Beijing… Land of Peking Duck, the Forbidden City and the world’s largest fan base of Pokemon supporters. Arriving to a balmy minus 15 degree day was quite a rude awakening. Herded to our transportation by our non-English speaking chauffer we squeezed ourselves amid the plethora of stuffed animals adorning the back seat. With Hello Kitty on one side and Astro Boy on the other, we sped erratically through the winding Hutongs of Beijing and were promptly dumped at our hostel door, only to be greeted kindly by a lady called Snow, great, more f^#*king SNOW!
The air was thick with anticipation and pollution as we braved the back streets of pigs trotters, innards and other dubious looking items. But like the intrepid, worldly travellers we are we marched on until we stumbled upon the words best dumplings. 9 dishes later we rolled out of the restaurant like 2 pregnant women leaving behind a flabbergasted crowd of on-lookers.
That afternoon we summited the unforgiving peak of Jin Shang Gardens standing at a lofty 42m above sea level. That’s when we felt the first tendrils of fear creep into our previously confident minds. Suddenly training for Everest en-route didn’t seem like such a good idea. Despite puffing all the way, we were rewarded with magnificent views of China’s ancient Forbidden City.
The next day, rugged up in every item of clothing we brought with us, we returned to The Forbidden City and spent hours lost in the Ming Dynasty. It was here we first felt the much talked about Glow of Enlightenment (GOE). The Glow is something that many a pilgrim hope to acquire as a souvenir of their spiritual journey. It was painstakingly obviously that up until now the two of us had been surrounded by the Smog of Ignorance (SOI).
While The Forbidden City may have the Pagoda of Tranquil Serenity and Pavilion of 1000 Flowers, that day Beijing gained another attraction, us. Mobbed by a paparazzi of Asian tourists all wanting a little Jo and Claire on their mantle piece, we graciously posed for the masses before seeking refuge in the Pavilion of Banned Flash Photography.
Later that day we commissioned the services of Mr. Chung, a local Beijing Taxi driver and our chauffer to Long Qing Gorge some 80km North West of the city and home to the Ice Sculpture and Lantern Festival.
Behold the worlds largest ice city! Intricately carved with narrow passageways and perfectly shaped pagoda rooftops, one could not help but to feel enlightened. We thought this could be the great GOE but alas it was merely a reflection from the candy coloured fluorescent lighting installed through out the exhibit.
The next day we found ourselves surrounded by the wild and desolate landscape of China’s Great Wall. We hiked 30 towers between Jin Shan Ling and Simatai. The view was breathtaking with the Wall rising and falling over the dramatic terrain. Travelling in the low season has its benefits and instead of the usually overcrowded Wall we pretty much had it to ourselves. Not the type to shy away from a terrifying experience (and the opportunity to avoid walking any further) we elected to complete the last leg of the hike by Flying Fox. As the icy river rushed past us some 150m below we prayed that the single caribena would hold our combined weight plus the additional 500 dumplings we seemed to have consumed.
