China - Beijing (Part 2)

After pretty exhausting (but fun for sure) first day in Beijing, I was super ready for today.  The weather was better because that day was sunny :) On my second day in Beijing, I had Feet Massage Traditional China, Jade Shop Factory, The Great Wall of China (Yasshh!), and Bao Shu Tang Shop on my schedule.  Oh, and photo stop at Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium at night.  More shops than tourist objects today, yeah,  it is how it is, when you purchase tour package, especially in China, either you purchase the package on your home country or in China Mainland, the outcome will be the same.  These shops are as vessels to introduce Chinese Culture, most people know China is famous with their herbal medicines, their jewelries like Jade, Silk, Bamboo, Teas, etc.  And this is must visit, like obligatory, if you decline, you will be charged $20-$120 each shop (Obligatory from the government, not from the Travel Agency).  Many people in my group wondered why we visited the Feet Massage place first, not after our visitation to The Great Wall.  It'd nice to have some feet massage after The Great Wall, right? Anyways, the schedule has been made by the Local Guide, he already made the booking, so..


1.  Feet Massage Traditional China

I'm gonna be brief about this, because honestly this part of the tour where you visit the shop has never been my favourite.  The front look of the shop looked like Chinese Supermarket I went to in Aberdeen, Scotland (haha!)  But it is a big shop!  We were directed into a room where the Salesman (who speak Bahasa) gave the explanation about their products, then we got our feet massaged, then they sell their products, some people were asked to go out of the room to be observed, and suddenly they came back with this big shopping bags! Well, half people in my group are old, soooo, they are concerned about their health, so they bought it (including my parents, who are so gullible, surprisingly!).  I'm not impressed, the price was unreasonable, ridiculous to be honest!  Maybe it is good quality, but the price will make you raise your eyebrows and not to forget locals will always try to sell higher price to the tourist.  We spend nearly 2 hours in this shop, it was so boring!!  This is the thing when you visit shop like this, the travel agency, they don't limit the time, you can spend as much time as you want, while when you visit tourist object, they only allow 1-2 hours maximum.  Sucks!

Feet Traditional Massage Shop in Beijing, I'm sure plenty others like this.

     
2.  Jade Shop Factory

They sell Jade and plenty things made out of Jade.  We didn't spend much time as we did spent in previous shop. Thank God! Oh, the price, hmm...overpriced. Sorry, gotta be honest, doesn't mean to be disrespectful at all.  If you ask me, if they are nice, yes, sure they are nice, but I don't know if it worth the price, I'm not an expert in jewelries.


3.  The Great Wall of China

Finally, finally, the highlight of the day! The highlight of the trip perhaps.  As you already know, The Great Wall of China is part of The 7 Wonders and listed in World Heritage in 1987 by UNESCO.  It took millenia to build it.  According to chinahighlights.com, The Great Wall of China 101 description is as below

• Chinese name: 长城 (Chángchéng /channg-chnng/ 'Long Wall')
• Location: Northern China
• Length: 21,196.18 km (13,170.7 mi), all known sections were measured
• History: more than 2,300 years

  The Great Wall was built in different areas by different dynasties and there are some entrances to walk it.  I went to Juyongguan, in north Beijing.  It is the most preserved entrance of Great Wall.  I only got two hours here, I know, I know, you need at least half day! Anyways, from the bottom, I saw the post at the top, it looked so faaaaarrr, so high! I didn't know if I could go up there with such a limited time provided, my parents, they only went until the second post, and took pictures, and that's it. Just fyi, second post is nothing,  you can't see the beauty of the view yet. 

Second Post, Juyongguan, The Great Wall of China

It's a little narrow

A little closer to the top :)

So, I steep incline on my own, some stairs could be on your ankle high, some stairs could be on your knee high! It was so challenging and I love it.  I just thought, I have to reach at least the top, I mean, I have high fitness level, duh, I go to the gym 4-5 times/week.  Though, it wasn't easy because I was coughing all the way, I think it's the air.  And no, I didn't bring water bottle with me, that you should do if you go here.  Along the way, I met a guy from my group who was resting on the stair, yeayy..I got a friend..haha, at least it helped me to keep going and it turned out 1 hour is enough to get to the top (without resting to long) Trust, the view is uh-mazing at the top, it's worth it. 

I just love the curve

Selfie at the Great Wall is a must ;)

The landscape is amazing and you only get to see this if you reach the top :)

It's worth all the pain and the sweat :p  You will find less and less people at the top, so it was better to get some pictures.  Then, after spending short time at the top, taking photograph wherever you can, we had to go down eventually.  Going down is easier, but careful, because the stairs can be slippery, and I saw some boys, running downwards (wth man?! Careful!) and it's painful for your knees! I prefer going up all the time, going down is just too painful for me. 
Oh, and I wore, leather jacket and leather pants that day.  Bad idea, the weather was nice, it was breezy, I'd say, T-shirt and yoga pants or tight training pants.   

If I had another opportunity, I would love love love to go back and spend the whole day at the Great Wall.  I love it! And I hope I inspire you to walk this incredible wall, I guarantee, it's worth every step :)


4.  Bao Shu Tang Shop

Oh my God, another obligatory shop.  Haha, I apologize, I don't mean to be offensive, it's just so draining, and I was exhausted after the Great Wall, I just wanted to take a nap (or maybe I already did at the bus on the way here :p) 

Though, I'm gonna give you a little info about Bao Shu Tang Shop.  You know what, I could barely remember about this shop because I was half asleep when the sales lady gave explanation, all I know it is known for its Chinese herbal Medicine and you can visit the website for more info. I think everybody in the group was tired; nobody really listened; the sales lady was a bit insulted, I can relate to this, Lady, I'd be upset to if I give presentation and nobody listens. 

What I remember from this shop is, the sales lady could speak Bahasa, I'm impressed that she learned Bahasa; it is easier to sell anything if they can speak your tongue.  The shop itself is very well-known, they have cream for burns, eczema, ithcing or any skin-disease, also rub for muscular pain and many more, again please visit the website if you are interested.  At the end, even if the group was half awake, many people ended up buying many of the products, hahaha. One thing about Indonesians, and other Asian people, most of us are very consumptive, we love to shop.


5.  Beijing National Stadium

The last in our list in Beijing, The National Stadium or also known as Bird's Nest.  It is situated in Olympic Green Village, Chaoyang District.

It was designed as the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Olympic events of track and field, football, gavelock, weight throw and discus were held there. Since October, 2008, after the Olympics ended, it has been opened as a tourist attraction. Now, it's the center of international or domestic sports competition and recreation activities.  - travelchinaguide.com

In the evening, it was already cold, we walked to the nearest train station to get a good shot of the stadium.  When I got there, the Local Guide told us we only have 5 minutes to take picture in here, and "here" is not a good spot to take picture.  So, I ran to the front of the stadium to get a better shot, though I'm not good at taking night shots.  My friend took a very good shot, I was like "Damn! He really knows how to work the angle."

Beijing National Stadium or Bird's Nest

The others, they went to souvenirs store and bought plenty souvenirs there. There's only one souvenirs store and it's quite cheap if you know how to bargain.  One thing interesting, we were already very tired after we got off the bus and walked like a freezing Zombie (I'm not sure Zombie can feel anything though) to the Bird's Nest, but at the store suddenly the people came back to life, we are alive ..haha.  We really do like shopping, don't we? ;)

The Bird's Nest Stadium also marked our last place in Beijing, because the next day, we traveled to Suzhou.  So far I like Beijing, I would love to go back, I still haven't got the chance to visit Temple of Heaven (Bummer!) I would definitely go back to explore more places and to re-visit some places in Beijing. Good time!