Si Ma Tai in a Day July 7-8 2006
July 7
We had purchased reserved seat tickets for the JR Limited Express from Kyoto to Kansai airport because with the bags that we are carrying we wanted as little hassle as possible. When we purchased the tickets we also found the gate and platform for the train. The reserved seats were an extra US$4 each and it took five minutes to find the platform; time and money well spent. Doing these things took the stress out of the trip to the airport.
The flight to Beijing was uneventful and we were met by two agents from the travel agency we are using for the Mongolia / Russia legs of the expedition and they took us to our hotel the Novetel Xinqiao (Sinchau). We asked the agency to set up a trip to the Great Wall at Si Ma Tai for Saturday as we find ourselves with an extra day due to not being able to get tickets on the train from Beijing to Ulabantar, Outer Mongolia. Si Ma Tai is a less visited area of the wall that has not been completely restored. The bad news is the reason it is less visited is because it is a 2.5 – 3 hour drive from town.
The only other event of the day was a wild goose chase for the mouth guard we need for Holly’s teeth grinding. The hotel concierge had pointed us in the direction of a shopping area called the Silk Road Market. That was a bust. Not even close. We’ll have to keep looking.
July 8, 2006
After breakfast we met our guide for the day, Sam, in the lobby at 7:45 after which we drove to Si Ma Tai. It was a hazy day so photo opportunities would not be optimum. This section of the wall runs along the top edge of an imposing ridge so all heads were tilted back as we got out of the car.
They have a cable car that looks like it came from a fifties carnival that you can ride about half-way up the ridge, the rest of the way is leg power. As we hiked the inevitable vendors latched on to us. They have a twist here. They walk with you up to the wall fanning you, strongly offering a helping hand and giving you some history and wall stats as you move along. After the climb they show you their wares and it’s up to you if you want to buy. We had a man and woman and the term “white on rice’ will give you an idea of how close they stayed with us. After a thirty minute climb up steps and inclined trail we made it to “Tower 8” of the wall. The 8 refers to how the tourism people number the wall towers in this area.
The wall here is under renovation and the work was going on as we walked between towers 8 and 12. The renovation is mainly replacing broken bricks and these are just on the outer layer. Even with the haze the views were awe inspiring. With the question on our minds “how did they build it“. The next question was why? As I mentioned earlier the wall here is built on an imposing ridge that would appear would have blocked Hannibal and Patton together. Whatever the reason they did and I suspect the how had to do with a lot of sweat and lives.
There were a few people here but nothing like the time we visited the wall at Badalang, an area that is more developed and only 45 minutes from Beijing. At Badalang there were thousands of people. Here there was less than a hundred. This made for a much more pleasant experience and we didn’t feel near as rushed.
After about two hours we headed back down and the day of reckoning came. We bought a picture book (taken on a clear day), a T-shirt and a fan. The people here are very nice and we didn’t mind helping them, but we stilled haggled.
On the way back to town Sam told us about the largest sports store in Beijing and it was only a few blocks from the hotel! We stopped there and they had mouth guards. Holly is set for now which is a good thing as tomorrow we leave for Outer Mongolia and something tells me we won’t find a lot of places to buy mouth guards there.
Our original plan had us dining on Peking Duck tonight at one of Beijing’s famous duck restaurants. After almost six hours in the car, two plus hiking and 30 minutes or so of urban walking we decided to skip the duck and have peanut butter in the room instead. The stomach was willing but the feet were weak.
I doubt we will have internet connection until we reach Moscow on July 18. We will, as always, publish a daily blog every chance we have, but if the 18th is the next availability please come back and visit us then.
We had purchased reserved seat tickets for the JR Limited Express from Kyoto to Kansai airport because with the bags that we are carrying we wanted as little hassle as possible. When we purchased the tickets we also found the gate and platform for the train. The reserved seats were an extra US$4 each and it took five minutes to find the platform; time and money well spent. Doing these things took the stress out of the trip to the airport.
The flight to Beijing was uneventful and we were met by two agents from the travel agency we are using for the Mongolia / Russia legs of the expedition and they took us to our hotel the Novetel Xinqiao (Sinchau). We asked the agency to set up a trip to the Great Wall at Si Ma Tai for Saturday as we find ourselves with an extra day due to not being able to get tickets on the train from Beijing to Ulabantar, Outer Mongolia. Si Ma Tai is a less visited area of the wall that has not been completely restored. The bad news is the reason it is less visited is because it is a 2.5 – 3 hour drive from town.
The only other event of the day was a wild goose chase for the mouth guard we need for Holly’s teeth grinding. The hotel concierge had pointed us in the direction of a shopping area called the Silk Road Market. That was a bust. Not even close. We’ll have to keep looking.
July 8, 2006
After breakfast we met our guide for the day, Sam, in the lobby at 7:45 after which we drove to Si Ma Tai. It was a hazy day so photo opportunities would not be optimum. This section of the wall runs along the top edge of an imposing ridge so all heads were tilted back as we got out of the car.
They have a cable car that looks like it came from a fifties carnival that you can ride about half-way up the ridge, the rest of the way is leg power. As we hiked the inevitable vendors latched on to us. They have a twist here. They walk with you up to the wall fanning you, strongly offering a helping hand and giving you some history and wall stats as you move along. After the climb they show you their wares and it’s up to you if you want to buy. We had a man and woman and the term “white on rice’ will give you an idea of how close they stayed with us. After a thirty minute climb up steps and inclined trail we made it to “Tower 8” of the wall. The 8 refers to how the tourism people number the wall towers in this area.
The wall here is under renovation and the work was going on as we walked between towers 8 and 12. The renovation is mainly replacing broken bricks and these are just on the outer layer. Even with the haze the views were awe inspiring. With the question on our minds “how did they build it“. The next question was why? As I mentioned earlier the wall here is built on an imposing ridge that would appear would have blocked Hannibal and Patton together. Whatever the reason they did and I suspect the how had to do with a lot of sweat and lives.
There were a few people here but nothing like the time we visited the wall at Badalang, an area that is more developed and only 45 minutes from Beijing. At Badalang there were thousands of people. Here there was less than a hundred. This made for a much more pleasant experience and we didn’t feel near as rushed.
After about two hours we headed back down and the day of reckoning came. We bought a picture book (taken on a clear day), a T-shirt and a fan. The people here are very nice and we didn’t mind helping them, but we stilled haggled.
On the way back to town Sam told us about the largest sports store in Beijing and it was only a few blocks from the hotel! We stopped there and they had mouth guards. Holly is set for now which is a good thing as tomorrow we leave for Outer Mongolia and something tells me we won’t find a lot of places to buy mouth guards there.
Our original plan had us dining on Peking Duck tonight at one of Beijing’s famous duck restaurants. After almost six hours in the car, two plus hiking and 30 minutes or so of urban walking we decided to skip the duck and have peanut butter in the room instead. The stomach was willing but the feet were weak.
I doubt we will have internet connection until we reach Moscow on July 18. We will, as always, publish a daily blog every chance we have, but if the 18th is the next availability please come back and visit us then.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 5:48 AM
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