So it was a good, if somewhat short trip up to Yanqing this weekend. The weather was beautiful up there, clear blue skies, sunny, hot but not uncomfortably so.
And it was quiet.
Very nice.
Of course, there had to be some problem in the getting there or getting back. It was getting there that was the problem, this time. The expressway was basically a series of intense traffic jams all the way from Juyongguan over to Badaling. Two problems: The trucks, as always; and bloody tourists, as always on a beautiful summer weekend. It got to the point where our bus driver consulted with a traffic cop sitting at the Shuiguan exit, then went off the expressway and took the backroad up through Badaling. Of course, this meant we quite literally went through Badaling instead of through the tunnel under it, so we did have to deal with the tourist traffic there, but that meant we were only delayed half an hour more than we’d already lost in the traffic on the expressway instead of easily another hour or more. Seriously, going through Badaling and looking back up at the expressway it was pretty clear that had we stayed on, we would’ve stayed stuck for a hell of a lot longer.
Anyway, we got off the bus at Nancaiyuan bang on 12, just in time for the next 920 out to the village. And so we got there, later than expected, but in time for lunch.
Coming back was much easier, no hassles with buses or traffic. Trouble is, we walked in the door at about half past seven, with the light starting to fade, and realised: No electricity! Dammit! Clearly the power was on in the rest of the building, just not our apartment, so a quick check of the meter, and: Yes, we ran out of power sometime over the weekend. And of course it was too late to run over to the cutely-named power saving office (the place that sells us our electricity- think maybe they’re trying to spread some subtle message?) and buy more. So by the light of cellphones we dug out some candles, then I said screw this, let’s go out for dinner.
As dodgy as the food may be, and as filthy as the tables are (and don’t even look at what you’re walking on), and despite the traffic just on the other side of the fence on Xidawang Lu, the new outdoor dining area that BeiGongDa’s Number 1 Restaurant has opened is a comfortable place to spend an evening, and certainly better than sitting at home twiddling your thumbs by candlelight. And although we timed our return too late to buy electricity (assuming the office is even open on the weekends- but judging by the other entries in the log it may well be), we timed it perfectly for a powerless night. After a leisurely-paced meal and an easy stroll home, the timing was good to heat up some water for a sponge-bath to at least get the worst of the sweat and dirt off us and then get some much-needed sleep.
And there’s the problem, and why I still feel skody: An electric water heater does not work without electricity. We had to heat water on the stove, and that’s no good for a proper wash. And no, it’s not because Yanqing is so dirty, rather because after getting off the bus in Madian, I felt instantly dirty. I could’ve easily gone another day or two without a shower had we stayed in Yanqing, because it isn’t dirty up there. It’s getting off the bus and stepping into all that extra heat and that thick soup of humidity and pollution that made me feel so horribly filthy and in desperate need for a shower.
Anyway, we plan to install a solar water heater next time we’re up there, which will make showering much more convenient. At the moment, it’s alright in the summer when a make-shift cubicle is set up in the northwest corner of the courtyard and one of those black polythene bag “camp showers” put on top, but that’s hardly ideal, and too cold for at least half the year. If we can get a good solar water heater and a stove or heater of some kind we can set up a bathroom in the eastern room that will be good year-round.
Enough rambling: We’re back, power’s back on, the water is probably heated by now, better go get in the shower.
