The tour meeting time was 6:30am. I don't think I've even got up that early for work in the last few years. First stop was the Ming tombs. We walked through the main entrance building to look at various relics including some very elaborate crowns which had been found in the graves, we walked on through the grounds, and then came to an archway stood on its own. The guide told us we shouldn't take photos of it as it is bad luck, and we shouldn't walk through it towards the tombs as it is bad luck. It was the Hell Gate and it was cursed. Traditionally the Emperor's coffin would have been carried through that gate and the living person who was carrying the coffin was never to return through it. There was a large tomb stone up some steps and the guide told us there are about thirteen other graves which have not been excavated. He said they don't have the technology to preserve it properly so they won't be excavated until more money and technology can help them. On the way back to the coach we had to walk through the gate to return to the mortal world…
Then we took the coach to The Great Wall of China. Another of my travel missions accomplished!! It was so warm and the steps were so steep, we only managed to climb a short way up but it was still good fun. It was difficult to imagine how people would have run along it in the ancient times when they were being attacked or whatever (especially difficult to imagine due to the traffic passing by as the main road crossed directly underneath one of its archways). There was a 10 Yuan stall at the site, where all of the Great Wall souvenirs were just 10 Yuan, which is loosely the equivalent of a £1 shop at home… For some reason we found this very amusing.
We were taken to a factory which wanted to sell us lots of expensive things, and in order to sweeten us up they provided us lunch. It was another meal served on a lazy Suzanne (still need to find out the Chinese name!) there was little veggie choice again so I mostly had rice and tea (in separate bowls of course)
Next we went to a market where the aim of the game was to bargain as much as possible. The first dress that caught my eye was quoted at 680 Yuan. In the end I got it for 120 Yuan but I have a feeling even then I was paying over the odds! It was a nice Chinese style dress though, black with red flowers, so I don't really mind. I then spotted another more casual dress I liked which can be worn as a strapless dress or a skirt. I'd got more into the swing of bargaining by this time and when she wouldn't accept the price I offered I walked away and she came after me and said she would take my money, I got it for the equivalent of less than £3.
We were taken to a Chinese Flying Acrobat show which was amazing. It lasted about an hour and I was tense nearly all the way through it worrying that they were going to fall. Then men did some really scary stunts on these two wheels a bit like mouse wheels but the entire structure was rotating (see my video) the girls were doing more balancing type acts, but they also did a really cool section with bicycles. Lots of them were cycling around the stage, and then they all got rid of their bikes except for one girl, and then they all got on her bicycle as she was still cycling around the stage.
We got back to the hotel and went for drinks at the 40 pence bar. I'd only been planning to have one drink, but one large beer later and I was jumping into a taxi headed for town. I said I'd just go for one drink in town to see what Beijing is like at night.
The driver didn't have a clue where we were asking to be taken even though we had it written in Mandarin. He dropped us off somewhere but we didn't know where we were so we asked some guards who pointed us in one direction. Then we asked some other people who pointed us in another direction. Eventually we were sent the right way and found the street with the bars on it. After the hassle of trying to find the place, my first lychee martini, and the next, may have gone down a little too quickly. We went in to several different bars and clubs, we were taking it in turns to buy rounds and whoevers turn it was just chose the cocktail with the best name. And for this reason then came my classiest moment of my trip (so far) I was sick at a squat toilet. I think I was home sometime after 5am but not entirely sure when or how.