Can't wait to see the footage and photos from this day. We went to the Great Wall, and our group, which consisted of me, Neil, Caryn, and Lindsay walked farther than anyone else. I can't believe how steep the slopes and those stairs were! Man my legs are killing me! Monique had a little height problem and had to turn back (but we got some funny footage of it, which I'm going to steal from Neil).
I can't believe how far I walked. I only had to take one break, and then caught up with everyone, but I made it! It was really cool.
We went to the most famous part of the wall, The Great Wall of Badaling.
We then went to a tea house, where they showed us the Chinese Tea Ceremony. We were taught how to properly drink jasmine tea (the tea most drunk in the areas around Beijing). You have to drink it in 3 sips, and men and women hold the cup differently. Women hold it with only 3 fingers, and the rest are fanned out, resembling a phoenix tail. We also got to sample the other types of tea, which were Green, Fruit, Lychee, and Black. I liked them all. After the tea ceremony, we were let loose in the gift shop. I walked out of there spending less than $100 yuan, but some other women weren't so lucky.
Afterwards, we went to Silk Street. It was basically like Englishtown, or any other kind of market, with lots of little booths with people selling knock-offs for really cheap. I'm really bad at haggling. But I'm getting there. My roomate Karen bought some really cute outfits, and only spent about $200. I didn't buy anything. It's crazy with all the people basically attacking you to get you to buy something.
After that we went to the Hutong. Which is basically like a little village area with really old houses, all built in a quadrangle, 4 buildings surrounding a courtyard. We had a ride on a rickshaw (which honestly, I could have done without). I got a Chairman Mao watch, which was a hassle, but that's a long story, involving a man chasing us on his bike, and me mishearing the bargain, and actually paying more. Annoying!!!! I'm not too mad though, because I bought the thing for the price I wanted to pay anyway, it's just that the man was so desperate for the sale, he actually said I could have 2! All I heard was the price and took the one, and then Neil started yelling at me, but it was too late. The man wasn't giving that sucker up.
After that we went to the Hutong. Which is basically like a little village area with really old houses, all built in a quadrangle, 4 buildings surrounding a courtyard. We had a ride on a rickshaw (which honestly, I could have done without). I got a Chairman Mao watch, which was a hassle, but that's a long story, involving a man chasing us on his bike, and me mishearing the bargain, and actually paying more. Annoying!!!! I'm not too mad though, because I bought the thing for the price I wanted to pay anyway, it's just that the man was so desperate for the sale, he actually said I could have 2! All I heard was the price and took the one, and then Neil started yelling at me, but it was too late. The man wasn't giving that sucker up.
We went to dinner at another restaurant, where the food was served family style. It was ok. I liked the beef and the potatoes. We walked through the night food market, where we got to see snakes, bats, seahorses, and various other animals on sticks. On one menu we even saw "Dog Meat Pot". None of us were going near that.
I think people are going out tonight, but jetlag is still kicking me in the a$$, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay up long enough to enjoy the night.
Next we have to decide what's going to be done in the morning.
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