Point2Point

"She has great boobs!"

That was Stefan's comment as he recalled an early goodbye encounter with Mara before departing with Quinnell. Surprising her with an early morning knock on the door, Mara had leapt out of her bed in distinctly non travel friendly, yet most assuredly male friendly, undies for a goodbye hug. Chris had departed the day before for Beijing with an obsession for getting on a plane to Thailand to surf. It just left me and the Slovenians for a final day of Xi'an life.

There would be no laptop for me, yet I now carried a bundle of 120,000RMB thanks to a in Bank credit card transfer with the aid of Natashka's interpreting skills. The machine in the mega mall complex was the wrong spec and time had it carried no warranty outside china.

Natashka was coming down with a cold and during a trip to a local pharmacy began to sing a made up song about Mara's boobs. It was the first time she ever broke out of her 'more serious' than Mara personality and had permanently embedded some fairly graphic images in my mind, not to mention a catchy tune. It was obviously a day when everyone was fixated on Mara's boobs. And since I was sharing a room with the Slovenians and got a full front row view of Stefan's goodbye hug, it wasn't hard to be fixated myself.

Like the Slovenians you meet so many people on the road that you either like, or you don't. Even then with the one's you like it's not going to be friendship forever. Changing emails or addresses with some people is as good as collecting business cards at a paper weight convention. There are a few people though that you know you will stay in touch with. On this trip I had collected many many paper weight business cards. But only a few keepers. Stephi, Mara and Natashka. That was it. No more. With Stephan and Quinnell we didn't even bring the subject up. We were all very different, and only shared the Riots as a common bond. We had had a good time together, but there was no need for false exchanges. We might never have even sent one mail to each other. With the Slovenians we spent the morning of my departure for Beijing already emailing our own future plans to each other.

My train ride to Beijing was an overnight one. As it was nearing the end of my journey it was time to relax a little so there was a prearrange hostel pick up waiting for me at the station. Although the train was comfortable the stations are often over crowded and aside from party hostels it was good to arrange a pick up. Why bother fighting with taxi's or touts when a nice man in a suit and a sign with your name will meet you at the platform? Indeed later on at the seriously plush Jade hostel I encountered a group of four travellers who over hearing my conversation at reception said they had seen me at the station.

"You are the guy with the name board!"

I looked at he long dark haired American girl with bedazzled look, "Yea, I guess."

Her blond friend gave me a thumbs up, "Nice move, we got stuck with a 15 Dollar taxi just to get here."

My hopes of meeting another twosome of girl company were dashed as they turned to their two respective male partners at the check in counter. "Look honey," said the dark haired girl, "Its the guy from the railway station."

What the hell? I was a celebrity hostel booker?

The two guys turned and gave me a fake smile and nod. The girls went on about the cost of the taxi a little bit longer as their counterparts tried in vain to change the subject. Not withstanding the male ego bashing of their counterparts I headed to my dorm room.

Chris should have been at the same hostel, I'd given him the directions, and we'd agreed. But an email I got from him continued to make me think why I had bothered

'Dude, I so left that place man. Found a cheaper place down the road. Mail me back so we can meet up for some beers. Off to the Wall today.'

The dorm room held 8 in pine bunk beds. After ten minutes of swapping beds with a confused Korean girl who didn't like her bed the night before she offered to take me to down town Beijing en route to her second day of city discovery.

Jin-ho was a nice enough girl in her mid twenties. She was waiting for some friends to come back from a tour and in rather a blunt manner explained that's why she had nothing to do so could show me around. We were close to Tienanmen Square so it was our first stop, and the first place I realised how very different Beijing was to the rest of China. Tourists flooded the Square outside Chairman Mao's resting place. Police ignored the camera's pointing at them here too. And in a slight act of private rebellion of no consequence I asked a cute Chinese policewoman to pose for a photo. It was hard to picuture the scene from the student uprising that infamously covered all TV and newspapers back in the early nineties. The throng of crowds made it hard to picture where 'that' tank had shuffled to avoid the student.

The back streets of Beijing are perhaps more like the China we think of. Lot's of open food stalls, vendors selling anything to anything and crowds. Also present was so much scaffolding it was hard to pass a street that wasn't under construction. People were friendly though, happy to pose for photographs. National pride was higher than ever thanks to the Olympic Games. Modern Curio shops were a joy to wander into. Everything from ancient looking wooden boxes, the smell of shoe polish still fresh on their 'ageing' wooden frames to the latest counterfeit plastic toy was on sale. Boxes of rip of confectionery stacked shelves complete with unknown triple digit additive numbers typed over very familiar design patterns. This was the market place that embodied both old and new.

We stopped for lunch at a traditional street steaming restaurant. Peking Duck, or as it know now Beijing, Duck was too good an opportunity to pass up. Beijing was trying hard to accommodate all. It was so obvious it was in your face. The new subway rode without a glitch, the signs were all new, and English was everywhere. As were the tour groups. Little ladies held brightly colored flags and led people of all ages and nationalities with matching name tags around the city. The shopping centres along Dongcheng road all bustled with the latest in consumer items as the fashion concious walked arm in arm along the well paved roadside. While consumable items were cheap, large electronics or brand name clothes matches of even surpassed European high street prices. It was a city you could easily live in. There was plenty on offer, and the after that plenty more to do.

For me I was limited by time again. It was the price one pays when you book a flight ticket, not something I was used to.

"Dude, I so gotta surf!"

Chris looked at me with a big goofy smile. Not knowing quite how to explain to him the obvious, I stated it plainly. "Chris, you are in Beijing. No surf! In two days you will be on a plane. And I happy man in Thailand with the waves."

"Yo, that's what I am talking about."

He was actually a nice guy, just in the wrong country. The Great Wall was never my thing so to speak, but as Chris wanted to see it as well on his last day we teamed up and invited the Korean Jo-him to join us. It was a hostel arranged bus that took us out to the site. We had argued briefly about the various sections that were on offer, and listening to an email I read out agreed we should see a little visited section of the Great Wall.

Naturally enough the little visited section was full of tourists. Though is this was the little visited section I was glad we did not go to the popular section. There were two ways up to the top of the wall that rested on the top of a ridge on a steep looking hill. A cable car, or walk. Chris was gone like a shot in the cable car, though tempted Jo-hin joined me on the 30 minute walk to the top. From a distance the Great Wall looked as it should; a fortified ancient wall that winded itself along a mountain ridge that went on into the distance. There were no claims on display citing it as a world heritage site, no real numbers and no one shoving propaganda down your throat. Thus, it was an enjoyable place. The walkway up to the top was surrounded by hillside forest, the odd vendor selling two Euro small bottles of water and a plaque dedicated to President Bill Clinton's visit. The wall itself was obviously reconstructed in this tourist zone. Fresh looking light brown concrete filled in around large stone building blocks. The ramparts were in excellent condition and to our right there was the hideous sight of a giant slide that offered people an alternative on the way down. The wall was far from unimpressive though. For as far as the eye could see this long chain of ramparts and towers snaked over the undulating mountains and hills of China's landscape. Where ever direction the mountain ridge would take the wall would be riding on top. Through grass lands and icy barren looking mountain ridges the wall winded its way in impressive military style.

There were two options. Left or right. Jo-hin wanted to follow a group of Asian tourists that headed off on the steep incline to the left, while I took the right and headed down a while. The stone had a slightly slippery feel to it as I descended small steps down to a tower. There were people around, but not so many as to prevent some lone photographs of the wall. The sky was blue but a little hazy. I continued on up a steep section, passing by some elderly foreigners as they struggled in the rising heat from the sun. The top tower gave an impressive few. Photographed many times over by tourists it was hard not to see why. From standing on top of the tower you were first confronted with the wide 16ft wall in front of you as it narrowed into the distance before following natures mountain ridge off to the west and into obscurity. On the other side the wall passed over seemingly impassable high mountain cliffs and rocky outcrops that jutted several thousand feet into the passes. Walking further along the wall it soon came to an end. The Wall seemed to crumble away into a nothing ahead. Only a few trees that had taken root along its path blocked the view ahead, that along with a sign in big lettering warning people not to go further.

'Stop. Danger Ahead. Go No Further.'

It was like a red flag to a bull. Within minutes I was passing by an obedient German tourist heading back and pushing my way past some tree branches. Up head there were a group of multinational looking tourists standing on a decrepit stone platform. Making my way up a make shift brick and stone walkway up to the platform I could see the appeal of it. From this old long since demolished watchtower platform was a 360 degree panorama of the the whole area. While not offering anything new as far as the wall was concerned it was an area where people smiled at each other a little. An area where you shouldn't be in obedient China. It's crumbling stone base offered a passing danger that at any moment you might step in the wrong place and fall away with the decreped structure. More importantly than all that was the fact that there were no massive throngs of tourists insight. No cable cars, no giant slides and no touts. To stand there and turn with the view of all china before you was impressive. A moment alone with history, both ancient and modern.

We waited at the bottom of the wall, surrounded by touts and expensive non impressive food stalls. The bus should have left thirty minutes ago, but we were all waiting for one remaining passenger. Chris. There was no doubt in my mind where he was. The giant chrome slide snaked its way down the hill in full glory of the tens of children screaming as they sat on cushions slid all the way to the bottom.

Re-enacting his giant slide we visited Beijing's food market that night with Chris that night. Rows upon rows of all manner of insects were on display for consumption. Scorpions, black beetles,grasshoppers, Ants, snakes, and crustations lay motionless on toothpicks waiting for you to choose your type before being cooked up before you.

"Well we better try eh?" I said looking at Chris and then pointing at a beetle the size of a cigarette lighter.

"That is so gross," he beamed. "We gotta try it."

Jo-hin squished up her face. "You guys sick. It very bad here."

"What you feel like Chris? Red Cockroach or Black Scorpion?"

"How about caterpillar?" replied Chris as he looked for the least offensive beasty.

I paused as if in thought, "I head those things can be poisonous..."

Chris' eyes widened.

"You come try here!" Said a voice behind one of the stalls

The man was dressed in a clean white jacket and his display of insects and seafood was quite impressive.

Not wanting to overstretch my own limitations I was somewhat glad when Chris opted for a small brown grasshopper on a stick. He played with it for a while, as if in the back of his mind he hoped we would forgive him for not eating it. Then with a hesitated grimace he bit into the hind quarters.

"Ewww, that so gross!" Squealed Jo-hin.

Chris stood there with one leg of the bit sized insect hanging on his lower lip. "It's really not so good actually man. And, there's something sticky coming out its ass."

"Doesn't look good from here either," I replied with a laugh. "Who knows how long they've had these things sitting around. You better get a seat next to the toilet on your plane tomorrow."

Spitting out the rest of the insects hindquarters Chris went silent for the first time since I have known him. I figured the prospect of not being able to surf the instant he hit Thailand was a contributing factor. Avoiding any repercussions I opted for a fully cooked squid. Seafood was never a safe option we are told when travelling, but compared to gooey grasshoppers, it was a safer option without backing out all together.

As a final act together before he flew out we took in a performance by the The Beijing Dance Academy. A spectacular almost circus display of acrobatics, pageantry and human contortion. Children from the age of five upwards somersaulted around the stage with all manner of rings and flaming ropes to fly through in a tale about an angry dragon. Girls balanced countless tiny glasses of water on a multitude of serving trays as they bent and twist their bodies into the most spine breaking positions you could imagine. It was a richly cultural side side of Beijing that made one think of its incredibly diverse and stoic history.

It was that history I thought about at the in entrance into the fabled Forbidden City. At first I found the place as expected, a typical government run standing museum to the past. The main outer courtyard or Imperial City was large, spread out into empty spaces and quite bland. Consisting of 980 surviving buildings, none had a serious pull you in factor. It was walking through one on the very many streets within this city within a city that I began to appreciated it more. I was in the inner city where Puyi, the last Emperor of China lived during the new days of the Chinese Republic in the early 20th century. Here the city became more closed in. The area had an almost lived in look. Large Murals like the Nine Dragons Screen in front of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity gave the impression that small children might once had delighted in playing in the small courtyard there. Indeed the whole area was full of little ally ways, small buildings, decorative murals and lavishly adorned buildings with enchanting names. The Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity, the Hall of Mental Cultivation and the Gate of Divine Might all brought a unique serenity to the city. Inner Gardens where slow waters ran into landscaped ponds filled with large colourful goldfish were mesmerizing. To think that people actually lived in such a magical looking place. It made other palaces around the world look normal, and to and extent dull. Here there was the essence of another world, one that was being walled in as an inner city within an imperial city within a modern city.

Leaving the area I truly felt like it was a place not to be missed no matter how hurried you are. I had spent a full day there and had sacrificed a brief attempt at trying to find another laptop store. With 120,000RMB bulging out of my pocket I was fast imagining myself losing out and having to convert it into dollars or Euro. Shanghai would be my next and final stop. A place to try buying a laptop, come to terms with the end, and to catch a plane.