July 6 – Beijing and the Great Wall
Belinda kindly let us sleep in and agreed to meet us at 9:30 this morning for our tour of the Great Wall. We’re meeting up with Randy and Amy, another couple adopting through Faith and who came to Beijing a few days before us for some extra adventure. The trip today is a bit of a flip-flop compared to the planned itinerary (we thought the Great Wall would be Saturday), but no big deal. Breakfast in the hotel included traditional Chinese fare (fried rice, fried noodles), as well as eggs and bacon, and most importantly for me, coffee. Karen noted how strange to be in a place where the people at the table adjacent to you enjoyed a morning Marlboro with their fried noodles. Makes me appreciate smoke-free Seattle even more.
We board our van for the Great Wall. Lucky for us, we have a different driver today. The location where we will visit at the wall is about 60km from our hotel, and the drive is roughly 1.5 hours due to traffic. On the way, we see the Bird’s Nest (new Olympic Stadium for Beijing 2008) and the Olympic Swim Arena (a.k.a. the Water Cube, or Box of Bubbles). We also stopped at a jade factory for a quick tour and some shopping before reaching the Wall. Beautiful stuff, but bracelets run about $1,000 U.S.
The Great Wall. What an amazing place. Unfortunately the haze has not cleared, so our trip into the foothills surrounding Beijing could have been even more scenic. But the Wall – well, we’ve been warned it is a tough climb. No kidding! The Wall climbs the side of the mountain! Emma led the charge, and Belinda had to urge her to slow down the pace lest she burn out. It’s hot here, and humid in the haze. We make it about half way to the top of the climb and estimate we’ve gained about 400m in elevation. Randy and I continue on to the top while the rest of the crew heads back to the bottom. The Wall is incredibly steep in places – stair steps that require athleticism for sure. My legs were shaking from fatigue by the time we reached the top, and then we had to turn around for the descent. Belinda, Karen, Amy, and Emma were all waiting for us when we got to the bottom with some cold drinks. We took lots of photos, but I am not sure the camera can do justice to the beauty and rugged nature of the terrain.
Emma and Karen have been practicing some Mandarin (books on tape from the library) and this makes them even more popular with the locals. Belinda predicted that some people would want to be photographed with Emma, and sure enough, some women on the wall took her aside and posed with her. Emma was pretty tired at that point in the climb, but was still game and gave them her trademark smile.
We left the wall and stopped at the Cloissonet factory for lunch. We ate family style (including French fries!) and Emma demonstrated her chopstick prowess. After lunch, a bit more shopping at the factory store. They make beautiful stuff, including copper vases with enameled decorations priced anywhere from US $15 to US $40,000. Emma bought a ring for herself – unfortunately it may take some time before it actually fits.
We headed back to the hotel, and deep into dreadful rush hour traffic. I didn’t look at my watch, but imagine it may have taken 2 hours to get back. Emma and I took a quick dip in the chilly hotel pool (bathing caps required for everyone!), and then I took a 1-hour walk through the shopping area around our hotel. The place is teeming with people and activity and I bought some bottled water in a busy food market. Then headed back to the room for a snack, shower, and sleep!
Beijing impressions – what a beautiful city with crazy traffic, impressive architecture, lots of trees and lots of haze. The local people are very warm and friendly but you need to pay attention as a pedestrian because crossing the street can be a bit of a free-for-all.
Belinda kindly let us sleep in and agreed to meet us at 9:30 this morning for our tour of the Great Wall. We’re meeting up with Randy and Amy, another couple adopting through Faith and who came to Beijing a few days before us for some extra adventure. The trip today is a bit of a flip-flop compared to the planned itinerary (we thought the Great Wall would be Saturday), but no big deal. Breakfast in the hotel included traditional Chinese fare (fried rice, fried noodles), as well as eggs and bacon, and most importantly for me, coffee. Karen noted how strange to be in a place where the people at the table adjacent to you enjoyed a morning Marlboro with their fried noodles. Makes me appreciate smoke-free Seattle even more.
We board our van for the Great Wall. Lucky for us, we have a different driver today. The location where we will visit at the wall is about 60km from our hotel, and the drive is roughly 1.5 hours due to traffic. On the way, we see the Bird’s Nest (new Olympic Stadium for Beijing 2008) and the Olympic Swim Arena (a.k.a. the Water Cube, or Box of Bubbles). We also stopped at a jade factory for a quick tour and some shopping before reaching the Wall. Beautiful stuff, but bracelets run about $1,000 U.S.
The Great Wall. What an amazing place. Unfortunately the haze has not cleared, so our trip into the foothills surrounding Beijing could have been even more scenic. But the Wall – well, we’ve been warned it is a tough climb. No kidding! The Wall climbs the side of the mountain! Emma led the charge, and Belinda had to urge her to slow down the pace lest she burn out. It’s hot here, and humid in the haze. We make it about half way to the top of the climb and estimate we’ve gained about 400m in elevation. Randy and I continue on to the top while the rest of the crew heads back to the bottom. The Wall is incredibly steep in places – stair steps that require athleticism for sure. My legs were shaking from fatigue by the time we reached the top, and then we had to turn around for the descent. Belinda, Karen, Amy, and Emma were all waiting for us when we got to the bottom with some cold drinks. We took lots of photos, but I am not sure the camera can do justice to the beauty and rugged nature of the terrain.
Emma and Karen have been practicing some Mandarin (books on tape from the library) and this makes them even more popular with the locals. Belinda predicted that some people would want to be photographed with Emma, and sure enough, some women on the wall took her aside and posed with her. Emma was pretty tired at that point in the climb, but was still game and gave them her trademark smile.
We left the wall and stopped at the Cloissonet factory for lunch. We ate family style (including French fries!) and Emma demonstrated her chopstick prowess. After lunch, a bit more shopping at the factory store. They make beautiful stuff, including copper vases with enameled decorations priced anywhere from US $15 to US $40,000. Emma bought a ring for herself – unfortunately it may take some time before it actually fits.
We headed back to the hotel, and deep into dreadful rush hour traffic. I didn’t look at my watch, but imagine it may have taken 2 hours to get back. Emma and I took a quick dip in the chilly hotel pool (bathing caps required for everyone!), and then I took a 1-hour walk through the shopping area around our hotel. The place is teeming with people and activity and I bought some bottled water in a busy food market. Then headed back to the room for a snack, shower, and sleep!
Beijing impressions – what a beautiful city with crazy traffic, impressive architecture, lots of trees and lots of haze. The local people are very warm and friendly but you need to pay attention as a pedestrian because crossing the street can be a bit of a free-for-all.
1 comment:
so glad to hear that you are safe and getting your exercise. what happened to charlotte?! i just can't wait to see the first photos of the new family!
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