20 ThePressandJournal | Saturday, January 17, 2015

CONTINUED / From Page 19

THE HOLIDAYiPete Thompson was a guest of New York State Tourism(www.visitnewyorkstate.net). American Airlines (www.aa.com)flies from London Heathrow to New York JFK, from £515 return.Kaatskill Mountain Club (www.kaatskillmtnclub.com) offer roomsfrom $200 per night; Winwood Inn & Condos(www.windhammountain.com) cost $120 per night; the CopperfieldInn (www.copperfieldinn.net) charges $264 per night; andWhiteface Lodge (www.thewhitefacelodge.com) is $305 per night.

Located in the western Catskill re-gion and just under three hours’ drivefrom New York City, Plattekill Moun-tain has 38 trails and is very much afamily resort, billed as big mountainterrain with small mountain charm.

I mark the start of my whistle-stoptour with a cocktail prior to dinner atthe Catamount Restaurant in thegrounds of the Emerson Resort – aclassy hotel and spa where I later sinkinto a huge four-poster bed.

The following morning, I have a closeshaveonMohawkTop,ablackdiamondrun at Belleayre Ski Center, which hasthe hairs on the back of my neck stand-

ing up. But I face the challenge head onand reward myself with a few thirst-quenching steam beers by a huge roar-ing fire in the Overlook Lodge.

Just a short drive from Plattekill, Bel-leayre is another resort that’s great forfamilies, and I can see why Germantourists apparently liken the scenery tothe Black Forest.

It’s then on to Hunter Mountain, an-other hidden gem with a single dia-mond run, christened Hellgate.

If I had visited Hunter on January 28,I would have witnessed five teams offirefighters racing down the slopes inuniform, carrying 50ft hoses as part ofan unusual annual ski race to raisefunds for New York’s Firefighters Burn

Center Foundation, which assistedmany victims of 9/11. But instead, I ad-mire a huge winner’s trophy takingpride of place in the bar.

Afterawelcometwo-night stopat theKaatskill Mountain Club, a convenientshort stroll from Hunter, I’m in for an-other pleasant surprise at WindhamMountain.

I take in a pleasant blue run throughthe trees and discover why it wasnamed Windfall, as I pass expensivehouses largely owned by wealthy cityworkers.

Huge snow drifts, iced-over riversand signs stating “Beware Bears” keepme alert as I peer out of the window enroute to Gore Mountain early the fol-lowing morning.

Gore provides spectacular scenerynot too dissimilar to The Alps and agreat variety of terrain. There are noqueues for the ski lifts and I count ahandful of skiers on several runs – acombination I had experienced allweek.

At the cosy Alpine Lodge in thequainthamletofNorthCreek,Ipeeroutof my window at the icy Hudson River,before heading for more culinary de-lights at the atmospheric Trappers Tav-ern in the Copperfield Inn.

Three days later, I look down on theHudson, the Statue of Liberty, GroundZero and other iconic New York Citylandmarks in a trance, during a sight-seeing helicopter ride of the Big Ap-ple.

Less than 24 hours after being on theslopes of Whiteface, my pulse is racingagain as I’m mesmerised by one of myfavourite cities in the world.

And I now know it’s not only theBroadway in Manhattan that is a hardact to follow.

A spectacular view of Manhattan

The beautifulAdirondackMountains

Kaatskill Mountain Club at Hunter Mountain

CHALLENGE:BEIJING

STORY / Overleaf

22 ThePressandJournal | Saturday, January 17, 2015 ThePressandJournal | Saturday, January 17, 2015 23

HAPPY FEET IN BEIJINGCan Beijing be done as a short break from

Scotland? David Walsh finds out

T he sun was smothered behind a shimmering cur-tain of haze. It was the same viscous, sticky-look-ing air that hung in Beijing. Here on the GreatWall though, itseemedonlytoaddtothemystiqueof one of the world's greatest landmarks as the

remnants of the once formidable battlements snaked up anddown the mountain ridges and into the ether beyond.

It was one of those clichéd, pinch-yourself moments. I'dseen pictures of it countless of times in books and magazines,but the scale and spectacle of it decked out in autumnal redsand golds knocked the wind out of my sails. All in all, itstretches 9,000km across much of northern China. No meanfeat.

Trouping along its crumbling ruins, the 10km hike was theculmination of my challenge to explore Beijing. As with anychallenge, there was a catch – time was limited. Bewilder-ment seemed to be the most common expression when Ianswered questions about my upcoming long weekendplans.

Time is not always a luxury I can afford and the moresceptical glances I got, the more I wanted to prove that itcouldbedone, andwhat'smore,beworthwhile.TheonlywayI was ever going to know for sure was to get on a plane.

AfteraneasytransferbetweengatesatSchiphol, Iwassoonboarding my second flight for the longer leg of my journey toBeijing. At eight hours’ flying time from Amsterdam, it reallywasn't much further than flying to New York and peopletravel there all the time for a mini-break. Or so I reasonedwith myself as I buckled in.

I awoke on Friday morning on our descent into BeijingCapital airport with the early sunlight glowing luminously. Afellow passenger instructed me that it was the city's infamoussmog; today seemed to be one of the better days. I had heardabout Beijing's air pollution. Although it’s been reduced inrecent years, it can still be all-consuming depending on theweather and season. Unperturbed, I set off exploring the gar-gantuan metropolis.

BEIJING'S HISTORIC TREASURESCutting a fine balance between the ancient and theultramodern, Beijing at first sight is a historical patchwork.Structures like the Bird's Nest stadium or the ‘Giant Egg’ –Beijing’s new Opera House - have come to symbolise a nationjammedintopgear.Upuntil theendof thetwentiethcentury,it had only been Chairman Mao's brutalist concrete that hadmuscled its way in among Beijing's historic treasures – orsimply replaced them.

Mercifully, the Forbidden City survived demolition. Thepalace, a series of halls built in the centre of immensecourtyards like Russian dolls, was once the seat of the rulingMingDynasty.Theyellow-tiledpagodaroofsstill sportornatedragon statuettes, a lingering symbol of imperial power.

After an afternoon spent enthralled in the sprawlingcomplex, jetlag began to creep up on me. My sluggishnessadmittedly only lasted until I arrived at Bike Beijing(bikebeijing.com) where I collected my wheels for a night-time tour of Beijing's hutongs. Beijing comes into its own inthe dark. Most of the estimated 21million Beijingers now live

CONTINUED / Overleaf HOLID

AYS THE HOLIDAYi

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (klm.com) fliesfrom Aberdeen to Beijing via theirAmsterdam hub with return fights startingfrom £417. The Opposite House(theoppositehouse.com) is a 5-star hotellocated in Beijing's Chaoyang district.David stayed as a guest in a Studio 45 roomwith prices starting at £152.86 per night.

All manner of skewered insects and animalswere on offer at the Dong Hua Men NightMarket – it was the first food market that didn'tmake me feel hungry at all

24 ThePressandJournal | Saturday, January 17, 2015

in vast suburban tower block developments that disappearinto the smog. Those that still live in the centre, live in smallabodes in networks of these narrow lanes and alleyways.

Navigating the hutongs was daunting enough in the daybut at night time, it felt impossible. Thankfully, our guideSandy was on hand to pilot us through the throngs ofrevellers in the dimly-lit alleys; past groups of men gatheredaround mahjong tables and across the multitude of trafficlanes in Tiananmen Square amid the blare of horns andfrenetic bicycle bells.

This was the real Beijing and it was exhilarating. Thesmells of food wafting from every quarter became sofrequentwitheach turnof the spokes thatwemadeapit stopat the Dong Hua Men Night Market.

Itwasthefirst foodmarketthatadmittedlydidn'tmakemefeel hungry at all. Lantern-adorned vendors in a long rowwere making a roaring trade from their wares. All manner ofskewered insects and animals, from tarantulas and silkworms to seahorses and scorpions. Coiled snakes. Lizards.“People in Beijing eat anything that moves.” It was hard todisagree with Sandy.

Returning to my hotel for the night, the Opposite Housewas a welcome respite from the feverish pulse of the city.With shimmering green glass exteriors, the sumptuouscontemporary hotel opened a week before the 2008 BeijingOlympic Games, and has helped play a part in Beijing’s newera of modernity. While the hotel's four bars and restaurantsand open plan public areas are bold and unconstrained, therooms themselves are sleek, uncluttered and airy withtraditional Chinese touches. I wisely climbed straight intothe deep soaking oak bath to ease my limbs before Saturday'sexertions.

PLAYING ON THE WALLThere are numerous accessible sections of the Great Wall.The closest is Badaling, which would be the sane choice forsuch a short trip but it is commercial and the most visited bytourists.

I opted instead for a day-trip to the Jinshanling section thenext day, one of the furthest from the capital. The two-hourdrive away was worth it alone for the absence of anybody butus and two mountain children playing on the Wall.

Starting in the village of Gubeikou, our small band set outwith guides Tina and Michael from Beijing Hikers(beijinghikers.com). The benefits of their route became clearby the time we had eventually reached Jinshanling fourhours later. The later sections of the route were restored, wewere firstwalkingandscalingparts thathadn'tbeentouchedsince their construction five centuries ago and had been leftto the mercy of the elements. It was almost too painful toeven contemplate that my tired feet would be back stridingalong grey Scottish pavements by the next evening. Theywould be very content feet though.

CONTINUED / From page 22

The Opposite House hotel was a welcome respite from the feverish pulse of the city

HAPPY FEET IN BEIJING

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