Tickets to Xi'an on the night train purchased, we headed off to Beijing's Night Market to sample what some consider to be exotic food. We were hungry after a long day of traveling to and hiking on the Great Wall of China in Simatai.
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A view of the wall through a watchtower window.
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Our trip to the Great Wall started at 9am when we started walking in the direction of the bus station. Our plan was to take a bus to Miyun, then find a minibus to take to Simatai. Our utter lack of Chinese nonwithstanding, we were confident we could do the trip for far less than the 1300 yuan price quoted to us by our lodging manager.
After an hour and half of walking around in circles, we finally boarded a city bus - thanks to a lady in an outdoor equipment shop - that took us to the bus station. We then grabbed a mini-van for 400 yuan to Simatai. Our lack of success of finding the bus station, convinced me that finding a bus to Miyun and then minivan to Simatai might take the better part of the day.
A hustling minivan driver also helped convince us that we were far better off paying him 400 yuan for door to door service, rather than deal with the language and logistical nightmare that awaited us.
Two hours later, Wang Ying, deposited us 300 feet from the ticket window at Simtai. We agreed to be back at the van by 4pm so we could head back to Beijing.
After few minutes of walking, a small, stooped farmer with rotten teeth appointed himself as our tour guide. Despite several attempts to get rid of him, he doggedly stayed by my side, offering books and trinkets ever 100 meters. I asked Canadian, fluent in Chinese thanks to years of living in Shanghai practicing the Mandarin tongue with his Chinese girlfriend, to ask the farmer to kindly leave me alone. He replied, "I will, but I don't think it will help much."
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Steep stairs lead to another tower. Much of the Wall has been repaired and estimates vary as to how much original stonework remains.
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He was right. The farmer stayed close to me chasing away other peddlers that litter the walk up to tower 8. The wall is impressive, especially in this section where the terrain is rugged and mountainous. But I don't think the wall was effective at keeping out the invaders as I spot many people who appear to be of Mongolian origin.
We take the cable car down the hill, trying to stay on schedule to meet our driver Wang for the drive back to Beijing. we arrive back in town close to 8pm. It has been an 11 hour day and the Night Market awaits us. Fortunately, it is a quick 5 minute walk from our room and we are quickly enveloped by the smell of grilled meat, shrimp, lamb, and fish. We wander along the stalls and sample some vegetable dumplings and a Chinese burrito.
I opt for a skewer of squid and sea snake dipped in red chile sauce. A few stalls later, I spot something unusual. It is silk worm. I fumble for money and pay the lady as her partner quick fries the skewer of 5 silkworms. Maria grimaces as I bite into crispy shell. She asks me what it tastes like. I can't describe it only to say that it is crisy and has a nutty flavor.
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The dark brown silkworm are on the right.
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We buy some beer for 5 yuan and troll for more delicacies. We find booth that has crickets, scorpions, and other members of the insect family. I order up a skewer of 3 scorpions and 5 crickets. I am oblivous to the crowd of French people who are waiting for me to eat the insects. The crowd grows larger and even some Chinese tourists stop to watch me eat the scorpions.
My skewer of scorpions contains 3 small, crispy scorpions. Like the silkworms, they have a nutty taste to them. I contently munch on them, posing for a snap, the start on the crickets, which I have had on a previous visit to China.
We have had a great day. We have climbed the Great Wall, eaten fresh seafood and I have tasted scorpion and silkworm for the first time. So far we are off to a great start on our journey.
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Like silkorms, crickets have a nutty taste to them.
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