A huge box of tea, a medallion from the Great Wall of China with your
name engraved upon it and lots of other souvenirs could be bought from today’s
excursion. Apart from the 2nd item mentioned above, I did not get
anything else due to disinterest or concern over budget. (There were 2 items I
really wanted but I feared that they would drain my budget. Let’s skip the
topic now before I start crying.)
To start the day, we woke up at about 6am and went down for breakfast at
the hotel restaurant at 7am. There were several dishes such as rice, noodles,
vegetables and buns to choose from. However, most of the food was already
eaten. Still, we managed to grab a bite or 2.
Choosing our food for breakfast
After breakfast, we left the hotel and took the tour bus to our 1st
stop of the day- The Beijing National Stadium (aka “The Bird’s Nest) where the
2008 Beijing Olympics took place. My friends and I took pictures outside and
around the building.
Me outside the Beijing National Stadium
Me outside the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, which is near the
Beijing National Stadium
Our next stop was a tea shop called Dr. Tea. We learnt how to hold the
tea cup and sampled 4 different kinds of tea- Jasmine, Oolong, Puer and Hua Guo (translated as Flower Fruit)
Tea.
Our tour guide outside the Dr. Tea shop
The hostess’ assistant brews the tea for us
I don’t remember much about the flavours so I cannot describe them in
detail to you. All I can remember is that Jasmine Tea had a faint, flowery
fragrance, Oolong Tea was a little too bitter for my taste and the Puer Tea was
okay. As for the Hua Guo Tea, it
smelled fruity and “tasted like (warm) Ribena”, as some of my classmates put
it. (Call me biased, but among all the tea I tasted, the Hua Guo Tea was my favourite.)
After the tea-drinking session, the hostess showed us the tea products
(in their exquisite packaging) and their prices. The Jasmine, Oolong and Hua Guo Tea cost 180 RMB each and the packet
of Puer Tea (which has no expiry date at all, unlike the other 3) cost 400 RMB.
For a package of any 3 tea plus a packet of Puer Tea, it cost 500 RMB. If you
bought this package, you could get a tea set or any another box of tea (except
Puer Tea) for free.
Despite the (to me) rather hefty cost, I was surprised to see many
people making purchases. When we left the tea shop, many of my classmates were
lugging huge bags with their precious tea inside.
The hostess (in red) taking down orders for the tea purchases
3rd stop of the day was at a restaurant where we made a lunch
of delicious dim-sum, something that this restaurant is famous for.
Lunch!
Once luncheon was over, we could browse in the shops around the
restaurant before we headed out. Our next destination was the Great Wall of
China!
As the tour bus travelled along the road to the afore-mentioned
destination, we excitedly peered out of our windows, straining to see signs of
the Wall along the mountaintops. Although we did see what we were looking for,
we still had to travel for another 20 minutes or so on the road before we would
reach the bus drop-off point.
The beautiful scenery along the way to the Great Wall
Part of the Great Wall seen snaking across the mountains
Once we reached the drop-off point, we got down from the bus and walked
over to the entrance to the Great Wall while our tour guide bought the tickets
for us. As soon as the tickets were bought and we passed through the gate to
the Wall, we split our ways. I followed my friends who intended to walk to the
8th watchtower.
“Team Singapore” heads off to the highest point of the Great Wall!
People hiking up the steep slope
During my hike up the Great Wall, I nearly tripped over some raised
tiles, nearly slipped on some other tiles and complained my head off about the
number of steps we had to climb. But in the end, I was rewarded with a
breathtaking view of the mountains and could see the Great Wall snaking along
them- It was incredibly beautiful. It is hard to believe that such an immense
structure, built centuries ago, would still survive into this era.
On a completely unrelated note, I bought a medal (with my Chinese name
inscribed upon it) to mark my achievement in climbing the wall so that when I
bring it back home, I can wave it about in triumph.
Victory!
Check out the view below!
The
view from the top
Both sides of my medal
Even though my ego is still rather high with this new accomplishment, I
have learnt to be grateful about 3 things. Number 1, stairs- they are so much
easier to climb up than an incredibly steep slope. Number 2, stair steps with
equal thickness- some of the steps were like boulders to climb over. And
lastly, railings. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to pull myself up the
steep slopes or prevent myself from falling when coming down these same slopes.
Really, we don’t treasure the importance of these humble things until we
sincerely (and desperately) need them.
Once we came back down again, we made our way to the tour bus and slept
soundly as it took us to another restaurant for dinner.
The restaurant sign
FOOD!!!
After such an exhausting walk, there is nothing better than sleep (which
we had about an hour of while the bus took us to the restaurant) and food.
At the table I sat at, I watched as my classmates wolfed down every single
dish the waiters had placed on our table. To add to my surprise, they even
finished the remaining dishes that our other classmates (who were sitting at different
tables) couldn’t finish.
Satisfied with our meal, we left the restaurant and headed back to the
hotel for a night of fitful rest. There’s only a few hours left before we wake
up the next morning for our last day of tour in Beijing!
Here’s hoping you have a good night’s sleep too!
Best regards,
Marianne
No comments:
Post a Comment