Today I went to see the Great Wall of China. There are two sections near Beijing: the closer one is flatter and more crowded; the second one is steeper and not so crowded. I chose the latter. I hired a car and guide through the hotel.
The driver spoke no English, but,the guide’s English was quite good. She told me she trained to be an English teacher but didn’t like it and switched to her current job.
We stopped “to rest” at a place that makes vases. It was interesting to see how they are made, but of course they then tried to sell me some–which I resisted.
At the Great Wall we bought an entrance ticket (which the guide paid for since it was part of the tour price) and a cable car ticket which I bought since it was not included. I guess one can climb on foot up to the wall, but the guide recommended against it and I didn’t see anyone try.
The portion we traversed included three structures that doubled as signal towers and housing for the soldiers that once manned the wall. I tried to imagine what their life must have been like. I once read the description of flying an airplane: “Hours of boredom punctuated with moments of sheer terror.” I’m sure that described the lives of these soldiers as well.
I thought of scenes from Mulan–maybe not the most historical depiction.
On the way back we stopped at a local restaurant which was quite good, although as usual too much food was ordered. I paid for my guide’s lunch as well. It was rather expensive–everything seems expensive here.
Once back in Beijing the guide took me to a silk factory where they demonstrated how silk worms are used to produce silk. Once again I was offered to buy some goods.
My guide could see that I didn’t care for the sales jobs I was given at each location, so she suggested the final stop which was to be a tea ceremony since it would inevitably be followed by another sales pitch. I said OK, but now I wish I had gone. The ceremony might have been interesting, and I can resist the sales part.
Even if I want to get some souvenirs I would probably wait until the end of the trip, to lighten my load in the mean time.
Besides I’m burning cash faster than I anticipated. I tried to get money from an ATM machine today but it didn’t work. I called my bank (using Skype) and they said it should have. I will investigate other options tomorrow.