2009 09 13 – Day 79 – Shanhaiguan
First stop after Beijing –
Shanhaiguan – a heavily 'restored' old town to the east of Beijing, occupying a strategic location between the mountains and the sea and well known for being the only place The Great Wall meets the sea.
Having arrived at the end of the afternoon, I'd barely had sufficient time to find a place to stay and settle in before darkness fell.
And so out I strode into the warm summer night in search of dinner
The spiders crafting impressive webs on their lampposts were easily large enough that a few could make substantial and possibly nutritious dinner... but no way was I tempted to try!
There were very few people out and about, but those that were still managed to obstruct my photography:
having said that, I think the silhouettes add to this photo. I believe the man is airing his crickets – which gave the street a lovely gently musical ambiance.
Eventually, having left the old town, I found a streetside barbecue.
With the help of the smiley, friendly, if a little embarrassed, teen girls waiting the tables, and a good deal of pointing and not being fussy, I managed to have a fairly tasty dinner of fish, sausage, garlic bread and pepper. I'd innocently ordered what I thought was a bell pepper to add some veg to the meal, but in fact it was a massive chili pepper! It was one of those hot peppers where you know its hot after you've had some, but the true heat doesn't come through until two or three bites later... by which point it was far too late. Trying to keep my breathing normal, stem the sweat at the hairline, soothe my mouth with beer and not cry was tough for a moment or two, but I beat it... mostly... I did have hiccups for much of the rest of the evening!
Walking off the chili-pepper before bed and exploring the town a little, I hadn't gone far before the sound of drumming danced out of the darkness and, like the flame beguiling a moth, drew me to its source.
A small troop were giving a bit of a streetside show and a rag-tag band of onlookers had gathered. It looked like some kind of amateur/hobby group thoroughly enjoying themselves. I watched from the sidelines for a good 15-20 minutes till they were done, enjoying the rhythm of the drums, the crashing of the symbols and the enthusiasm of the performers. One sprightly elderly gent with a twinkle in his eye, and doing a good job of looking like a Chinese drag-queen, spied me grinning from the sidelines on his way by and made at least a couple of attempts to rope me in! A negotiation that brought much to the amusement of the chubby teen who'd sidled to my side for a closer look at the sole foreigner present.
Soon after the last drumbeat had ebbed out into the night, I beat a hasty retreat back through the old town to my bed.
