"Bicycle Parking Only"
just outside the
"Temple of Heaven"
If I could summarize last week in one sentence it would be: “Working hard, playing harder…”
I went on two little trips this weekend. First I went to the “Temple of Heaven” then I went to see a portion of the “Great Wall.”
According to the Temple of Heaven’s flier, the Temple of Heaven was constructed in the 13th Century. It was created to be the sacred alter for emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties. They offer sacrifices to heaven and prayed for a good harvest. It was interesting (I’m not sure what they sacrificed – probably not virgins).Everything has been restored over the last 800 years (or within the last 3 months), except for the 600 year old cypress trees. Definitely worth the trip if you are in the neighborhood. I’ll see it again just to find out what they were sacrificing…
I had to leave the Temple of Heaven tour early so I could recharge the batteries in my camera for the trip out to one of the most beautiful sections of the Great Wall. This was one of the best things I’ve done since arriving in Beijing. Our tour group consisted of 20 people. We all were able to camp out on the Wall. It was incredible!
We arrived at the wall in time to watch the sun set Saturday evening. Then we hiked down to the village where we had dinner at a farm house. After we stuffed ourselves, we hiked back up the wall and pitched our tents and sleeping bags (all provided by the tour guide). We stayed up late that night visiting and looking at the moon and stars until about 2am (we may have had a couple bottles of wine too).
A short few hours later (just like clockwork), the sun rose in the east providing us with another incredible opportunity to enjoy the Wall in a different light. We had coffee, fruit, and some pastries for breakfast. With our campsite looking spic-and-span, we started on a 5-mile hike. We hiked up and down the “Wild Wall” (an un-restored portion of the wall with bushes growing up and around the rocks). It was a great hike with lots of wonderful views…
Tuesday (yesterday) was “Taco Tuesday” @ the Rickshaw. The Rickshaw is one of those bars/restaurants that never close (open 24hrs a day 7 days a week). I just go there for “Taco Tuesday.” For about $3 you can buy 3x tacos for another $2 you can get a beer OR you can spend about $5 and get a pitcher of your favorite beverage… I spent almost $15 yesterday and I’m not sure how I got home.
Last but not least, today I learned the difference between a $3 haircut and a $10 haircut.
A couple weeks ago, I asked around the office if anyone knew where a good place to get a haircut was. They all looked at me and said “It depends on how much money you want to spend.” My initial reaction to that was “Heck, I’m in China and I’m going to be damned if I have pay $10 for a haircut…” So, I proceeded to go to the $2 haircut shop…
It was a tiny little shop, just about the size of my utility room. It had just two chairs (one for getting your haircut the other for getting your hair rinsed). The hairstylist was a young Chinese lady, probably around 19 or 20 years old. The floor of this place looked like it could use a good cleaning (it wasn’t filthy just dirty). Which was just how I felt after my haircut, but on the bright side…I only paid $3 for it.
Today (Day 36: Wednesday), I went for a $10 dollar haircut (just to see what the difference would be). First of all, the shop was about the size of my living room (a significant upgrade from the utility room). They had 4 or 5 barber chairs and a chair to get your hair washed. The shop had two gentle men working it (the kind of guys you normally find working at a beauty salon). They were real friendly and excited to have another foreigner as a customer. When I walked into the shop, one told me to have a seat so they can wash my hair. I think he asked me if I wanted shampoo, I told him whatever he likes. Then he told me it would be an extra $2 (U.S. Dollars – I’m trying to keep from converting RMB into dollars – I failed my public math course). Anyway, after he said, “$2 extra” I said no problem (I was splurging). After getting my hair washed, it was time for the cut. The barber/hairstylist asked me how I wanted it… In my broken Mandarin, I told him “short on sides, and no short on head” (direct translation - I used hand signals to help clarify). I’m confident he understood… After all he is a professional.
Approximately, 30 minutes later (much longer than any other haircut in my life) he was finished… Not bad I thought, then it was time for my second hair washing. This is where they try to get all those little pieces of hair off of me. After the washing, it was back to the hairstylist for the finishing touches. Other than parting my hair on the wrong side, it was one of the best haircuts in my life…
Time for bed...
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