The Dilemma

Now back to the earlier mentioned crisis I was going through. If you remember from a previous post I mentioned that I realized despite the good weather conditions, September wasn't a good time. Well, to be exact, dates towards the end of September will never be a good idea, unless you're there to be part of the festivities.

Remember, October 1 is China National Day. Read >>> Fully booked hostels, trains and streets packed with people. I had my bed booked until 30th of September and I was scheduled to catch the train to Shanghai.

Great! Poor Planning Jowe.

So after a few days of confusion and ...... confusion, I decided to re-route. Book a ticket out of China.

An addition to my checklist before going to a country. List down the Holidays, just in case.

Temple of Heaven

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Maiko left and headed back to Shanghai. It was just Taru and me left in the same room. So we decided, being our last day, to go to the Temple of Heaven.

It was a success for us going through the train system. It wasn't that hard at all since the signs were both in Chinese and English. Good because I wasn't totally up for the challenge. However, in saying that, I slowly got a grasp of the symbols and how each direction, i.e. North-South-West-East, had it's own symbol in the Chinese language. So at least that was a good start for me. 

When we got out of the train, the smog was so intense that we realized we were squinting because it was hurting our eyes. I knew back then that China had a reputation for high pollution levels, but I wasn't expecting it to be that bad. We purchased the tickets at the gate and referred to the map. 

The Temple of Heaven is located right in the Chongwen District of Beijing. Apparently, it was a sacrificial building back in the ancient centuries of the Qing and Ming Dynasties. I wouldn't have thought of that had I not read further about the place. It looked so serene and peaceful to be a sacrificial temple. It started out as a park for the general public, showcasing ancient philosophy, religion and history. The size of the whole park seemed to have outsized the area of the Forbidden City, which was amazing. From the outside, people would notice that the whole park is protected by a long wall. The northern part was built to be higher than the southern part which depicts the belief that the heaven is higher than the earth. The actual Temple of Heaven is divided into 2 encircling walls, an inner and outer.

We started to walk through the park and decided to check out the happenings around before further exploring. It was really cute how the locals communed, doing their own different things on a Sunday morning. Some ladies were knitting and some guys were playing cards or backgammon. The whole dynamics of the Chinese families were fascinating to watch. Taru and I just smiled as we walked through one of the hallways, while we observantly watched a few men play a game with what seemed like a small tennis racket and catching a heavy piece of ball. It was more to do with the art and grace of catching the ball, rather than the energy and force of smacking it back to the other party. 

We walked further and got to the first major building, The Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests, which can be found in postcards of the Temple of Heaven Park. The emperor would go there to pray for good weather and abundant harvests. It was the first building built in the Park, a small complex consisting of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and Altar for Grain Prayers. There was a pre-wedding photo shoot at the foot of the building. The bride was in her striking but elegant red gown and the groom was in the usual men's black attire.I know Taru got a little bit annoyed with me because I stole a few shots without asking the couple's permission. My way of thinking was, since they opted to have a public photo shoot, then it must be for public consumption as well. 

We continued on to the rest of the buildings around. There were a few artists busking and a few just playing around with some kids. We slowly found our way to the Imperial Vault of Heaven which was also surrounded by the Echo wall, which by the way, didn't seem to echo our voices when we tried. The Vault was  the location of the Heaven Worship Ceremony. The whole architecture apparently utilizes the theory of sound waves, combining the Echo Wall, Three Echo Stones and the Dialogue Stone.We lingered for a while, watching the people try their luck with the Echo Wall. However, after a few minutes, we found ourselves secretly laughing because the efforts were so much that it was more of shouting than echoing that we could hear them. So much for sound wave theory. As usual, the Vault itself wasn't available for public viewing in the inside. People just stood at the doorway and took turns checking out what was in the interior. 

We walked further along and finally got to the main architecture the Circular Mound Altar, which is the actual Temple of Heaven. Located in the South part of the park, this was the main location of sacrifices on the day of Winter Solstice. People seemed crazy taking photos standing on the Circular Mound, trying to fit everyone on the small circumference on the ground. We lingered for a while and found it a little bit touristy for our liking. So we found a side staircase where we sat down for a while until I finished filling up my postcards. The smog was still annoying in the background. As we walked back to the main entrance, we noticed a sign that caught my attention, I couldn't help but take a photo. Now, there must have been a previous situation that caused authorities to put up that sign. Definitely, why would someone be there during a thunderstorm??? Go figure. 

We chose a different path to walk. We knew we were finishing our Beijing trip soon. It was a nice day hanging out with Taru as we talked about a lot of stuff. We decided to end the day by having dinner at a Chinese place near our hostel. We made a toast and discussed further travel and life plans :)

The Forbidden City

with Taru and Maiko

After going through the Jinshang Park and having a wonderful interactive experience we decided to stop by a small food place along the streets. It was more of us wanting to experience a local scene rather than the usual Chinese posh Restaurant setting. It was rather a little bit awkward at first because we noticed all of the customers were men...not a single female in the place. You know those cowboy shows where a stranger comes in through those swinging doors, everyone stops talking in the bar and looks at the person... enter cowboy sounds. Well that's what we felt. I guess, imagine a Chinese cowboy though. hahaha. Hilarious. Well, we didn't let the scene intimidate us. We had the grouchy girl take out an extra table along the small space of a sidewalk. We were smiling, proud of ourselves. Cute. However we didn't look cute anymore after trying to finish all of the massive servings. So much for eating. I felt like a, well, cute panda with a stuffed tummy, wanting to have siesta. Errr Spanish Panda? 

The Forbidden City has been captured so many times in Asian History. It was given the names The Palace Museum, The Purple Forbidden City and also Gugong Museum. Located in the middle of Beijing, it is also situated across the known Tiananmen Square. It was built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty and spanned through until the Last Emperor in the Qing Dynasty in 1911. As it has been said, The Forbidden City is one of the largest and best-preserved complexes in the world. The main entry faces the South side of the city. The whole complex is shaped like a square, surrounded by a man-made moat which was a strategy to keep off any tries to invade the Palace. The high red wall standing 35 feet high felt like it gave more of a Chinese feel to it because of the hue.

We took a few minutes to stand in front of the grandeur. A few uniformed and non-uniformed guards were lined up at the gate as they meticulously eyed all of us entering The Palace. The crowd was a mix of locals and tourists. I'd say September was a good time because it wasn't hot. However, I realized later on, it wasn't really the best time for me....... I'll explain in the next post. 

We decided to do a toilet stop before walking the confines of the big complex. So that was when the happening..... happened. We were all pouting when we got out of the toilet... Maiko was fuming with rage, Taru was standing tall feeling successful and they were all laughing at me when I got out because I looked defeated and confused. Well... I seriously felt harassed. After a few minutes of toilet experience recap, we moved on and headed for the ticket booth. 

Taru chose the Finnish radio guide and I got curious with the Tagalog, so I rented it for the duration of the exploration. The moment I pressed on the start button, I found it quite weird listening to Tagalog... and not just the typical Tagalog, they were using deep words. 

Not all of the halls were open. A few were getting refurbished and a few had additional fees on top of the first ticket we've paid. The interesting roofs were tantalizing to stare at and I couldn't help but take a few photos.Going through the Meridian Gate, we found ourselves staring at the 5 bridges that represented the five Confucian virtues of humanity, sense of duty, wisdom, reliability and ceremonial propriety. 

The Hall of Supreme Harmony served as the "throne" where the significant events like coronations, birthday celebrations and military expeditions. There were also halls that were solely for the Empress, which was more for the women's activities. 

We finished the walk by going through the Gate of Heavenly Purity and decided to go back to the hostel. We were really exhausted so we just had a quick dinner and hit the bed around 10 pm.

Jingshang Park

The following morning us girls were on a mission, to visit the Forbidden City. Fortunately, it was just a few kilometers from our hostel. So we decided to go through Jinshang Park which would take us to the Forbidden City.

Jinshang Park

The Jinshang Park is a lovely landscape of gardens where a lot of the locals would commune on a weekend. The entrance was just 2CNY which made it more better. There were a lot of groups already when we got there. It was a Saturday morning and families were out and having quality time with the kids. 

It is located at the Jingshan Hill, which was originally named Wansui Hill (Long Live Hill), Zhen Hill or Meishan Hill. It was really admirable to see three different temples perched on the top of the hills, each point symmetrically distanced between each other. 

We stopped for a while and watched a group of older citizens practicing Tai Chi with a different twist. I sort of found it really cute. So I joined in after a few minutes. The locals were smiling at me although one of the older ladies found it rather annoying. I didn't mind at all, I still joined in. Taru and Maiko were laughing as I joined in.

After some time we continued on to top of the hill that gave us a splendid view of the whole Forbidden City. I guess we weren't really expecting that which explained our surprise and appreciation of the vantage point. We lingered for a while and savoured each moment up the hill coz we knew we weren't going back to the same location.

Walking on the Grounds of Jinshanling, Great Wall of China

The alarm buzzed around 7 am, I was still snuggled under the blanket, lazy to get up. One by one we woke up and prepared ourselves for the busy day ahead.

We went down and ordered our free breakfast and sandwich for packed lunch. The hostels' cafe was packed, majority of us booked for the tour. By 8:30 am, our guide arrived and we were off.

Great Wall of China here we come!Maiko and I were seatmates in the bus.

The Great Wall is one of those places that I believe would be on everyone's bucket list of places to go to before they die. It's not just the grandeur of the walls but also the centuries and dynasties that went through the formation that makes its existence to have great significance in China's history. 

It was during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC) when the emperor Qin Shi Huangdi decided to build the structure. Interestingly enough, in Chinese it is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" meaning 10,000 Li-Wong Wall (10,000 li = 5000 km). It was under his reign that several Warring States were united, thus, the opportunity to have 4 old fortification walls connected and even more extended. It was impressive to know that it took 500,000 laborers to work on the walls. These efforts were to use the wall as defense against the nomadic Huns. Fire signals were used to let people know if Huns were approaching. Going back in history, the Huns were the armies of north Central Asia or also known as Mongolia who savaged villages throughout Asia and Europe from the 3rd to 5th century.

The Qin Dynasty was ousted by the Han Dynasty that led to building the second part of the Wall. They built the second part of the wall, still in the efforts to protect the kingdom from the raiders. A lot of the first structures were degrading due to the war but the constructions were still ongoing. 

In 1115 the Jin Dynasty came into play the Mongols were still on to China. Additional works were done to the north and south walls however raiders were still on to them. Thus, the construction of the Third Wall.In 1276 the Mongols were successful to overthrow the Jin Dynasty but because of the lack of wall defense, the Ming Dynasty was able to regain power.

With the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) , the stretch was extended with an addition of 6,400 km over 200 years. There were additions of watch-towers and cannons.  However, in 1644 the Manchu took over and started the Qing Dynasty. During those times, the wall saw more degradation with some people using rocks from it to build other edifices for personal use.

By the time we arrived, the sun was high up and I was happy that I didn't take my jacket with me or I would have regret it so much. I was awestruck by the length of the wall.... even to the distance where I couldn't even see where it ends. We were all happy....all impressed. Seriously, it was breathtaking. And I'm happy it was just a bunch of us walking that part of the wall. Woot woot! :)

We stopped at the different outposts, peeking through the small crevices, imagining centuries ago when the

soldiers would be on guard for any Mongolians in site. I remember blurting out a thought/question, "How could they have managed to walk along these walls in heavy armour?" It might have sounded blonde, but that was all I could think of.

The Jinshanling wall was truly challenging most especially parts where we had to go up steps which didn't seem to be built for humans, well for me it felt like it was for long legged people. I found it interesting to pass through a few posts where water,fizzy and food were sold. It was more amazing when one of the guys showed me a photo from his girlfriend who visited the same wall 5 years ago. It was the same guy who was selling the stuff. That just told me that he did this job everyday. Awesome. 

We ended the walk at the border of Simatai. I could clearly see from the distance who rugged that portion was, which explained why they had it closed to the public. 

Us girls ended the night with authentic Chinese dinner and of course local BOOZE! :) It was well-earned after the strenuous walk up the Great Wall of China! :)

Roomies in my Beijing dorm

I woke up after a few hours, my tummy churning...famished.

The girl on the other end of my bunk just arrived. She looked over and smiled. Her name was Taru, she was from Finland. She was very friendly and we immediately chatted about our previous travels and plans in China. She arrived just a few hours after me, and of course she saw me all snuggled under the sheets... hopefully not snoring. Apparently, she's been on the Trans-Siberain train and also explored Mongolia. The photos were amazing and the stories were awesome. Thus, why as of this writing, I've been recently considering to include Mongolia in my future travel plans. 

After some chats we decided to book the tour for the Great Wall of China, Jinshanling side. Earlier on, before I headed for Beijing, a friend of mine advised me to avoid the most visited part Badaling. It's the easiest to walk BUT most crowded. That goes without explaining the presence of photo bombs. On the other hand, Jinshanling was listed as one of the most interesting and challenging. Simatai was also one of my options but based on research at that time, it was closed due to maintenance works. I was glad that the hostel was organizing trips to Jinshanling or else getting on the public transpo with no idea of any Chinese words would have been the greatest challenge I've ever experienced on my travels. 

I went out for a quick bite, scanned a few shops mentally tagging each food stall I'd like to try in the next few days. The aroma was intense as I walked the street, temptation all around. But it was a little bit late for a hearty dinner, so I settled for the barbeque of internal organs. YUM! :D An Asian delicacy indeed. 

When I got back to the hostel, there was already another girl on the top of my bunk. Her name was Maiko, from Australia, half Japanese and half German. She was very bubbly with a jolly laugh. She's been around a few places in China and have been staying with her friend back in Shanghai for a couple of days. Her travels involved going around Asia, and I was happy to know she had the Philippines in the list. 

So, after a few more chats, she agreed to join us for the Jinshanling walk. 

In the middle of the night, I heard someone come in but the lights were off. So I didn't bother to say hi anymore. Later we all got introduced to Aditiya from Indonesia, and that's a whole story in itself.

Enroute China and making it to Beijing

Dongcheng District

It took a lot of convincing on my part that I had to go through to China despite the possibilities of cancelling my Tibet trip. I told myself earlier on that if I have to cancel my Tibet, there was no point for me to visit China anymore. That was me and my stubborn head. 

Well, the next idea was, if I was canning the China trip, Vietnam was the other option or Turkey. But, money wise, it wasn't practical for me to ditch my booked Beijing flight and purchase another one. 

And so, on the 23rd of September 9:30 am, I arrived at Beijing, China.

To be honest, I didn't have any expectations. I was warned by various people about the huge language difference. For sure I would have a bit of challenge there. So yes, that was a given. At the time I was enroute China, I wasn't happy about what was going on between them and the Philippines. They've been trying to own one of our islands and because of that I wasn't really keen to explore the country. My parents, most especially my Dad wasn't at all impressed that I supported their tourism by being there.

I arrived and got into a bad bargaining situation with the taxi I hired from the airport. Wrong move. But it was raining, and I wasnt in a good mood already, so I gave in. 

Now another thing to remember if you get to China.. and mind you, this is one of the best tips ever. Print out the address to make sure people would understand you if you're lost. 

The taxi driver wasn't familiar so he had to call the backpackers to make sure he was heading the right direction. After a few phone calls, he stopped along what seemed to be a major highway and advised me to walk down the alleyway where there were chinese lanterns hanging. In his crooked 1% English, I understood him for some reason. After that, I so felt like having a beer.

I asked a few people and eventually found the backpackers. It was Beijing downtown backpackers along No.85, Nan Luo Gu Alley,Dongcheng District, one of the alleys where there was abundance of street foods, restos and assorted options. I was actually surprised when people were smiling and friendly when I asked for help. Ive been told about the rudeness of some locals. But I assumed because it was a touristy street that they would be more patient with strangers. 

I got to my room, a 6-bed dorm, put on the sheets, had a hot shower (apparently it was cold in Beijing), and went for a quick snooze. 

Moving On

China was waiting, although 2 weeks later than planned. I knew with the change of schedule there were slim chances for me to push through my Tibet trip. So I told myself to see what options I had when I get to Beijing. If it was feasible, then I'd go for it. But if not, then I won't push it. 

My flight was in the afternoon. On my last night Ate Des and I had a chat through until the wee hours of the morning before we had a shut eye. I knew it was going to be difficult for us to catch up once I left London, so I maximized the time that I was there. 

She accompanied me to the airport and made sure I got to the gate safe and sound. It was hard for me to say goodbye but I guess goodbye's has always been part of this trip anyway. Besides, I knew I'd see her again

At 4:30 PM London Time, I was up in the air bound for Beijing, China.

BPI Awards Europe 2013 & My Last Night in Europe

It was my last 2 nights in London and also staying at Ate Desiree's place. I had mixed emotions with ending my Europe trip. But I knew it was always part of this trip..Moving on to the next chapter, next adventure, new horizons. Asia was the next and last stop, or so I thought. 

I passed by a Chinese take away shop and called up Ate Des to tell her that I was buying us dinner. When I got home Kuya Ray and Ate Weng were at home. The feeling of seeing them again and going back to the apartment was , in a way, as if going back "home". 

We prepared the center table and all sat down to eat dinner. Ate Des arrived after a few minutes. It was so cute, as we told each other updates while I was in Rome. And then, the news. I was included in the list of invitee for Kuya Ray's awards night. 

Now Kuya Ray was one of the Chemist who's been part of major projects in the Power companies of England. This has been well acknowledged, thus, his being an awardee of the first ever BPI Awards Europe. 

The dilemma. I didn't have a dress, I didn't have heels and I didn't have bling. Great. I said I was fine not joining them. But of course they said I was already added to the list. So it was a must.

So all night all we could do was to scavenge through the drawers of clothes that Ate Weng and Ate Dez had and find something that would fit me. It was hilarious to be honest :). Anyway, I ended up deciding to wear a long dress from Ate Weng, use Ate Dez's high heels and bling bling was provided by Ate Weng as well. All ready to go!

The day of reckoning came and we were all busy putting on makeup.
Ate Weng looked really lovely and had contact lenses on. Ate Dez was also looking pretty. Kuya Ray was looking formal, the awardee of the night. We were collected by the cab driver around 6ish in the evening. We were well on our way to the Millennium. :)

I had my camera with me. Ate Des took care of the video coverage and I was on that ask of taking photos of the evening. I was more than happy to do that, another photo opportunity for me in a different setting. Kuya Ray (Reynaldo Lachica) was the first awarded that night, the first and only Filipino chartered chemist and scientist in the UK. The second awardee was Junix Inocian, well known in the Batibot child program when were kids, but most especially for being one of the cast in Miss Saigon the musical.

It was a splendid night and we all had fun. It was also my last night in London, that goes without saying..Europe.