags at the entrance and then one of the factory workers came and gave a long talk about the factory in the entrance. I took the time to wander around because I don’t understand Cantonese and have no interest in the Jade Factory.
Photos of Jade Statues
It seemed to take ages for the rest of the group to catch up with me but when they finally did we passed some workshops where Jade was being carved. Near the end of the hall were a few giant Jade statues which we had fun posing with. I took a picture with my head in the Jade Tiger’s mouth, ironically, the tooth really hurt my head, like a bite.
After the first part of the tour we were led into a huge room filled with Jade items for sale, that’s when I realised why we visited the factory, business. The tour agency has a deal with the factory to bring in tourists which creates business for them and gets the tour agencies a bit of extra cash. I thought this was kind of crafty because none of us wanted to go here. A lot of valuable wall climbing time was spent in here and they didn’t’ even sell any ice cream.
Me and Antonia wandered around the shop, very bored. We were later caught up by an excited Cyrus who told me that he wanted to punch with me and raised his fist. Confused, I raised mine and lightly hit his fist but then he told me that was wrong and continued to do what looked like a little dance around his fist ‘exploding’. Cyrus ran off giggling and me and Antonia were both left there confused. Finally we got back on the bus and was told we were now heading for the Great Wall of China.
I managed to get a window seat on the right side of the bus. If you ever go to the Great Wall I highly suggest you do the same as you’ll get a great view driving towards it. The journey from the factory to the wall wasn’t too far, just 10 minutes. The Great Wall is surrounded by huge green mountains which really stood out underneath the clear blue sky. I got really excited when I first saw the wall but then I noticed the amount of steps leading up the mountain, this is when I realised we should have gotten more sleep.
We parked up and took some photos on the ground level before going up the first set of stairs to the start of the wall. There isn’t much on the bottom floor apart from a cheap souvenir shop, snack stand and some statues from the Terracotta Army which I nearly knocked over, they’re very wobbly.
Photos of the Great Wall Entrance Courtyard
As we climbed up to the lowest part of the wall I could feel the sun slowly burning me. I was wearing the full face sun visor again but I still felt like I was being roasted alive. We were thankfully climbing a short part of the wall that leads up to one gate and just past that the wall ends, well, it’s where it broke separating it.
Climbing the Wall wasn’t too bad to start off but it’s when we got higher up and to the steeper stairs the energy really started to burn. The stairs on the great wall are all uneven heights, so one step might be half a foot then the next a foot and a bit. The tour guide told us this was to keep people on it aware of their surroundings and to test their observational skills. I think it’s just cruel, climbing the stairs felt more like a mountain.
Photos of the Climb
Near the gate at the top is a nicely placed snack stand which thankfully sold Ice Lollies. I instantly brought one for me and Antonia without even asking the price, thankfully, they was only 30p! I noticed the snack stand was playing Michael Jackson music which I thought was nice, I looked over and saw a PSP Shrine, basically a PSP in an open case which had a photo of MJ inside.
We reached the first gate and had caught up with some of the other members and families on the tour with us, including Cyrus and his family. Cyrus was really excited and running all over the place, we spoke for a bit before heading to the end of the wall to claim victory and take some photos.
We walked back down from the gate with another family. The kid in this family is like an older Cyrus, very curious about the foreigner and seems to be a keen photographer. We eventually over look them and made our way back down the wall to another snack stand that has some sort of Stone Sculpture.
Photos of the Walk Back Down
I thought it would be a great idea to climb this tall sculpture to get a good view around and make a nice photo. As I did this, everyone in the area stopped to look and take photos, the kids ran to try do the same but the mothers stopped them, we got some evil glares, I think i’m a terrible example for the kids on this tour.
We headed back down getting ice lollies from every snack stand on the way. The other tour members hadn’t got back down when we did so we waited around for them in the shade eating ice lollies and looking at the cheap souvenirs. It wasn’t too long before everyone was on the bus and we headed off for lunch.
The bus pulled up in the car park for two small buildings, The Friendship Store and Jin Dian Cloisonne Factory, I nearly faced palmed when I realised the tour had taken us to another rubbish factory, I was hungry at the time and defiantly not interested. We got off the bus and ran to the shade, the sun was so hot, it just felt like my skin was burning by being out in it. We got inside and I realised what sort of factory it was, a vase factory, great. As usual we walked through a workshop, saw people making the vases which I admit, was quite interesting and then some history followed by a giant shop. Thankfully, past the shop was the restaurant, finally it was lunch time.
Photos of the Vase Factory
Lunch times are always the same, we go to a Chinese Restaurant and are seated at a large table with our group, usually 2 or 3 families or couples grouped together. As we sit down we’re given a bottle of Coca Cola and Two Bottles of Beer but this time, there was something else on the table. Chinese Liquor, 58%. We were given what looked like miniature egg cups to drink this with, me and Antonia poured a glass with the other members, as we drank it, it felt like i’d just drank a burning hot medical sterilizer. It was very strong and burnt all the way down, the taste was awful and I couldn’t recommend it to anyone.
The food wasn’t too bad today. For a change we had a fish but it didn’t look so great so I stuck with the meat and deep fried crispy chicken bits. Again, i’m not sure of all the names so just look at all the pictures.
Photos of Lunch
Lunch wasn’t too bad today, nothing special but it was good enough to enjoy. I ate most of the deep fried chicken bits as no one was eating them. The noodles were a surprise, they tasted really good as did the dumplings. After lunch the tour had free time to look around the shop, the tour must get commission for any sales, fair enough. Me and Antonia decided to leave so walked back through the workshops, as we did we was caught up by one of the kids. The workshops are literally just rooms with people working on these vases at the tables, so wet paints and fragile vases all around. Now try to imagine the horror when this kid goes and picks up one of the vet vases, the workers were not happy but thankfully no damage was done. We went outside and waited in the shade for half an hour, a nice breeze cooled us down until the tour arrived and we got back on the bus.
I didn’t know where we were heading next and neither did Antonia. We started passing through what looked like farming fields but they were quite empty. It took about 20 minutes until we got to our next destination, even as we pulled up, neither of us had any idea where we were. We got off the bus and walked to the front gates, as we got closer it was obvious where we were, The Ming Tombs. This was a surprise as the tour guide said we may not get to go here, not many of the tour packages we looked out went here unless they was either very expensive or for over a week.
Photos of The Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs houses all thirteen tombs of the Ming Emperors, sadly all of the tombs were opened, robbed and the corpses thrown out and burnt. There wasn’t much left in the tombs but replicas so it was quite disappointing but the walk around the area is nice. There were many snack stands around the area and I made sure to get an ice lolly at each one, by the time we got to the bus, I was eating my 8th one to the horror of the other tour mates.
We got back on the bus and were each handed a clear plastic bag and given the instruction to only pick five peaches. Our next destination turned out to be peach picking from the fields we passed earlier. Peaches are in season at the moment so our tour arranged for us to pick a few from a local field which was an interesting surprise. The peaches here wasn’t too good so me and Antonia only got five between ourselves, it was also far too hot to be picking peaches in the blisteringly hot sun, thankfully, we wasn’t here for too long.
Photos of Peach Picking
Back on the bus and to the next mystery location, we pulled up in another car park full of tour busses, I looked over and saw the building, Beijing Bao Shu Tang Sci-Tech Pharmaceutical Co. Another factory tour, great. We entered the building and passed a shop that sold ice lollies, I wanted to buy one but was lead away with the rest of the group to a small room, it looked like a lecture room with health products on display, no doubt this is what they were selling. For the next half an hour we were given a lecture about the company and it’s products by a guy who Antonia described as looking like Manny from Grim Fandango. The end of the lecture led to the guy pulling people from the crowds to try the products which they later bought. Me and Antonia actually managed to sneak out early and go to the shop, we just sat eating ice poles till the rest of the group caught up, a lot of them had bought something from the company so I guess this method of business is quite effective for both sides.
Back on the bus and this time we were off for dinner. We were told we was going to a nice place for Hot Pot which is basically a beef broth that’s heated boiling hot so you can cook thin slices of beef or lamb in it, also noodles and vegetables. I was really excited, never tried Hot Pot and Antonia was telling me how great it was and that I would love it. We got off the bus and went into a really nice looking building, the restaurant inside, Regius Beef was very posh, I felt out of place in my travel gear but we had our own little room, this time with a different group to fill the limited seat numbers. I was with the photography couples, they are all keen photographers, sadly, I couldn’t talk with them because of the language barrier. The food arrived and I couldn’t believe the quality, this place was obviously expensive, suddenly I didn’t mind going to the factories if it funded this.
Photos of Dinner
The food was amazing, I really enjoyed the Hot Pot and hope i’m not let down each time I go again in the future, I think this is standard setting food, the meat was perfect, nice presentation and just an all round great experience. One thing I really enjoyed was Maraschino Cherries, bright green mini glazed cherries, these were really sweet and we got two as decoration on a plate of food. I ate these both and enjoyed them so much, the rest of the group managed to persuade the waitress to get me a dish of them.
It was dark outside when we left, we were both tired and ready to go back for some rest at the hotel when the tour guide announces that we’re going to another place, Sanlitun Shopping Village, a shopping area with brand name stores. As we pulled up the tour guide asked the tour members about Uni Qlo as he had no idea what it was and there was a huge Uni Qlo shop here.
We were given free time to go explore here, we went to look at the water fountain which is a grid of small fountains that shoots jets of water up in patterns, there were loads of kids playing in these and a group of cute kids marching through them in raincoats.
Photos of Sanlitun Shopping Village
Before we left I decided to look in Uni Qlo, i’m a fan of the limited edition tees and wanted to see if they had any unique ones for China. I didn’t notice any but did see a really cool Pac Man 30th Anniversary shirt which I picked up before running back to the bus.
We got back to the hotel and both just crashed out on the bed. The lack of sleep was a terrible idea as climbing the wall was a lot more of a work out than I expected, for one, I didn’t think it would be so steep. If you ever go visit the Great Wall of China, it is crucial you wear either shorts or something you can move freely in as the steps are very tall. In my opinion the Ming Tombs was a waste of time, nice to see but not worth going out of the way for. I didn’t expect all the factory visits but then the saving is passed onto us with free meals at very nice restaurants and no costs for anything as it’s all included, fair game.
I really enjoyed the Great Wall of China, it was just as amazing as I expected it to be. I'm going to go back one day and climb the whole thing, today we only climbed a small portion of it. I was really dissapointed with the Ming Tombs, now everything has been taken from there, it's hardly worth seeing which is a shame for what it once was. The Peach Picking was an nice experience but the highlight aside from the Great Wall has to be the Hot Pot, the food was so good and we found out it cost 1000RNB perperson, that's around £100 each and it was inclusive with the tour package!
Going to try sleep early tonight as we have to be up early again tomorrow for the 8.30am departure of the bus, we’re off to the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square tomorrow.
29-06-09
Climbing the Great Wall of China in a heat wave is a deadly task, it requires a lot of energy and you have to be alert otherwise you may trip on the stairs. We were warned the night before to get lots of rest but we woke up around 6am after just 2 hours of sleep. The alarm went on snooze until we finally got a wake up call at 7am, this got us out of bed. We hurried to get ready but it was already 8am before we went down for breakfast.
To get into the food hall for breakfast, you need a ticket, we were given 5 of these each at the start of the trip. We got downstairs and went to get our tickets when we realised they were gone, we hurried back up the room and couldn’t see them where we left them, they had been thrown as we left them in the paper the room keycard came in. With no breakfast tickets and just half an hour before the bus leaves, we was stressed. We went back down to the lobby and thankfully caught our tour guide, we explained the situation and he sorted it for us, we just have to give our room number from now on.
Again, I didn’t have any time to take photos of the breakfast hall since we only had 20 minutes this time, I will try again tomorrow. I had rice, sausages, raisin bun and a yoghurt for breakfast, I’ve actually forgotten what Antonia had. As I was getting my breakfast, Cyrus, the kid from the other day came up to me and said hello then a little while later, another kid who’s name I didn’t catch, came up to me and started to tell me about what he bought at the Water Cube yesterday. I seem to be popular among the kids, this is what happens when you’re the foreigner of the group. We hurried to the bus after a quick lunch and set off on our way.
Beijing is currently going through a bit of a heat wave, the sun beats down on you, melting skin and turning it bright pink before it settles to a horrible shade of red. Thankfully, for the next half an hour we were on the air conditioned bus with bottles of ice cold water kindly provided by or tour guides. I assumed our first stop would be the Great Wall of China as that’s where we was going but we had one stop before that.
The Beijing Jade Carving Factory seems like it’s in the middle of nowhere, to be honest, neither me or Antonia wanted to go here but it wasn’t a choice we had. We pulled up and I noticed many tour busses parked outside, I figured it’d be a really interesting place but it wasn’t. We were given guest name tags at the entrance and then one of the factory workers came and gave a long talk about the factory in the entrance. I took the time to wander around because I don’t understand Cantonese and have no interest in the Jade Factory.
Photos of Jade Statues
It seemed to take ages for the rest of the group to catch up with me but when they finally did we passed some workshops where Jade was being carved. Near the end of the hall were a few giant Jade statues which we had fun posing with. I took a picture with my head in the Jade Tiger’s mouth, ironically, the tooth really hurt my head, like a bite.
After the first part of the tour we were led into a huge room filled with Jade items for sale, that’s when I realised why we visited the factory, business. The tour agency has a deal with the factory to bring in tourists which creates business for them and gets the tour agencies a bit of extra cash. I thought this was kind of crafty because none of us wanted to go here. A lot of valuable wall climbing time was spent in here and they didn’t’ even sell any ice cream.
Me and Antonia wandered around the shop, very bored. We were later caught up by an excited Cyrus who told me that he wanted to punch with me and raised his fist. Confused, I raised mine and lightly hit his fist but then he told me that was wrong and continued to do what looked like a little dance around his fist ‘exploding’. Cyrus ran off giggling and me and Antonia were both left there confused. Finally we got back on the bus and was told we were now heading for the Great Wall of China.
I managed to get a window seat on the right side of the bus. If you ever go to the Great Wall I highly suggest you do the same as you’ll get a great view driving towards it. The journey from the factory to the wall wasn’t too far, just 10 minutes. The Great Wall is surrounded by huge green mountains which really stood out underneath the clear blue sky. I got really excited when I first saw the wall but then I noticed the amount of steps leading up the mountain, this is when I realised we should have gotten more sleep.
We parked up and took some photos on the ground level before going up the first set of stairs to the start of the wall. There isn’t much on the bottom floor apart from a cheap souvenir shop, snack stand and some statues from the Terracotta Army which I nearly knocked over, they’re very wobbly.
Photos of the Great Wall Entrance Courtyard
As we climbed up to the lowest part of the wall I could feel the sun slowly burning me. I was wearing the full face sun visor again but I still felt like I was being roasted alive. We were thankfully climbing a short part of the wall that leads up to one gate and just past that the wall ends, well, it’s where it broke separating it.
Climbing the Wall wasn’t too bad to start off but it’s when we got higher up and to the steeper stairs the energy really started to burn. The stairs on the great wall are all uneven heights, so one step might be half a foot then the next a foot and a bit. The tour guide told us this was to keep people on it aware of their surroundings and to test their observational skills. I think it’s just cruel, climbing the stairs felt more like a mountain.
Photos of the Climb
Near the gate at the top is a nicely placed snack stand which thankfully sold Ice Lollies. I instantly brought one for me and Antonia without even asking the price, thankfully, they was only 30p! I noticed the snack stand was playing Michael Jackson music which I thought was nice, I looked over and saw a PSP Shrine, basically a PSP in an open case which had a photo of MJ inside.
We reached the first gate and had caught up with some of the other members and families on the tour with us, including Cyrus and his family. Cyrus was really excited and running all over the place, we spoke for a bit before heading to the end of the wall to claim victory and take some photos.
We walked back down from the gate with another family. The kid in this family is like an older Cyrus, very curious about the foreigner and seems to be a keen photographer. We eventually over look them and made our way back down the wall to another snack stand that has some sort of Stone Sculpture.
Photos of the Walk Back Down
I thought it would be a great idea to climb this tall sculpture to get a good view around and make a nice photo. As I did this, everyone in the area stopped to look and take photos, the kids ran to try do the same but the mothers stopped them, we got some evil glares, I think i’m a terrible example for the kids on this tour.
We headed back down getting ice lollies from every snack stand on the way. The other tour members hadn’t got back down when we did so we waited around for them in the shade eating ice lollies and looking at the cheap souvenirs. It wasn’t too long before everyone was on the bus and we headed off for lunch.
The bus pulled up in the car park for two small buildings, The Friendship Store and Jin Dian Cloisonne Factory, I nearly faced palmed when I realised the tour had taken us to another rubbish factory, I was hungry at the time and defiantly not interested. We got off the bus and ran to the shade, the sun was so hot, it just felt like my skin was burning by being out in it. We got inside and I realised what sort of factory it was, a vase factory, great. As usual we walked through a workshop, saw people making the vases which I admit, was quite interesting and then some history followed by a giant shop. Thankfully, past the shop was the restaurant, finally it was lunch time.
Photos of the Vase Factory
Lunch times are always the same, we go to a Chinese Restaurant and are seated at a large table with our group, usually 2 or 3 families or couples grouped together. As we sit down we’re given a bottle of Coca Cola and Two Bottles of Beer but this time, there was something else on the table. Chinese Liquor, 58%. We were given what looked like miniature egg cups to drink this with, me and Antonia poured a glass with the other members, as we drank it, it felt like i’d just drank a burning hot medical sterilizer. It was very strong and burnt all the way down, the taste was awful and I couldn’t recommend it to anyone.
The food wasn’t too bad today. For a change we had a fish but it didn’t look so great so I stuck with the meat and deep fried crispy chicken bits. Again, i’m not sure of all the names so just look at all the pictures.
Photos of Lunch
Lunch wasn’t too bad today, nothing special but it was good enough to enjoy. I ate most of the deep fried chicken bits as no one was eating them. The noodles were a surprise, they tasted really good as did the dumplings. After lunch the tour had free time to look around the shop, the tour must get commission for any sales, fair enough. Me and Antonia decided to leave so walked back through the workshops, as we did we was caught up by one of the kids. The workshops are literally just rooms with people working on these vases at the tables, so wet paints and fragile vases all around. Now try to imagine the horror when this kid goes and picks up one of the vet vases, the workers were not happy but thankfully no damage was done. We went outside and waited in the shade for half an hour, a nice breeze cooled us down until the tour arrived and we got back on the bus.
I didn’t know where we were heading next and neither did Antonia. We started passing through what looked like farming fields but they were quite empty. It took about 20 minutes until we got to our next destination, even as we pulled up, neither of us had any idea where we were. We got off the bus and walked to the front gates, as we got closer it was obvious where we were, The Ming Tombs. This was a surprise as the tour guide said we may not get to go here, not many of the tour packages we looked out went here unless they was either very expensive or for over a week.
Photos of The Ming Tombs
The Ming Tombs houses all thirteen tombs of the Ming Emperors, sadly all of the tombs were opened, robbed and the corpses thrown out and burnt. There wasn’t much left in the tombs but replicas so it was quite disappointing but the walk around the area is nice. There were many snack stands around the area and I made sure to get an ice lolly at each one, by the time we got to the bus, I was eating my 8th one to the horror of the other tour mates.
We got back on the bus and were each handed a clear plastic bag and given the instruction to only pick five peaches. Our next destination turned out to be peach picking from the fields we passed earlier. Peaches are in season at the moment so our tour arranged for us to pick a few from a local field which was an interesting surprise. The peaches here wasn’t too good so me and Antonia only got five between ourselves, it was also far too hot to be picking peaches in the blisteringly hot sun, thankfully, we wasn’t here for too long.
Photos of Peach Picking
Back on the bus and to the next mystery location, we pulled up in another car park full of tour busses, I looked over and saw the building, Beijing Bao Shu Tang Sci-Tech Pharmaceutical Co. Another factory tour, great. We entered the building and passed a shop that sold ice lollies, I wanted to buy one but was lead away with the rest of the group to a small room, it looked like a lecture room with health products on display, no doubt this is what they were selling. For the next half an hour we were given a lecture about the company and it’s products by a guy who Antonia described as looking like Manny from Grim Fandango. The end of the lecture led to the guy pulling people from the crowds to try the products which they later bought. Me and Antonia actually managed to sneak out early and go to the shop, we just sat eating ice poles till the rest of the group caught up, a lot of them had bought something from the company so I guess this method of business is quite effective for both sides.
Back on the bus and this time we were off for dinner. We were told we was going to a nice place for Hot Pot which is basically a beef broth that’s heated boiling hot so you can cook thin slices of beef or lamb in it, also noodles and vegetables. I was really excited, never tried Hot Pot and Antonia was telling me how great it was and that I would love it. We got off the bus and went into a really nice looking building, the restaurant inside, Regius Beef was very posh, I felt out of place in my travel gear but we had our own little room, this time with a different group to fill the limited seat numbers. I was with the photography couples, they are all keen photographers, sadly, I couldn’t talk with them because of the language barrier. The food arrived and I couldn’t believe the quality, this place was obviously expensive, suddenly I didn’t mind going to the factories if it funded this.
Photos of Dinner
The food was amazing, I really enjoyed the Hot Pot and hope i’m not let down each time I go again in the future, I think this is standard setting food, the meat was perfect, nice presentation and just an all round great experience. One thing I really enjoyed was Maraschino Cherries, bright green mini glazed cherries, these were really sweet and we got two as decoration on a plate of food. I ate these both and enjoyed them so much, the rest of the group managed to persuade the waitress to get me a dish of them.
It was dark outside when we left, we were both tired and ready to go back for some rest at the hotel when the tour guide announces that we’re going to another place, Sanlitun Shopping Village, a shopping area with brand name stores. As we pulled up the tour guide asked the tour members about Uni Qlo as he had no idea what it was and there was a huge Uni Qlo shop here.
We were given free time to go explore here, we went to look at the water fountain which is a grid of small fountains that shoots jets of water up in patterns, there were loads of kids playing in these and a group of cute kids marching through them in raincoats.
Photos of Sanlitun Shopping Village
Before we left I decided to look in Uni Qlo, i’m a fan of the limited edition tees and wanted to see if they had any unique ones for China. I didn’t notice any but did see a really cool Pac Man 30th Anniversary shirt which I picked up before running back to the bus.
We got back to the hotel and both just crashed out on the bed. The lack of sleep was a terrible idea as climbing the wall was a lot more of a work out than I expected, for one, I didn’t think it would be so steep. If you ever go visit the Great Wall of China, it is crucial you wear either shorts or something you can move freely in as the steps are very tall. In my opinion the Ming Tombs was a waste of time, nice to see but not worth going out of the way for. I didn’t expect all the factory visits but then the saving is passed onto us with free meals at very nice restaurants and no costs for anything as it’s all included, fair game.
I really enjoyed the Great Wall of China, it was just as amazing as I expected it to be. I'm going to go back one day and climb the whole thing, today we only climbed a small portion of it. I was really dissapointed with the Ming Tombs, now everything has been taken from there, it's hardly worth seeing which is a shame for what it once was. The Peach Picking was an nice experience but the highlight aside from the Great Wall has to be the Hot Pot, the food was so good and we found out it cost 1000RNB perperson, that's around £100 each and it was inclusive with the tour package!
Going to try sleep early tonight as we have to be up early again tomorrow for the 8.30am departure of the bus, we’re off to the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square tomorrow.
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Hulohot
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- AKA: dan_e1990
- Location: Hampshire
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The fountain is nice. I seem to remember seeing a picture of a kid standing in a similar looking fountain, shooting water from his mouth with a mischevious grin. Jealous you got to see the Great Wall. Would love to climb all of it. 
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The People's ElboReformat
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- AKA: Goat, Zenigame
- Location: El Boat of Goat
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We were warned the night before to get lots of rest but we woke up around 6am after just 2 hours of sleep.
Pimp. Better hope Antonia's dad doesn't read this.
The Eeveelution club! \o/
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Rightey
- Member
- Joined in 2008
Pelloki on ghosts wrote:Just start masturbating furiously. That'll make them go away.
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Dangerblade
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- Joined in 2008
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Fatal Exception
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- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Racist chinese lover
- Location: ಠ_ಠ
Good update, I see you're not a fan of factories
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