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Beijing and The Wall !!
Entry 2 of 9 | show all | print this entry |
Hello all - well we made it........flights were great but long and we arrived on time at 3:45pm local time....
21 Celsius and smoggy.....very heavy pollution !!!!
We were greeted by Harry - our guide for the next few days - a nice
young man with excellent English....taken to our Hotel and checked into
a small but comfortable room.....dropped off the bags and off to
explore the area.
About 5 minutes after leaving the hotel en route for a Park next to
the Forbidden City - we got lost in a maze of narrow Hutongs - the
traditional streets of Beijing.....as our only experience we had
previously in China was Hong Kong were no one is friendly - we were
pleasantly surprised by being approached by an elderly man of about 80
who gave us a 2 thumbs up - obviously the local sign for - you are
welcome / everything is ok/ you are cool/ nice to meet you/ how are you
today/ how about those Canadians - do you think they will win the cup
?? you get the picture..
back to the kind gentleman - through extensive sign language, smiles
and a map - he steered us in the right direction and we made it to the
park overlooking the Forbidden city....
By this time night had fallen and most of the surrounding city from the
Hill top was shrouded in darkness and yes....smog - but the view was
impressive and we could not believe we were truly here !!!!
On the way back tto the hotel - we stopped into a restaurant for
dinner.....the menu was incredibly extensive (all dishes pictured with
the names in both Mandarin and English......though we did not recognize
any of them - we made 4 choices (1 too many !!!) and ate a fantastic
first meal in China.....if it is any indication of what we are to get
elsewhere - we might put on weight !!!
Since Sunday (today_ is a day off - Harry suggested we change our
schedule and go to the wall instead of tomorrow as the traffic would
be better.....OK we said as long as the weather will be sunny - no
problem he said - they announce sun - ok we said lets go - after 2.5
hours through pouring rain we arrived for out 4 hour walk over a
stretch of the wall not repaired and not frequented often by
tourists......the rain let up and through the light mist and fog (no
pollution here...) we made our trek.......unbelievable - walking on
such history.....it was at times very steep and sometimes slippery -
and you know - we think we preferred it with this kind of weather - it
added a mystic feel to the experience......
A small note for Sylvie......the small "souvenir" has been picked up !!!! :-))
We finished the walk with a Tyrolean zip wire decent to the parking lot
(cost..$5.00 each) of at least 500 meters over a lake - unreal...
Back to the city where we had Harry and the driver drop us off in the
Lake area in northern Beijing - a beautiful park area with large lakes
etc......lots of people and yes the sun came out (24 Celsius..) .
All for now - we are pooped - we will now wash up and go out to the night market for dinner......back to you soon !!!!
Love Mike and Serge
xoxoxo
Latest Comments (5)
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Wow! (reply)
Apr 8, 2008 20:20 EST by gravell
Bonjour à vous deux! J'ai bien tenté de vous écrire en Chinois précédemment mais rien n'a fonctionné comme prévu. En fait, ma recommandation traditionnelle: Mangez pas trop gras! Pour ce qui est du smog, prenez ça comme une grosse bouffée de chicha. Amusez-vous bien!
Luc
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Hi Guys (reply)
Apr 7, 2008 09:28 EST by thht
Hey Mikee, who is that guy behind you in the photo? (ha, ha)I am at the office right now but I cannot wait to tell Harry about his Chinese cousin...Harry.
Be safe, do not eat any German food and always drink bottled water. We will send along another entry tonight.
Love you both and be safe!
Tim
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Ni Hao vous deux! (reply)
Apr 6, 2008 08:10 EST by dede107
Nice to read your adventures! Can't believe you were here a year ago! Enjoy China and the great food, see you soon! dede and sime xx
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Safe (reply)
Apr 6, 2008 07:33 EST by hoppers
Mike & Serge ... Glad to hear that you are there safely. I'll let Mom & Dad know ... Doug
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