The previous post is Beijing (June 01).
The next post is Enroute to Datong (June 03).

Beijing (June 02) · Jun 10, 09:46 PM

I was up early and hungover to meet Simon, Jen, and Nick in the courtyard of the Far East. Nick brought his stuff down to check in for the night and then we left with Alley — a random encounter Simon made this morning. It took two cabs to shuttle us all to Leif & Freda’s place, ironically positioned across the street from Nick’s original hostel. It also took us two cars to get our group to the Great Wall. We are going to the Simtai section; it’s not very crowded, only partially restored, and a fun several hours. Only one postcard/trinket lady followed us up the whole way and back down. Simon gave in at the; he gave each of us one of his new postcards. Circumstances extenuated — we had been brushing off her 3 RMB trinkets on the way up, then all the guys took a 35 RMB zip-line down across a reservoir lake. He was the last to go, and broke down at the last possible moment. We split up in Beijing.

Simon, Jen, Nick, and I met later and took a cab to Li Jia Cia (near Hou Hai lake) for an imperial cuisine diner. We selected the cheapest set-course dinner (200 RMB), and a long train of appetizers and dishes were paraded out onto the lazy suzan. I remember: pickled cucumber, green mush, spicy brown mush, a cold salad, beef, pork, chicken, duck, soup, and fruit. Extremely worth it. Highly recommended — by us and by the Economist as well, it turns out.

We hung out for an expensive round of drinks in the Houhai area, sitting on large couches in front of a water-side bar. Our place had a sign that read “Probably the best beer in the world” ... later we saw the less humble “Perfect Ultimate Refreshment”. It was a good evening.

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