Beijing: The Great Wall- Part Two

The sky started to darken and it felt like a storm was about to bubble overhead. I ducked into a KFC to use their toilet. The line was long, I waited 15 minutes. A woman was staring at me. I stared back at her. I didn't like her stare. I looked away. She started staring again. I returned her ugly stare and started cussing her in Arabic. I wanted to make sure that she knew she would be dealing with a crazy. I was ready for a fight if that's what she wanted, hair pulling, eye gouging, he works. In the end I left without using the toilet. The line was long, the smell was unbearable.

I texted the couchsurfing host, telling him I'd be an hour early. I'd had enough of Beijing. I followed his instructions. I had to take line 5 to the end then get on a bus for 2 stops. The entire journey lasted 1 hour. I had to stand up the whole way. My feet were killing. Why didn't I just find a hostel, which would be just as cheap, near the centre (Lin Sie had suggested that. For me she has also tainted chou fan (fried rice) and those crisps I ate. Whenever I eat/see them, I think I will remember her).

I finally made it to the end of the journey and I found myself waiting for this man on the side of a busy motorway, in the dark. Is it possible for things to get any worse?

Location: motorway in the middle of nowhere

Location: motorway in the middle of nowhere

Location: motorway in the middle of nowhere

Location: motorway in the middle of nowhere

To be fair, I should have done more planning with where I would stay. I decided to go on this trip at the last minute, wanting to avoid the increasingly colder weather of the next few weeks.

There was a car beeping behind me. 'If that is the host then he can suck it', I thought. If I come all this way and he can't get out of his car, then I'll go back and stay in whichever hole I can find. Maybe I'll even take up the Tunisian's offer. But most likely not.

Finally, I saw him across the road. I crossed the road and shook hands with him. My instincts registered: trustworthy. Good, I thought, I couldn't handle taking the bus and subway all that way back.

He told me he was from Boston and that the next morning he would be joining other Beijing-Boston expats to watch some important Baseball game or another. Awkwardly he had stopped walking, and we were talking in the middle of the traffic island. 'Is this some sort of test?' I thought. Finally we started walking to his home.

There were no street lights in the apartment complex he lived in, but we had a nice chat about the Middle East. In the end I realised that his only interest in the Middle East came from his own self-interest. "I want to be able to go on holiday and not worry that I will be taken hostage'. Inconsiderate bastard, is all I thought, who gives a damn about other people when his holiday plans are thrown out the window.

'There's a Chinese girl staying as well. You'll be on the couch' he said as he opened the door. Although it is called 'couchsurfing', I have used beds quite a lot and for some reason I assume that's what I'll always get.

Inside we had a nice conversation about career plans, he showed me a presentation of what his charity work involves (an Egyptian guy was staying with him before, who was travelling round the World with a huge Egyptian flag, 'promoting' the country) and he told me about his music. My cough was getting pretty bad, and I had some water left. He was reluctant to give me any of this water however. Overall I got the impression that he didn't like giving anything out to Couchsurfers, even water, because of what it wold cost him. I'd never stayed at a Couchsurfers like that before.

Luckily, it was only one night on the couch, I slept in fits. For some reason my mind was working like a filing cabinet. It was flicking through many events and occurrences (I can't remember any of them now, I just remember the process it was going through), trying to glean from any of them other times when I my have been conned. It's bizarre thinking about it. People were noisily using the toilet throughout the night as well, which was a real treat.

The CS host's apartment complex at sunrise

I left at around 6am, just wanted to get out, start the day then get back to my wonderfully friendly Jinan. It was very cold and the sun was just beginning to rise. At the train station I ordered one of my favourite things that I get in Jinan - a thin egg-crepe sandwich with salad and sauce. But in Beijing they do it horribly! I thought at first that it was because everything here is under stricter time-limits but at the Great Wall I saw that that's how they make the sandwich everywhere. Instead of light and crispy, its thick and soggy, I felt like I was eating raw flour. Uggh!

Threw that away and caught the subway. Never have I witnessed such a stampede of people, who would kill their own grandmothers to get a seat. It was vicious, no courteous, no after you, no after you.... no none of that in good old Beijing.

There was a couple in front of me (almost pressed up to me) and the boy would kiss his girlfriend every few minutes. I think he was getting something off her face, or he was deeply insecure about his relationship to her, or they just felt like making me puke in my mouth at 7am in the morning. Eventually they left (thank the lord) and so did I. (How deep.)

I was making my way to JiShuiTan station where I would hopefully get the 877 bus to take me to the Great Wall of China. I was disappointed to read the day before, that the wall can not actually be seen from the moon! All my life I had thought that was true.

The pagoda-type thing near the 877 bus stop

I am not a happy bunny

Hahaha - big forehead

I found the bus quite easily, got on, paid 12RMB and was on my way. There was a Chinese tour guide on the bus, who obviously said something worth commendation because a man in front of me made a feeble attempt at applause.

And to your left is kjndfiushtfuoher

It took just over an hour to get there, a little boy puked into the trash can right next to me, and the man to my left kept elbowing me in an attempt to fish something out of his leather pocket. As soon as the bus parked, I jumped out.

It was freezing and I didn't know where to go. I bought corn on the cob (but the proper way to make it, not steamed but grilled on a barbecue), and made my way to the ticket office. I passed a gateway and to the left was a black bear enclosure! Six bears were trapped there, as visitors threw bits of apple at them. The bears were so close to the people that I am sure either they have done in the past, or one day soon, they will jump at a particularly annoying tourist and maul his face off.

Bears

So many bears

Up hill I walked, hands in my pocket trying to get cold. The sellers and hawkers were not as annoying as in other tourist places, but today no one could annoy me, I was not going to take no crap from nowhere. I munched my apple all the way to the top, oblivious of what anyone wanted from me.

At the ticket office were two prices. 45RMB fr an adult, 25RMB for a student. I took out my Egyptian ID, threw it across the barrier with my money and said xue sheng (student). Within a few seconds I had my discounted ticket. My gran would be proud. Do I feel any guilt? Not at all. That's how the world is I have learnt. Ruthless. You do what you can.

Up, up I walked onto the Great Wall. What a view. I walked the opposite direction to the hoards of orange-capped tourists and found myself all lone with thousands of years of history and culture. After a few seconds of contemplation I decided which side was China and which side was not, then pretended to be a look-out, looking for the incoming army of Mongols or Huns. After that I promptly burst into song of all the Mulan songs I could remember.Walking the wall is very steep, you could be mistaken into thinking that it is vertical at points. At one point I was ready to apply for the Great Wall marathon $200 it would have cost me. I'll have to think about that now, especially since my fitness routine has taken a nose-dive lately.

The air was fresh and crisp, the trees dotted around were turning various shades of red and yellow. The wall snaked and turned magnificently across the tall, unforgiving mountains. I sat there, one leg in China, one leg outside (although nowadays its all China) and felt the breeze on my cheek. All of my problems disappeared and I'd made my peace with Beijing once again.

Beautiful

Ta da!

Majestic

Sikes!

Nature and man come together

This is it

On the way down I bought some squidy dessert thing that I saw being made on my way up to the wall. I didn't like the watery taste, but I ate a second one to be sure. 'Ni xihuan zhege?' I said to a couple of lovebirds sitting beside me. They didn't understand what I wanted but when they did, they smiled, thanked me, and relieved me of my burden. I've wasted alot of money here by ordering strange foods, (like the butterfly larvae) and not eating them, but that's the only way to find out about these new foods.

A woman making squishy dough things

I found the 877 bus and on I got. I slept nicely on the journey back and felt refreshed and re-invigorated. The Great Wall had turned my frown upside down. Next stop: Tiananmen Square.

Why was I going back? For a number of reasons. #1: The first time I didn't actually step foot onto the square. The guidebook at my CS host's house said that standing in Tiananmen Square was like standing in the middle of the Chinese universe. I wanted to stand in the middle of the Chinese universe. #2: I wanted someone to try to con me again. I wanted to study their techniques, play along with them and then con their asses off at the last minute. Of course my second fantasy never materialised. For some reason when you are looking to be conned, you don't get conned. I think I should have looked more lost and vulnerable then happily smiling passive-aggressively.

But I did get to stand in the middle of the Chinese Universe. I tried to find the exact middle, then just stood there. I was picking up some sort of strong energy. Building regulations have meant that buildings around the square must be below a certain height. This gives the square a sense of meeting with the heavens. I did draw the attention of a group of Chinese boys because I was standing in the middle, all on my own, but I left soon after.

So many cameras

Right in the middle of the Chinese Universe

I was really hungry again and tried to ask some police officers where I could eat Beijing duck. They didn't understand me so I walked on. I decided I'd just go to the train station, get my ticket and find some grub there. (P.S. I love food. It makes me so so happy. One day I might set up a restaurant/cafe).

At the station I got my ticket pretty quickly then hunted round for some food. Despite the negative connotations chou fan (fried rice) now had for me, I did want to eat it. After much searching I found a Japanese restaurant which was perfect for me. I ordered fried mushroom rice and it was divine. Not feeling my stomach bulging, I ordered some fried dumplings. They were not as good. I read a little more of 'Brave New World' on my kindle, then headed up to the train station to catch my train.

On the train I tried my Chinese with the nice girl that was eating chicken feet from a vacuum packed bag (the smell wasn't great I'll be honest with you), then thanked the heavens to be going back to Jinan.

The beautiful view outside Jinan West railway station

After two hours we arrived at Jinan West at 6pm. I'd never been to this station before, so I knew getting home would be a challenge. In the end I got on 4 buses. I got on the K58, then jumped off at a random point on my map. I then had a choice between the 13 and the 101. I took the 13. Bad mistake. The 13 turned left when I needed it to continue straight on. I had to walk a while then got on the 101 after all. This took me a considerable distance before I had to get off. Then I took the 123 to the UniMart next to my home where I bought lots of chocolate to stuff my face on. It had been one of those days.

Inside UniMart I met an English teacher I'd never met before, she was going to a Halloween party. A Halloween party would have been the last thing I would have wanted to do. I was planning on going home, curling up on my bed, eating chocolate and watching the Matrix. I did all of that except not in that order. I devoured the chocolate as soon as I'd left the shop and watched only the first art of the Matrix. I have started to notice that lately I am not as convinced to the veracity of Hollywood films as I used to be. I am beginning to see through all of the films, seeing the actors and not the characters. Have I outgrown them? It's a strange feeling.

Back in my bed, my Beijing trip was over. Although it was at times unpleasant, it was a great experience, and I'm looking forwards to my next travelling adventure.I have caught the travel bug once more.

[Disclaimer: You may be thinking this girl is in China right now, hence she is travelling, hence she has the travel bug, but you'd be mistaken. You see I was planning on staying in Jinan for the entire time, I didn't want to see anything else. This was how I felt in Thailand. But now, I see the error of my ways.]

Beijing: From 'This is awesome' to 'This place is mean' and back again. Part One

The fast train from Jinan to Beijing took less than 2 hours. I cam to Beijing to submit my application to renew my Irish passport and had been going back and forth in my mind about whether I should stay the night in the city or if I should pull a fast one and leave on the same day. Since I didn't have anywhere to stay I decided to leave on the same day.

My first taste of how busy Beijing would be - the train station

When I arrived in Beijing the first thing to shock me was how many more foreigners there were here than in Jinan. I was a little overwhelmed. When you're not used to seeing more than one other foreigner, at most, a day, seeing so many can make you reel a little.

After a little confusion, I finally found the embassy area. I took a wrong turn and ended up gracing the entrances of the Egyptian, Albanian, Romanian and many other embassies, before I finally found the Irish embassy. I went in, they took the application and it was all over in a matter of seconds. The best part was, they let me keep my passport, so I would not have to worry about getting into trouble with the police, since they could ask me to show them my passport at any time. It also means that I can continue to travel until my new passport arrives which is something I am definitely hoping of doing, since I caught the bitter sweet travel bug in Beijing.

The American embassy - looked a bit like a prison

Whilst in the embassy I got a message from someone I had contacted on couchsurfing, a potential host. I had received replies from 2 people on the couchsurfing website, so I was unsure who was replying to me. One was an older, retired American who did charity work in the some village schools, the other was a Tunisian man. The American man charged 38RMB for a night's stay. Couchsurfing is supposed to be strictly free. The Tunisian man sent me a strange email saying that he couldn't host me in his house because his room was too small, but he knew a nearby park where I could sleep and he could sleep there with me. What??? Ummm, no! But I was still intrigued by this park and if I had time I decided I would meet this man and let him show me which park he deemed appropriate to send couchsurfers to sleep.

I was pretty sure I was getting messages from the older American man as his grammar was perfect. I decided to accept, and stay in Beijing for one night after all. (To be honest when I got to the train station I knew that I couldn't leave on the same day. The big city had cast its net over me and I needed to stay there at least a night.)

But then, after he had sent me directions to his house he sent me a message that read 'Meishi'. 'Crap!' I thought, have I been talking to the Tunisian-park man? You see, meishi in Arabic means OK. I decided to send a message to check which one I was talking to. 'What's the name of the park again?' I sent.
'Which park are you referring to?' was the reply. Thank God, I thought. I wouldn't be sleeping in a park today.

OK, now imagine me, skipping (metaphorically) away from the Irish embassy, passport in hand, application in, sun is shining, the embassy area is wonderfully serene, tree leaves of every autumnal colour dancing in the air. Nice picture isn't it? Let's see what happened next.

I got on the subway and went to Tiananmen Square. Well actually, I never made it to the square.

Before the incident, when the world was still rosy in my eyes

The Forbidden City

There are two subway stations either side of the square - Tiananmen East and Tiananmen West. I got out on Tiananmen East. To get to the actual square you have to go through an underground tunnel and a security check. The square itself is littered with armed guards and millions of security cameras. But I was on a road opposite the square and opposite the Forbidden City (note to self next time I go to Beijing, probably when I pick up my passport, I need to go inside the City). I took a few pictures then made a phone call to my boss to ask her where I should go to eat. I was zigzagging through the trees that lined the boulevard when a friendly girl came up to me and said, 'hello'. My gut instinct told me, 'Don't talk to this girl'.

At the time I was trying out a 'say yes to all social interaction opportunities'. I had left the cautious isolationist period that I had been in for a number of years and was ready to try something new. The girl (she looked older than me, maybe in her early thirties. She had bags under her eyes) told me she was an English teacher. Her English was excellent. I asked her about where I could get something to eat, I was starving! She said she could show me some place we could get coffee. I hesitated at first. Again my instincts were telling me, no, but I pushed them aside remembering my 'yes' policy. Looking back on the things that took place I can't help thinking how perfect it was all for her.

Our conversation flowed so well, I was beginning to thank the heavens for sending me this friendly Chinese girl. We could be great friends and go out for meals together, and plait each other's hair.... The possibilities were endless, and all because I had said yes! I had come to the decision that I would say yes to everything (2 hours later when it finally dawned on me what happened, I would take back all that I had thought about saying 'yes' to everything).

On the way to the Coffee shop I stopped to get water. '3 kuai!' I exclaimed, 'That's expensive!'
'You can get it cheaper at the supermarket', she offered. Oh, I loved my new friend, so firendly and full of good advice. Yes, I thought, I had surely landed the jackpot. We saw a pig eating rubbish outside a restaurant - mmm so when people end up eating this pig they'll end up eating the rubbish he ate as well, tempting!

Munch, munch, munch

Mmm, how about some pork made from the finest Beijing trash around!

'Here it is', she said. We were directed into a room with green wall paper and pop songs coming out from the speaker. I didn't like the atmosphere if the room. I ordered fried rice (which incidentally was really good).

'I'll order tea instead of coffee so that you can try', she said helpfully. I had just told her that I don't drink alot of coffee because too much caffeine gives me a headache.

The 'great' tea

I can't believe I actually got a picture of her!

'This tea is really good she kept saying' (by the way re-living this is really painful. I can't believe how well she got me, how completely I trusted her, and how utterly she shattered my trust in most of humanity. I went from a 'everyone is probably trustworthy' attitude of life to a 'never trust anyone' attitude. I just couldn't believe it). She showed me how we can top up the green tea with hot water from a pot. The waitress brought in two bowls of crisps that could not have cost more than 5RMB all together. The tea could not have cost more than 20RMB at a stretch. My rice dish cost 26RMB.

We chatted and chatted about friendship, travels, she gave me a map of the Beijing subway system and pointed out things of interest. She told me about her travels around China and she recommended that I do to Qingdao for the beautiful beaches. We talked siblings, she had two older brothers, one used to study at Jinan University.

Something that bothered me however, was how whenever I spoke she kept looking over my shoulder, out of the window. I felt like saying, 'Hello! I respect you when you talk, could you at least do the same?' But that was a minor point in a beautiful friendship that I envisaged blossoming before my very eyes. 'Let's exchange numbers', I said. She hesitated. This was really my first feeling that something was quite odd. In the end she gave me her number and called her phone from my phone. Her phone rang, and then she wanted to save her name 'Lin Sie' into my phone but I beat her to it.

Her phone rang a couple of times, her friend wanted to meet her after she finished work. 'Shall we get the bill', she said.

Then the bill came. 340 RMB. What the FUCK? How the hell? I was stunned into silence. I had my purse out but I didn't know what to do. She got her purse out. 'Shall we split it?' she said quickly. 'Ummm OK', I said. Quick as a flash the 'waitress' split the bill to 163RMB. How did she split it so fast I thought? My head was racing with thoughts. I didn't want the fucking tea and crisps in the first place! Why did I take them? I should have just eaten my rice. The woman put 2x100RMB notes on the table, I put 163RMB out (to the penny). I caught a glimpse of the bill. 50RMB for each bowl of crisps, 40RMB for the tea... I felt something wasn't right but my brain didn't add it all u until much later.

I was confused why my friend Lin Sie didn't say anything about the outrageous price except that really good tea is expensive and we were in the centre of Beijing. She had to leave pretty soon but I said I would stay here to make the most of the money I'd spent and eat the remainder of the crisps. How the fuck could I have been so stupid?

After finishing as much of the poor quality chips as I could and drinking as much of the tea as I could take, I felt like I couldn't stay any longer in that room. I asked for the toilet and I was directed to an outdoor 'open-air' toilet where I could see a woman squatting down peeing. No thanks, I said to myself, I'm not that desperate.

At this point I still had not fit the puzzle together and was for the most part enjoying what Beijing had to offer. I turned left out of the street I was in to the 'Champs Elysees' or Beijing - Lin Sie's words.

I walked down this brightly coloured road, went into a narrow alleyway and saw insects on a stick and lots of mooncakes (it seems like the seasonal rule for mooncakes does not apply in the capital). I pulled my trusty rucksack round my front as I felt someone could try to help themselves to my wallet.

These insects were still alive

The rest of China stops making mooncakes in October but Beijing thinks its above all that

Walking, walking, walking. Stop. OH MY GOD. Everything finally made sense. The walk up to the coffee shop, I was groomed by LinSie. 'Do you speak Chinese?', 'No!' I laughed. Purpose: ascertain whether I would understand what she was saying to the waitress in the coffee shop about fixing the extortionate price on me. She didn't talk a lot about her English teaching job, I didn't get enough details to be completely convinced by it. When I said I would go to the Great Wall, instead of the usual place (BaDaLing) she said I should go to the less touristy, more expensive place.

But, it was the bill that was the obvious clue. How the fuck did I end up paying the full amount when she said we would split it? The full amount on the bill cam to 163RMB - the exact amount I paid! I couldn't believe it. The waitress had doubled the bill then halved it back down to what she had totalled the food to cost. Then how the hell did one bowl of sub-par crisps cost 50RMB?

I sat down on a bench and smacked my head. Oh the stupidity! But a part of me didn't want to believe that the friendliest girl I'd ever met could have broken my trust like that. The whole thing was so beautifully orchestrated. In fact, I felt like it had been me who had made the suggestions - I was the one who nudged her and asked if she knew someplace to eat (she had jumped back a little when I nudged her, which startled me). I was the one who said to her 'I always wanted to go to a tea house!'

Luckily she went a little light on me, as far as cons go. I read in the Lonely Planet that was at my couchsurfer's house, that some Tiananmen Square tea house cons (apparently they're World famous!) can get up to 2000RMB! I remembered the seemingly innocent question of 'You look young, so you have just graduated from University?', that was designed to gauge how much money she could realistically squeeze out of me. Also maybe she felt a little sorry for me, but then again, I don't think so, I just think that she knew that if she asked me for anymore I may not have been able to give it to her.

She also never gave out the feeling of being needy or pushy. She was always so relaxed and so natural. She'd obviously been in the business for a long time.

I sent a message to the number that was recorded in my phone for her about how she should find a way to earn a living that doesn't hurt other people and I thanked her for teaching me never to trust strangers again.

So this is my new philosophy - you can never trust anyone 100%. Even people you think you know quite well, it s better to reserve a certain percentage of trust. Life may throw up all kinds of things that mean people break your trust and if you have not given them 100% of your trust then you will not be as badly burnt by their betrayal. My 'say yes to all social interaction opportunities' philosophy has segued into a 'say yes to the social interaction opportunities that your instinct says yes to as well'. When she asked me to go for a coffee my instinct said no. I should have listened to that wise guy.