SQ A380 Suites from Beijing to Singapore and a run on the Great Wall

[yflyer]

We didn't cover everything there...I think we only scratched the surface of what was on display...



One could spend the entire day here, I suspect...



This was a tour and history lesson in one, not to mention a healthy dose of national education...a process that starts from a very young age for the locals...



The arts played a part in Palace life as well...opera theatre props were on display...



...as well as part of the Imperial Court's LP collection (!)...



The Starbucks outlet in the Forbidden City has been closed down (Why was there a Starbucks there in the first place?), but there are still various gift shops there, as well as a mascot.



There are also panoramic views of the Forbidden City from the temple and park, at the far end, and across the road, from the complex.



On a clear day, the views of the Forbidden City from the temple on top of the hill must be spectacular...

[yflyer]

All that walking worked up an appetite.

Mrs yflyer's choice of dinner that day was Uigher style roast lamb.

The restaurant was in one of Beijing's hutongs, which are traditional alleys with buildings built around common courtyards.



While these hutongs are a must-see when visiting Beijing, I would strongly recommend using the bathroom facilities in the hotel or elsewhere before visiting the Hutongs, because the public toilets in the hutongs, while plentiful and clean, are not designed with privacy in mind. I suspect most non Hutong residents reading this would want to avoid the restrooms for anything but the most urgent and pressing of matters...

[yflyer]

The restaurant we visited specialized in rotiserrie roasted lamb leg...



We arrived in the late afternoon, and the restaurant looked closed, but in fact, they were open for business, and welcomed us to our table.

The roast lamb leg was sold by weight, and while a whole lamb leg could probably feed several people, it is a portion which is not impossible for two people to eat...



Complimentary vegetables and side dishes...



We also ordered Cold black fungus as a starter...



Several large metal utensils were placed at the table, which had a huge hole cut out of it for hot charcoal...

[yflyer]

And then they brought out the lamb leg...



An unbelievably tender and delicious looking cut of meat, which our cheerful server began to skillfully carve with the long metal implements...



The tender chunks of lamb she sliced off landed on the charcoal grill below for a final roasting before the strips of meat were placed on our plate...



I picked up a slice, with curls of smoke still rising from the hot meat and tasted it...mmmmm....ultra tender and full of flavour...



...possibly the most tender lamb I have ever eaten...



...there were different dipping sauces to dip the lamb in, as well as cumin powder, but even on its own, the lamb was absolutely delicious...what an amazing dish!



Friends who saw our pictures invariably made comments like "This could feed a family of 4"..."A meal for four to six people"...yes maybe so, but it made for a wonderful dinner date for two, for Mrs yflyer and I. It probably helped that we skipped lunch before that, and spent the day on foot wandering around the Forbidden City on foot to work up an appetite....

Highly recommended! Alongside Beijing Roast Duck, this is a dish that has to be tasted and savoured by anyone visiting Beijing.

[yflyer]

That evening, we soothed our tired feet with foot reflexology at an outlet in the mall across from our hotel.



Compared to reflexology outlets in Singapore, those in Beijing are far more luxurious, and yet are priced a lot more reasonably than in Singapore.



A hot soak before a very relaxing foot massage...

[yflyer]

The next day, we headed out for an excursion to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China.





To be continued...

[balajih67]

nice Tr so far yflyer.brings back memories of my visit to Beijing 5 years ago.the forbidden city has not changed even a bit since the time I last visited though that time there was no WiFi.

did you manage to visit the summer palace?I stayed at the huandao boya 5 star hotel which is just opposite crowne Plaza Beijing.looking forward to the pics of the great Wall.

[yflyer]

nice Tr so far yflyer.brings back memories of my visit to Beijing 5 years ago.the forbidden city has not changed even a bit since the time I last visited though that time there was no WiFi.

did you manage to visit the summer palace?I stayed at the huandao boya 5 star hotel which is just opposite crowne Plaza Beijing.looking forward to the pics of the great Wall.

Thanks, balajih67!

Yes, I made a brief visit to the Summer palace too...coming up later in the TR!

[yflyer]

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China is about 70km from Beijing, between 70-90 minutes from central Beijing by car. It is not the most popular part of the Wall to visit - the stretch of wall at Badaling is the most popular, however that may actually be to the advantage of visitors to Mutianyu, as it is less likely to be crowded, or overrun with vendors selling tourist trinkets.

We lucked out on the morning we went to the Wall. While the previous day was smoggy with very poor air quality, we awoke on Sunday morning to clear blue skies, and crisp, clear air. What a difference a day made!

We set out early, at 7.30am, where Susan, our private guide, picked us up from our hotel, and drove us to the Wall.

How did we choose a guide? The hotel concierge would have been happy to arrange for one, however a week before our trip, SQflyergirl had also visited Mutianyu, and her photos of the scenery were stunning.

I messaged her..."need tips from you on what guide / tour etc" and she recommended Susan, the guide who was taking her around at that very moment.

Nothing beats a personal recommendation, especially from a discerning traveller like SQflyergirl! Susan messaged me within minutes, and the tour for the following week was arranged.

And now, a week later, here we were at the Wall...





This stretch of the Wall, set amid beautiful hilly terrain, was first built around 550AD by the Qi Dynasty, with the current fortifications built by the Ming Dynasty in the 1500's. The current restored stretch of the Wall at Mutianyu is about 2.5km long, and was restored in 1986, based on the designs from 1568.

[yflyer]

There are two separate cable cars up the wall, one is your typical enclosed cable car, whereas the other is a ski-lift type open design, with the option of a luge ride back down.

We opted for the ski-lift and luge...





...which brought us up the hill to the Eastern stretch of the Wall.

This was part of the luge track leading back down the mountain...



The lady in the sign looked familiar...



The views from the wall were spectacular...



...as was the architecture of the wall itself...



There was quite a bit of walking and step climbing involved, which we were prepared for. Both Mrs yflyer and I wore comfortable walking/trail shoes...



...even then, the sheer number of steps, and height involved, presented quite a challenge if you were in less than tip-top fitness...



Although young and old climbed the wall, most of the time folks were typically just stationary, pausing to catch their breath, or just standing or sitting there, plain exhausted.



But it was worth the trek up to the tops of the watch towers, as the views from the top were priceless. Stunning scenery all round, along with breathtaking panoramic views of the wall itself...

[yflyer]

Mrs yflyer mentioned to our guide, Susan, that I was quite interested in a run along the Great Wall.

This wasn't that common a request, and Susan said that I was the first person she had brought to the Wall who wanted to go running there. The good part was that the wall was not very crowded at Mutianyu during the off peak season, and she thought that it might be possible.

I was dressed for a run: trail running shoes, multiple layers of sports/running attire. I had a winter coat to handle the cold (It was a windy 0 degrees that day), but I would ditch the winter coat for my run and rely on body heat generated from the physical activity to keep me warm.

Some sections of the Wall were clearly too steep for running, and indeed anywhere there were steps, it was necessary to slow down to walking pace, whether going up, or down.

Certain sections of the all (But not all) also carried this sign...



That said, the wall was not all steps, and there were stretches where it did look feasible to do a slow jog. And I would only walk up and down any steps (Not that I would have the energy to run up all those steps anyway!).

So after walking with Mrs yflyer and Susan up about a quarter of the Eastern section of the wall -- an exceedingly steep section, which left them both exhausted, I suggested that they take a rest near the Luge and cable car station, while I went for my run along the remaining stretch of Wall to the west.

They would wait for me at the rest area, while I went for my run to the other end of the Wall.



And so my leisurely jog along the wall began...



There were of course other visitors on the wall, but on the whole, they were thinly spread out along the wall, and didn't present any obstacle.



At the same time, I jogged mainly on the flat parts, and walked up any uphill steps, which was extremely tiring, not as if I could have run up them anyway, and walked down the steps going down, both for safety, and as an opportunity to catch my breath.

[Nick C]

Looking forward to this - heading to PEK this week

[yflyer]

This had started out as a 30 min run, but it went so well that I whatsApped Mrs yflyer to let her know that I would need more time...enough time to head right to the far end of the restored section of the wall and then retrace my steps back to the Luge station.



The last stretch to the final restored watch tower was mainly uphill...



By the end, I was huffing and puffing...



But the views from up there were worth it.

And at the very top, an enterprising gentleman had set up a small souvenir and refreshment stand. This was the only souvenir vendor directly on the wall itself, there were a couple of other refreshment stands along the wall, but these were set along the hillside, a short walk from the wall itself.



Although this last watch tower was the official end of the restored section, I could see a few visitors heading up the non-restored section beyond the wall itself. I was tempted to do so as well, but I had run out of time, and so I retraced my steps back down the wall to the Luge station, for an overall distance of 5km, 2.5km to the end, and another 2.5km back down.

In terms of distance, it was just 5km, but considering the elevation and steps, this was probably one of the most strenuous workouts I had done in a while. This was interval training, a stairmaster workout taken to extremes. And underneath my layers of clothing, I was perspiring heavily!



Back at the rest area, Susan kept asking, "Would you like to put on your winter coat?" It was still just a few degrees above zero at that point, but all that physical activity meant that I was feeling hot, not cold! I did not put my winter coat back on till many minutes later.

The overall experience of running along the Wall can be summed up in one word: Spectacular!

A wonderful run/walk/stairclimb, which must count as one of the most memorable runs I have ever done.

[yflyer]

Looking forward to this - heading to PEK this week

I'm sure you'll have a great time, Nick C!

Did you opt for the 十全食美 ex-PEK?

Yes, I believe that is what Mrs yflyer had for her meal on the PEK-SIN sector!

[yflyer]

We look the luge down the hill...



...and headed to the nearby shopping/restaurant area for lunch...





...before heading to the Summer Palace in the late afternoon for a look around.