Around Shanhaiguan

2009 09 14 – Day 80 – Shanhaiguan

Like Qianmen in Beijing, Shanhaiguan is part of the 'new old' China.
The new arched entrance to the old tourist attraction The First Pass Under Heaven:

The building to the left with the circular windows is part of the hotel I stayed in, which was very convenient.

New flat surfaces and sharp edges abound in the old town. Perhaps everything's new?

Except this food stall. Delicious spicy eggy pancakes – a staple breakfast item for my time in Beijing, so I don't know why I didn't have a good picture of one earlier.

The sun came out, collaborating with the smog to make my photo of The First Pass Under Heaven look like it's from the 1970s or something:

Within the tourist zone around and beyond the gate are a variety of gentle entertainments:

archery with arrows of dubious quality – they each lacked at least one fletching; drumming on massive drums of impressive sound and rebound; wide wall walking:

bashed biscuit buying

(and eating! Mostly almond and honey I think. Mmm!)
In fact there was plenty of opportunity to buy a variety of tourist tat, but I declined the enthusiastic stall holders' advances.

The rising ranks of tour groups were beginning to crowd my space. It was time to move on.

Shanhaiguan Nightlife

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.

Tallinn

2009 07 17-18 – Day 21-22 – Tallinn

Tallinn is an old town... that now has some new bits! The old town is a pretty and laid back place... probably worthy of a long weekend visit.
Here's the pics:



Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Just after I'd taken this photo, a smart car pulled up and a senior priest stepped out and followed these two green robed guys inside. I followed and was rewarded with some magical choral singing and priestly recital reverberating around the ostentatious interior. With such other-worldly/angelic sounds and environment I could easily imagine how, in times gone by, such an approach to religion could impress the local population into devotion.
No photography allowed inside so you'll have to go yourself :)

The following old and new buildings were opposite each other on the same street.

Gdańsk

2009 07 03 - Day 7 – Gdańsk

Gdańsk has a lovely old town and clearly a long history of which I knew nothing...
Wikipedia tells me it's Poland's principle seaport, has at times been in German control or a free city and was the birth place of the solidarity movement which “played a major role in bringing an end to communist rule across central Europe.”