Location: near Badaling, China
The wind was howling today, luckily in the direction we were going so it was great for riding but when it got to the time of finding a camping spot things became a bit difficult. There were several hidden spots in orchards etc. where we could have camped out of sight but they were still exposed to the wind. Temperatures always dropped to around -10 C at night and with this wind it would have been REALLY cold so we needed to find a sheltered place. We finally decided to start asking at houses if we could camp in their courtyard but people continuously turned us down either because they thought we would be too cold to camp or they seemed scared of us.
We turned off the highway onto a smaller road and ended up in a small town. The first house which was the size a small apartment building had a large, walled yard in front so we decided to ask if they would let us camp in there. We were invited inside for some tea and then the ladies inquired what we wanted to eat. Well, noodles are always good! Thank you!
The interior of the house was beautifully decorated and the furnishing very modern. Then we were called into the kitchen and wow did they prepare a wonderful dinner for us! We only managed to eat about half of it but they kept asking if they should make more. So nice, wow! Hot soup and noodles, eggs, spicy tofu, some vegetable dish and ham. Amazing! Strawberries and more tea for dessert.
The wind was howling today, luckily in the direction we were going so it was great for riding but when it got to the time of finding a camping spot things became a bit difficult. There were several hidden spots in orchards etc. where we could have camped out of sight but they were still exposed to the wind. Temperatures always dropped to around -10 C at night and with this wind it would have been REALLY cold so we needed to find a sheltered place. We finally decided to start asking at houses if we could camp in their courtyard but people continuously turned us down either because they thought we would be too cold to camp or they seemed scared of us.
We turned off the highway onto a smaller road and ended up in a small town. The first house which was the size a small apartment building had a large, walled yard in front so we decided to ask if they would let us camp in there. We were invited inside for some tea and then the ladies inquired what we wanted to eat. Well, noodles are always good! Thank you!
The interior of the house was beautifully decorated and the furnishing very modern. Then we were called into the kitchen and wow did they prepare a wonderful dinner for us! We only managed to eat about half of it but they kept asking if they should make more. So nice, wow! Hot soup and noodles, eggs, spicy tofu, some vegetable dish and ham. Amazing! Strawberries and more tea for dessert.
When the husband came home he welcomed us warmly and seemed quite excited to have foreign visitors. Again, it was remarkable that just a few houses down the road people were scared of us and here they are excited that we showed up on their door step.
One of the husband's friends came over too and we spent the evening on the second floor in the tea and billiards lounge drinking tea and conversing via google translate. It was so much fun. In the picture below you can see the elaborate tea set our host had. The tea we drank was called Pu'er (say "poo-ar") tea which came in small foil wrapped balls that we all helped to unwrap. It was brewed in the little tea pot in the picture and the first shot was poured over the little Buddha statue (in the bottom left of the image). The tea cups were tiny bowls that fit into my palm perfectly and needed constant refilling because they did not contain more than two small sips, so that kept us busy for a few hours. I have never drank tea in such a ceremonious fashion, it was lovely!
Tiny tea bowl
Next morning, the tea party continued after a very lavish breakfast. This time our host's wife and the baby joined us too. Our host told us about his dream to travel in the USA and how much he loves travel in general. Thank you Google translate for making this conversation possible.
Before we left we were loaded up with about 10 pounds of fruit which was the best gift ever! We would never buy that much fruit because it is so heavy to carry but when it is given you cannot really say no and you have to eat it fast to drop the weight. Yummy!
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL TIME AT YOUR BEAUTIFUL HOUSE. WE HOPE YOUR TRAVEL DREAMS WILL COME TRUE!!!
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