I climbed the great bridge, err,WALL!
Immigration problem, Peking Duck lauriat, corned beef and more...
31.01.2006
We traveled in May (in the early 90's) and I was shivering as we got off the plane on to the tarmac at Xiamen Airport.
As I have changed my hairstyle, I had a bit of a problem with my passport. Luckily,a Chinese photographer came to my rescue and with that I didn't even have to queue very long as I was let in ahead of the others.
Whew! This is a Communist country after all and I also have a Chinese middle name (Tan) so it sort of puzzled the Immigration officers that I cannot speak the language(I am not Chinese, my grandfather was).
Anyway, our hotel was very nice(Hotel Nikko Beijing) and a number of
my other Chinese colleagues enjoyed the buffet breakfast tremendously. One would even lay his hanky on the table after eating and stash all the little sachets of sugar, butter, etc..that he could find in the buffet table.The menu was varied; to my surprise they even have my favourite corned beef hash(cooked with onions that we love back home!) Congee was of course available with all sorts of sauces and condiments you can find.
The Peking Duck Lauriat was delicious and amusing too as they(our hosts) taught us how to spread the morsels of juicy duck meat onto a Chinese vegie leaf,roll it and put in our mouths in one go.They all laughed as most of us struggled to chew the whole bloody thing! We even got a souvenir of a silver coin (as big as a 50 cent Australian) with the duck and name of the restaurant on it. It must have cost a fortune!But then, it was sponsored by the Chinese government I think...Tipping was not necessary here.Oh,they give bowls of clear soup at the end of the meal instead of water to drink.
Of course the highlight of the tour was the visit to the Great Wall.
Actually when you reach it(one of its parts), you will find it looks like a humongous bridge with a series of narrow steps that go steeper and steeper, hence the slogan "I climbed the Great Wall" is splashed in cheap t-shirts sold under the bridge. It was tremendously cold for me(being used to a tropical climate), my three layers of shirt,jumper and cardigan were no use(I was chilled to the bone)...Despite the steep climb, I didn't sweat one bit! SO, after the customary souvenir photo ops, I sneaked down to snoop at the numerous souvenir shops below the bridge, I mean, wall.
Cheap, cheap ,cheap, that's all I can say! But mind you prepare small notes if you need to use the toilet. The public toilets are reasonably clean but if you're squeamish about squatting, you have to hold it in then.. That's all for now...That's as far as I remember.
