Hohei Lake and Badaling

Badaling
date: 19-05-2008
Beijing


















Yesterday we had another “restday” so a good opportunity to go for a visit to the Great Wall of China! It was only an hour when choosing the luxurious option of a non-stop airco bus. This would cost us only 12 yuan according to our Lonely Planet. We got up early and happily went on our way, after taking the underground to the stop Jishuitan we searched for the bus station from where bus 919 should take us to Badaling. How easy is that? Not very as we found out after searching for what seemed forever. It turned out that there were many buses with the number 919 but that were all the wrong 919’s. Tja not all is what it appears to be. There was one girl who spoke good English and she assured us that we just had to come on her tour. The bus to Badaling wasn’t going according to her… Right where have we heard that before, I remember an incident in India where the taxi driver assured me that the hotel I wanted to go to had burned down and no other hotels were available except of course an hotel of friends..I told the girl that I was sure that the bus was going and that she was lying. After a bit more of patiently looking around we found the right bus just around the corner. We were the only non-Chinese on the bus and were most happy that our perseverance paid off. We had to run for a seat but we succeeded.
The bus drove out of town quite fast and it was surprisingly quiet on the road. After exactly one hour we had reached our destination well so we thought. It was the end stop of the bus but it looked totally different from what I remembered. We had some lunch and then set of to find the wall. It turned out that we were at the Badaling bus stop from where it was a little further to the official entrance. There it did look familiar.
Last year I had been there for the first time but it still looked beautiful and like good fun. For Koen, Maarten and Natasja it was the first time. We walked for a few hours until we could go no further. That was a good place for a rest and of course for some action pictures! One of the sales people started to sing the well known Kung Fu tune.


They all were very interested. When Maarten spontaneously started to do some TaiChi, a man that was passing almost joined him. There was a very good atmosphere there. After a while it was time to go back, too bad it was fantastic on the wall, such an amazing view and fresh air at last!










Back in Beijing we discovered that the lakes that we had planned to visit that very evening where basically at our feet. An English lady who works as a doctor and lecturer in Beijing had advised us to go there the day before. We met her when we were looking at our map and she asked if we needed any help, before we knew it we were chatting away and she told us that it was very nice to go to the lakes in the evening and eat something or have a drink.



It was a beautiful evening and we were there already so we went for a nice walk. It was so quiet and chilled out for a place in the center of town. There were people chilling out everywhere.

Some were fishing with gigantic fishing rods others were sleeping or playing cards.
On our walk around the lakes we saw two Beo birds in separate cages. They could imitate just about anything in a perfect way. From a person clearing his/her throat to complete sentences in perfect Chinese. What really surprised us was the sound of a claxon of a car it was so realistic we were looking behind. They also started to laugh at each other as if they were two old friends giggling over something funny. It was unbelievable realistic.
There were many people swimming in the lake, there were big signs saying that this was absolutely not allowed but apparently it wasn’t enforced. That is kinda relaxed here, many things might not be allowed but are quietly “gedoogd” we would say which means ignored and in an not official way tolerated.






Eventually we sat down at a very characteristic and fancy looking hot pot restaurant to have dinner. It has to be said it was just fantastic from beginning to end. We sat at beautiful wooden tables in a traditional amazing looking courtyard it was just from out of the movies.
The beautiful copper traditional hot pot was heated up with small coals instead of those rather dangerous looking gas bottles under your table. The food was delicious and the ladies of the restaurant did their very best to show us the art of hot pot. It was by far one of the best and most magnificent places where we have eaten. I mean even the toilets were immaculately clean and with a wonderful fragrance of incense. That is quite remarkable here.
We were asked to fill in a questionnaire about our visit and they were very happy with all our
Enthusiastic comments but it had been super and we could not think of anything that needed improving. It was not too late when we got home but I think we might have all been a little bit tired after all that walking. It was another unforgettable day of which there are many here!