Day 4 - Beijing - "Specs on Sale" !

We awoke to another hot, humid & smoggy Beijing day in various states of disrepair after yesterdays strenuous walk along the Great Wall.

Marysia was carrying leg and foot soreness, H a fair bit of Sciatica pain and self a full on cold that emerged from nowhere causing me to  cough & splutter for most of the night !

While I took about some repair work (read lying in bed most of the day) Kev & Marysia took to the fabulous Beijing underground to visit the nearby silk markets and score themselves a couple of prescription glasses having come armed from OZ.

With Marysia in charge of direction and H in charge of complicated Chinese English pronunciations (read hello!)  the guys succeeded in not only bartering with the locals and coming back with some great looking specs but also scoring a huge bowl of steaming noodles (not sure If they were thrown in with the specs)

After checking back in on the patient (me) we headed out for some authentic Chinese food and some White Rabbit lollies for Sweet tooth Murray !

Away from the touristy Hutongs we found a nice small local restaurant and proceeded to order our meals off a picture board that included something resembling tripe noodles, steaming bok choy, spicy dumplings and 2 large beers and a soft drink for around $10

Suitably bloated the search begun in earnest for the white rabbits we'd found 2 nights prior !

Entering the same shop the owner recognized H and proceeded to jump up and down with fingers over her ears to demonstrate that wed cleaned her out 2 nights back which finally dawned on H as he wondered whether in fact she was partaking in some form of local tai- chi that he was being asked to join in !

So back to our backpackers hotel down the crowded Hutongs for one final night

With the prelim part of the trip over we now take a 3 hour flight tomorrow morning to Guiyang for the beginning of what should promise to be a great 2 week cycling adventure !

Ps

There's a prize of 3 white rabbits for anyone who can put a suitable caption to Henleys nocturnal  picture below !

Day 3 - Beijing - Wilting on the Wall !

It was time for a life "WOW" moment as we boarded our bus near the Hutongs and journied to Jinshaling for a trek along the Great Wall.

Our 6km section from Jinshaling to Simatai is considered to be one of the best of the Great Wall experiences with few people and spectacular scenery 150 kms and 3 hours from Beijing

Our trip though didnt get off to a great start - our provisions for the day (dry biscuits and cakes) had been painfully sourced while Henley's decision to take an extra batch of metamucel the previous night was threatening to put himself, us and the surrounding countryside at risk as his stomach started gurgling prior to arriving in the car park - good timing H !

Arriving at the wall the group set off at its own pace - those under 50 (everyone except us) setting off at an Olympic pace and those over 50 (us) walking well behind and like those cowboy and Indian movies in great danger of being knocked off one by one by the 3 traveling hawkers that had now attached themselves firmly to us !

The first 10 towers (all up hill) included some stunning views of the wall and the countryside while simultaneously sapping our energy levels !

After stopping mid way for a break we started back up to a caucophony of screaming Chinese voices - apparently our entourage, not unlike classy street  girls (not that I would know anything about that) in following us had entered the territory of rival hawkers !

Eventually we could take no more, i succumbed and brought what will most likely be a t shirt 3 sizes too small, Marysia told another to quieten down and Kev using years of skilled negotiation experiences and simply told the third to P O quick !

This worked for about another km before we picked up another hawker and finally just gave up !

The 2nd half of the trek included one tower section with what appeared a near 50% climb - while we thanked the gods for an around about detour we were soon cursing again as we rejoined the wall

Our amazing trek ended at tower 22 but the pain didn't as our descent required 30 minutes of downhill walking on narrow steps that fully tested any knee weaknesses !

Trek over we basked in collective pain and the fantastic memories while taking in another of Beijing's famous sights - the views out the window of our bus while stuck in 3 hours of gridlocked traffic !

Day 2 - Beijing - The Foreboding Palace !

Wow what a difference a good sleep makes - almost 8 hours after we politely told Marysia that just because the sun was up didn't mean we had to spring into action !

We took breakfast where a glass of orange cordial an egg on toast and a slice or two of watermelon steeled us for a little look /see along the fabulous Hutongs before braving the heat and the Beijing bus system to get our way to Tiannamen square and the Forbidden Palace.

The Melbourne Met system could take a leaf out of Beijing's who used some unique methods firstly the employment of a 2nd conductor who's only purpose appeared to be continually shouting in our ears to move to the back of one very crowded bus !

The second innovation was the ditching of the need for a Myki system - you paid by simply passing your money along a line of/strangers who in turn paid the conductor and returned your change or what was left if it !

We fell out at Tianamen square and took an emotional look in the significant heat before heading across the road to the amazing walled  forbidden City with an incredible array of 900+ buildings and palaces - the home of the Emperors of China for over 500 years !

Wed thought ourselves lucky to have scored an enthusiastic guide Cyndi who proudly told us of the city's history and Chinas love for peace !

Cyndi's enthusiasm continued all the way through to the Tsingtan temple and gardens overlooking the incredible city walls - our bodies had now fortunately been replenished by noodles and dumplings and as a result our brain cells now captured every 3rd word rather than the odd one or two prior when wilting in the heat !

We nearly succeeded in leaving Cyndi on amicable terms until she took us into a Chinese tea room (without asking) and then became offended when freeloader Henley and tight arsed Litchfield decided they did not want to buy anything !

Our only escape was to promise to Cyndi wed recommend her and the Tea Rooms to every Australian we knew (about 2 dozen between the 3 of us) give her fake email addresses and get the hell out of there !

With her still hanging on our arms and now offering instead to sell us the Mona Lisa or the  Sydney Habour bridge (couldnt quite understand as it was in Chinese!) we wrested her away and took off back on our favorite sardine bus system to the Hutongs !

Blasted by the sun and dust and one very over exuberant tour guide it was with great relish that we celebrated the end of our 2nd day in China with some alcoholic sustenance and some very good company !

Day 1- On the road to Beijing !

13 hours of flying , a stopover in Shanghai airport customs and a midnight car journey to the back lots of the Beijing Hutongs was all it took for us to be transported from the land of plenty (read Melbourne Australia & 14c) to the land of plenty of people (read Beijing China & 32c)

I could have called the trip uneventful if you excluded the synchronized screaming near the equator as our ageing Air China A330  quickly rose then plummeted in some torrid air turbulence - I may have even called the trip without mishap but that too would have to exclude Kev's return to form when he first left his glasses in the airport car park, secondly was interrogated by custom officials about his dog eared / waterlogged looking passport and thirdly took out an aisle queuing stauncheon when his backpack buckle snagged one going through customs - what a start to the trip H !

As it was we vitually crawled into our beds in the beaut looking Beijing Backpackers located in the Beijing Hutongs after 1.00a.m having secured what appears to be millions in Chinese currency and looking forward muchly to a great Chinese cycling adventure following a few days preamble in Beijing !

China 2007

Our 2014 China 2014 trip (30 August) is against a backdrop of fond memories for most of our group of 2007/8 China expeditions through Yunan crossing the mighty Yangtze & cycling through the spectacular Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Visiting towns that had seen few tourists ever and seeing first hand a life style that in places had moved on little from centuries past was a fascinating insight to a land that houses one of the worlds oldest civilizations !

Like a good wine we are back for more !    

We're Baaaccckkk !

With an impressive combined array of "misadventures" to their credit - narrowly avoiding a fireworks catastrophe in China '07, surviving a forced "full pack" march on the Prom in '09, dodging lightning bolts and sheer precipices in Nepal '09, cycling in monsoonal New Zealand weather in '10 and dicing with disaster driving & cycling in France & Spain in 2011 the Fab Five are back in action once again with a planned action packed 800 km cycle across some of the best and steepest scenic areas in all of China !

The Steep Bits !

Forced march - Prom '09 ! 

The group this time is backed up Cairns adventurers Jacquie & Andrew who having listened to the tales of survival (poetically described by neighboursViv & Linton) decided they too are keen for some of the action !

Starting on Sat Aug 30 the cycling takes us from Guiyang to Yangshou in Sth -East China past ethnic minority villages and up, over, along and beside some amazing limestone karst scenery !

The stalwart of adventure "pain" Henley is also back in action having brushed up on his social, cultural and navigational skills that made him an instant legend in UK / Europe in 2011 by his ability to regularly double planned distances by constantly getting lost !

Henley back on track in the UK in '11 !  

Henley practicing his social skills in France '11 

Not only is he back but he is "reborn" having undergone intensive 1-1 training sessions with good friend and never say die (...lie down or get in the bus maybe ..) fellow cyclist and adventurer Marysia Murray !

 

Marysia taking a thinking break on a Warby ride in Melbourne !   

It all promises to be a fantastic adventure, promising many stories, lots of laughs and heaps of fun with of course just the occasional Tsingtao beer along the way - watch out here we come !  

4 of the Fab 5 in action in France in 2011 !