I believe tomorrow is the start of my 5th week in Uni. Damn, already more than 1/3 done. Happy that my mandarin has progressed enough in order for me to carry on a conversation and to make a few sparing jokes. Two sad things about time flying by:- (1) I can't catch up with character memorisation and the damn shengtiao as usual; and (2) We would have to part ways to different parts of the world when the semester ends. I only have this to say, "Lets truly enjoy the time that we have NOW! We party on, yeah?!!!" =)
Today was another good Sunday. Great sleep till the late morning after a tiring "Chang Cheng" (or known as the Great Wall). We went to Xidan which is on line 1 subway and entered into one of the multiple generic higher classed shopping complexes on the street. Am happy to say that I have discovered that my healthy eating has paid off. Am starting to feel comfortable back in a size "S" after some shopping in UniQlo, but definitely much more work is necessary. Another 2 or 3 damn kgs to go, but this time to be shed on certain areas. *erm* More pole dancing? haha.
As for Saturday, we were so blessed with such perfect weather, clear sunny skies with a slight wind! It was a field trip for the intensive course students at BLCU to The Great Wall of China (Mutianyi side) which started at 9am after the 'jalan-jalan' aka 'Sports Day' at Uni. (Psst, I didn't take part, felt silly to have to stand in the middle of the field and take a walk. Feels like too much hard labour, haha! But am sure that "some" did enjoy it. But damn, I so want the white or red BLCU shirt!)
It took us 2 hours on the Uni bus to get there, with some pretty good countryside scenery with plenty of Hutongs. I love the grey out look of the Hutongs, its so classic and traditional. There are plenty of handicraft stalls before the start of the climb. First word of advice, buy on the way down, and bargain all the way. One shirt was initially quoted at RMB40 to 60 and went down to RMB10. The stalls higher up tend to be cheaper.
Second word of advice, if you hate climbing steps, there's a cable car around RMB36 for one to take up and then only climb down the Great Wall. We were "smart" enough to make the climb up, and with mutual encouragement and a literally occasional hand boasting, we managed to go all the way up to the cable car station. I do realise that my stamina has gone to ground zero despite Mutianyi being an easy climb with well maintained steps and relative steepness than compared to Badaling. I wonder if I can make it in Tibet. Maybe I'll end up crawling on the ground.
Two things that I so regret not doing at Great Wall:-
(1) A jump shot picture with my classmates. (Arrgh, we should have reached for the world!); and
(2) The Tobogan ride at Tower 9. (Yes, tobogan ride indeed. I was told that it was loads of fun...btw, Tower 9, you'll need to walk downwards instead of upwards once u arrive at the intersection of the wall after the steep climb up.)
Great views from the top but my favourite was in the middle of the walk before reaching the Observation platform. Concern of my weak knees made me take the cable car ride down. I had prior experience which was not so pleasant where I was wincing at every step down Badaling. The steep uneven steps totally killed off my knees for almost a year. It was an exhausting but enjoyable trip.
And THANKS to my classmates, I have also discovered the joys of Bao Zi and Jiao Ji (all dumplings) sold in the unassuming local small shops at Wu Dao Kou, with just 4 tables inside.Looks darn delicious, right? It was! Tantalising to the tastebuds. And actually ridiculously good for 4 kuai for one basket. If only I can remember how to get there again. =)
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