Day 3 - Climbing the Wall (Saturday 6/19)
Yesterday (Saturday in China) we began our day with our guide Catherine about 9:00 a.m. We traveled in Van for about 2 hours with a short break for a visit to a Jade factory/shop. Different types of Jade can be found throughout China. There were many Jade carvings that were very Intricate and some that had many layers carved inside a larger outer layer. Jade is a very popular gift for a child's first birthday as well as other special occasions such as marriage. During the rest of our ride Catherine taught us some words in Mandarin. We arrived at the Great Wall around 11:30 and stayed for a couple of hours. The scenery was quite spectacular with mountains all around us. The day was very hot and sunny. The steps going up were uneven with some being a foot or so high and others only a few inches. Most of the climb did have railings, at least on one side. Some sections of steps were fairly narrow and others wide. The stairs also wound around and did not just go straight up like a staircase. The three of us climbed up for a good solid hour but still did not come to a part of the wall that leveled out or started downwards. On the way up we passed 5 watchtowers. We stopped to rest a number of times during the journey on sections near the watchtowers or where there spots that had small sections of level ground. We were soaked with sweat a short distance into the climb. The climb downward was much easier overall, but a bit hard on the knees. Unfortunately the sky was very hazy (likely due to smog) so some of the views were not clear. Even so, it was still incredibly beautiful and an absolutely amazing experience! After our visit to the Great Wall we traveled a bit and stopped for lunch. The lunch was fabulous! While there were only five of us at the table there was probably enough food for ten! The food was served family style on a large lazy susan in the center of the table. They kept bringing more and more food to us until the lazy susan was completely full. We had the opportunity to try many different foods and the food was fabulous. Paul would say it is the best Chinese food he has ever had. After we finished eating we drove back toward Beijing and visited the Summer Palace, the place the Emperor would stay in the summertime. It was a beautiful area with a lake and many trees, along with the traditional Chinese buildings like those in the forbidden city. We also took a very short dragon boat ride across the lake. We were all very tired and therefore did not spend much time before returning to the hotel. Andrew wanted McDonald's to eat so Paul went across the street to pick it up for him, but by the time he returned Andrew had crashed for the night. He slept through till morning. He has been a great little trooper and is having a really good time!
Day 4 - Traveling to Nanning (Sunday 6/20)
Happy Fathers Day! Sunday morning we awoke and had breakfast with Jim & Teanne. We then finished packing up and met Catherine in the hotel lobby about 9:30. We checked out of the Beijing International Hotel and headed for the airport. Once again the airport was very efficient. It did not take long at all for us to check our luggage and get through security to our gates. Catherine is traveling with Jim & Teanne as there was not a good local guide available. They will meet their little girl, Maren, today! Our flight started boarding a little after 11:30. We waited in line for takeoff quite a while so we departed a bit late. It was about a three hour flight to Nanning. Once we arrived we just followed the crowds to get our luggage and then met our local guide Glen outside of baggage claim. He brought us to our hotel, the Marriot. On the way we discovered that Nanning is a city of 6 million people. It is huge with new construction going on everywhere. It is a very interesting combination of old with very new. There are many, many high rises everywhere along with construction equipment and cranes. Many new buildings are built using bamboo scaffolding. We were glad to find our room has two double beds (not always the case in China). The hotel is new and is very nice, upscale and modern. After unpacking we ventured out of our hotel to look for dinner. We were all very tired and crabby so we ended up venturing into Walmart. Yes there is a Walmart right around the corner from us. It is underground and has escalators that descend to it in several different locations. What an interesting experience. Despite the size of the city, it is obvious that most people have not seen westerners. Everyone looks at us but most do not respond if you say hello (Ni Hao). We purchased some water, bread, and a few packages of something similar to ramen noodles and headed back to the hotel. We ate dinner in our room and went to bed early. Monday afternoon Glen will meet us in the lobby and take us to meet Lia!
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