It has been a few days since posting...makes it harder actually, so much to sort through and articulate! I've had a blast since the last posting, some fantastic experiences.
Imagination vs Reality - sometimes our imagination creates hype that reality just can't match. This is not the case with the Great Wall. Similar to the Pyramids in Egypt (which i have yet to see in person), one wonders at the sheer scale of human effort necessary to build the Great Wall. Once you see the ruggedness of the mountains through which it passes and think about the effort necessary to haul all of the materials to construct the structure...mind boggling. 2500 miles in length zig zagging through the mountains, following the spine of the range. I must say, i thought i was out of shape, but now i know i am out of shape!! We hiked fourteen kilometers in about two hours. Lots of up and down, some of the wall was in good shape and in other places it was in disrepair which meant stepping carefully. By the end of the hike i was soaked in sweat, my knees were sore and i felt like i had just completed a serious work out. A bit stiff today, i must say! Along the way there were Chinese making efforts to sell t-shirts and drinks for refreshment. Tough gig. But good thing they are there...i would imagine that some folks underestimate the effort necessary to traverse the wall and they would be a saving grace.
Photos and Video for this post:
http://picasaweb.google.com/meyer.ethan/BeijingDays4And5
After finishing the hike our driver was waiting for us and we returned to Beijing. On the way out we were concerned we might not make it...he was nodding off at the wheel and i had to chat him up a bit and pat him on the shoulder to keep him awake! On the way back to Beijing, about a two hour drive, storm clouds brewed and eventually released a torrential downpour...thank goodness we were off the wall...my wonderful girlfriend, Elizabeth, sent me a note asking if I were still in good health since she had read that four people were struck by lightening on the Great Wall during this storm!! Fortunately, we were safely on our way home...and the driver managed to stay awake this time.
Glad to be home, we promptly went and got a foot massage, repeating an experience we had the day before. As we walked through a nice Hutong that had been converted to trendy shops and bars, we came across a place that does pedicures/manicures and.... hour long foot massages for $5.00! Now that is a smokin' deal. Great experience sitting there watching the Olympics on a flat screen TV, drinking tea and getting massaged. not bad. It also happened to be Brian's birthday - Happy Birthday Brian!! - so decided to buy some food and have a quiet evening at home.
I visited two primary attractions the day before yesterday, the Lama Temple and the Summer Palace. Both were very impressive. The Lama Temple has an amazing series of temple buildings each of which house increasingly large Budhha statues. The buildings are all very ornate and make for good pictures. The largest Buddha is incredible. 18 meters tall and made from a single trunk of a sandle wood tree. I had to sneak a photo since taking pictures was prohibited.
Then i went off to the Summer Palace. An old school Beijing taxi driver took me out there. As we pulled up he told me the total so i handed him a large bill rather than exact change. He gave me back less than he should have and smiled while nodding his head profusely. I swear he used a Jedi Mind Trick on me because i just started nodding too and promptly got out of the taxi letting him keep the tip he decided to keep! haha. the $1.50 wasn't worth getting worked up about but i told myself i wouldn't let it happen again...what is the adage? fool me once...
The Palace was amazing with a fascinating history. China certainly does not lack for intrigue. You will see from the pictures and videos the immensity of the place. The density of tourists was daunting. The interesting thing is that of all the tourists i see around, non-Chinese tourists probably make up under 5% of them. It would take two visits over two different days to actually visit all of the Summer Palace. An admirable cultural treasure.
So in addition to hiking part of the Great Wall, the last couple of days also included some other good physical activity including a workout in Liu Yin park with Brian, who if i haven't mentioned it, is a world class trainer with an exceptional understanding of movement and how to help people obtain peak performance by optimizing movement and the body and mind's potential. Liu Yin is a sweet little park across the street.
We also managed to go play some basketball with the Chinese guys. We lost our first two games and then had a three game winning streak. four on four, half court and games go to five. there are some good ballers here in China...as you can see from their Olympic team. BBall is a popular sport. Brian's three point shot was in full effect and my sky hook was hitting the mark, not something these guys were used to seeing so they gave me some oohs and ahhhs when i drained the full on Sky Hook a few times. They also appreciated Brian's NBA distance three point shots. Contrary to popular opinion, not all Chinese people are short. In a nation of one billion and a variety of ethnicities including the region bordering Mongolia where people are quite large, there are bound to be some tall people. Yao Ming being an example!
Back to food! I tried to go off on my own and promptly got myself in trouble. Around the corner is a small restaurant for locals. I ordered some garlic crushed cucumbers which was great! However the chicken soup ended up being chopped chicken that had just a bit of meat on bones in a bowl of oil with hot peppers...yikes! it takes some practice to get used to getting the meat off those bones...i gave up after a little while. yup, first culinary adventure in ordering without understanding the language. I didn't get sick so no worries. Aside from that, we continue to eat excellent food at various restaurants ranging from traditional chinese food with dishes from various provinces to Russian cuisine. You can pretty much find anything here in Beijing!
The next blog posting will be more about Olympics. Today we will attend a few different sessions of athletics and i should have some good pictures and some videos as well.
Zai Jian (bye!)
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