Leaving Beijing

Sad to be leaving China - it's been an amazing trip!

One more multi-layered breakfast pancake, a smooth trip to the airport and off we go.

Back again soon, we hope!

 

Departure Delayed

We got up today at a leisurely hour and headed out for a very yummy local breakfast. Since it was after the main breakfast rush, we didn't have to wait long. This is good because these creations take a little time.

First you start with a crepe batter on a hot griddle:

Followed by an egg:

And then a sprinkle of fresh cilantro:

Next turn it over and start brushing on the sauces:

I counted three, but she was working so quickly it was hard to keep track. And she was cooking two at once!

Best to be careful because one of those sauces is very spicy. We asked her to go easy on the chilies.

The final ingredient is a fried crispy wafer that adds a very satisfying crunch to the whole thing:

Then the crepe is folded five times, to give it as many layers as possible. Layers is definitely a recurring theme in the food here.

 

And then whisked into a bag:

Following breakfast I received a rather ominous email from Air Canada. They were apologizing for the inconvenience because of the flight disruption and offering a discount coupon as compensation. What disruption?

After a little digging we found out that our flight was cancelled. Uh oh. And because it's Sunday the Air Canada office in Beijing is closed. And we can't call the North America number. All very unhelpful.

We made a Skype call to our friends Leigh and Evelyn and luckily they were home. They were extremely helpful, waiting patiently for a return call from Air Canada. Seems there were also weather problems on the East Coast which were keeping everyone busy.

To keep everyone calm while we waited for word from Air Canada we went shopping, returning to the Silk Market. It worked like a charm. In between I was emailing back and forth with Leigh and finally found out that Air Canada had created a new flight later in the day to replace the cancelled flight. Phew. Except there was no way of finding this out from Beijing.

I almost headed out to the airport just to see if I could find a live person to tell us how we would get back to Vancouver. Very happy I didn't need to.

My one disappointment was that with the delayed flight I don't get a double birthday. Oh well.

Our friends dropped by our hotel late this evening and wished me a happy birthday. That was nice, especially after the stress of the cancelled flight. They've been so incredibly helpful in planning this trip and making so many of our experiences possible.

 

Hutong Al Fresco

Just steps from the Temple of Heaven is Pearl Market, an important destination for Bess. We didn't have nearly enough time when we were at the Temple of Heaven earlier in our trip, so we made a special outing today.

A good plan, since at this point Bess has polished her bargaining skills and we had a name or two to drop for (hopefully) a better price.

The kids were extraordinarily patient while we picked out pearls and other things to bring home. We rewarded Jess with a walk through the neighbouring toy market to admire the selection of Rubik's cube variations.

After the pearls we thought a little culture was in order - so we headed for the Lama Temple. After listening to the name repeated so many time on the subway (almost as nice to listen to as Nanaimo on the SkyTrain), I was curious to see it.

The main Buddha itself dates to the mid 18th century and stands 18 metres high. One big Buddha.

The temple grounds were also quite interesting, but by this point the kids were exhausted so we hopped on the subway and headed back to the hotel. The kids rested while I ran out again to explore a more modern district of Beijing - taking in the extreme contrast between the old hutongs and the ultra-modern buildings and outlandishly expensive shops.

Dinner was back in the hutong, at a little place I had walked by on a number of occasions - and it had always been very busy. Nice to sit out in the warm evening air and enjoy the wonderful food. I can recommend the dumplings at Mister Shi's.

A nice end to our last night in Beijing.

 

Pandas!

This morning was spent learning a very important lesson: how to tell an impostor panda from a real panda. Here's a handy guide to help.

Impostors:

Real panda:

It can be very tricky when both are hiding behind bamboo.

We woke up early to prepare for our 7:30 AM arrival in Beijing. What we didn't count on was navigating the subway with suitcases in tow at the peak of morning rush hour.

I told Jess that the mild mannered women in yellow on the platform were "pushers", working to load as many people as possible onto a crowded subway car. When the train arrived and we just barely squeezed onto the car with our suitcases, the women in yellow barking fierce orders through their portable loudspeakers, Jess's eyes were quite wide. Three trains later we arrived at our hotel, successfully checked in without help from our friends, texted them to let them know we were safe, and dropped off our bags.

Then it was off to the zoo, following the river of parents with small children in tow. The first stop was the Panda House, wanting to see them before the zoo got even more crowded. Fresh from the subway press, the crowd watching the pandas was a piece of cake to overcome. Soon we were right against the glass and the panda strolled over, sat down right in front of us and started happily munching on bamboo.

Then it was off to visit the other panda, also happily munching

And a quick stop to see the happy, lazy Lesser Panda:

After the zoo we made another trip out to the Haidian district for the giant electronics malls to buy toys, and then back to the hotel to unpack and settle in for our last few days in Beijing.

Seeing the pandas close up was a marvelous part of our trip. The only challenge was sorting through hundreds of panda shots to find just the right one. Thank goodness for burst mode and fast memory cards.

 

Night Train to Beijing

Our last day in Xi'an, we made plans to visit the Shanxi History Museum, reputed to be one of the best in Asia. We arrived mid-morning, which was definitely a bad plan - the line looked to be at least 2 hours long. We quickly formulated a alternate plan - the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

But first turtles!

And ducks!

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was originally built in 652 AD to house writings and relics brought back to China from India by Master Xuanzang, who travelled extensively through India studying and collecting teachings on Buddhism. The museum encompasses the pagoda, as well as collections documenting the master's incredible journey.

After the hike at Huashan, the kids declined to climb more steps, and high towers simply aren't on for Bess. So they waited patiently while I took in the view - rather muted on a rainy day.

After the pagoda it was time for lunch. Having once navigated the put money on a card, pay for meals and then collect your refund for the balance food court system we decided to try it again. The noodles from this one-man noodle shop were delicious. Bonus for spotting Bess in the background waiting for her much slower but equally yummy handmade noodles. We tasked the kids with fighting for a table.

We spent the afternoon resting, catching up with the on-again wifi, packing up from the apartment and buying food for the return trip to Beijing.

The train station in Xi'an has the appearance of just barely controlled chaos. Taking one look at the crowd gathered near the platform entrance we made a quick call - circle the suitcases!

Once boarding started I had to rely on skills learned during my single year of high school football as a surprising strong older woman tried to bash her way over anyone in her path to get to the train first.

The car we're in is a "hard sleeper" - six bunks to a compartment with no door. The lower two levels of bunks are more sought after, since the top bunks are a challenging climb and a tight fit against the ceiling. So we're four and four in two compartments.

The kids had another game of cards, we all got ready for bed, and the light went out a few minutes before 10. Actually it's quite a comfortable way to travel.

 

Reprise - Drum and Bell

Today was a quieter day, poking through Xi'an's drum and bell towers, and wandering a little deeper into the Muslim Quarter.

First the Bell Tower from the Drum Tower:

And next the Bell Tower from the Drum Tower:

All in the midst of a very modern and busy city centre.

It was raining most of the day, and one thing we noticed was how colourful the umbrellas are here - we had trouble spotting a single black one.

We wandered away from the very tourist centric street in the Muslim Quarter to the very food centric part. All sorts of fantastic foods. And many variations of coal fired cooking apparatus.

Which will give you a very hot wok.

Lots of dried fruits:

And then there was the watermelon trike:

And a beautiful calligraphy demonstration.

We only sampled a small fraction of the food that was available, but everything we had was wonderful. A really nice way to spend the day.

 

Huashan

The second day of our excursion out of Xi'an was to Huashan, one of the five sacred mountains of China. Named because of the arrangement of five peaks to resemble a flower, it has an ancient history of both religious and artistic inspiration.

Rather than climb more than 1500 m in high humidity and heat, we opted for a gondola ride to the North Peak, and from there a more manageable (and safer) climb to the other four peaks, meeting Bess and our friend at the South Peak and taking the same gondola down they took up.

Different places among the peaks are given poetic names, such as Golden Lock Pass, or reference mythology, like the daughter of a duke who married a hermit so they could play the flute together every night and attract phoenix.

"Watching Huashan from Beidou Terrace".

The paths on the mountain are all either cut directly into the granite itself, or added on with cement. Many thousands of steps covering the mountain.

And the occasional little cave.

Spectacular lookouts abound - it was truly exhilarating wandering from peak to peak.

Then there was the plank walk we didn't attempt. Good for those who want to overcome a fear of heights by means of extreme self torture.

Finally we arrived at the South Peak to meet Bess and our friend - we knew we were on the right track we asked if the trail led to the South Peak and the fellow answered that we must be the foreigners that two ladies had asked about.

The only problem with the South Peak is that it's the most accessible peak from the easier gondola. So it's overrun with tourists, including women in dresses and three inch heels. Perfect attire for a stroll around the top of a mountain. I thought it looked more like "tourist peak".

Even so, the scenery was so wonderful that the unruly crowds were easily ignored.

Then it was time for the gondola ride down - quite a feat of engineering.