DAY 7 – OFF TO CHINA!

We overnighted in the Century Park Hotel. I would give it high ratings. It is located right beside a small shopping mall that you can go get items you may need or a quick fast food snack. I was not able to partake of the breakfast buffet. They were not open yet…instead they packed us a breakfast in a bag. Sandwich, apple and a banana. The big moment has arrived and we are off to China for the first time ever. I am very excited! I was not that excited this morning at 4 am when the alarm went off! We had a early flight from Manila to Beijing. Traveling with a group takes longer also….especially if they have luggage to check as well. If we had been alone we would have checked in online and been through much faster.

SNAP EASY TIP You can not carry an umbrella onboard your plane in your carry-on. It must be checked. Lesson learned. Luckily our friend let us put ours in his checked bag. Only other option would have been to leave it behind and pick up another one. Don’t ask me the reasoning….I don’t have a clue why an umbrella would be considered dangerous…..look out for Mary Poppins!

FINALLY HERE!

The entry into China went very smooth. The traffic is very congested. It takes forever to get anywhere. Thirty years ago there were only 8,000 vehicles….today there are over 5 million private vehicles, 70,000 taxis plus all the other transit vehicles! They are still trying to catch up with the road ways to accommodate them. We went to lunch and then to the Temple of Heaven. In the park by the Temple there were many people out enjoying the park. A large group were doing some type of exercise that looked very graceful and fun. We went into a tea house for a demonstration of their various teas. It was a lot of fun. I wanted to buy some of the tea but it was very expensive. I’ll have to try out China town in Calgary. Afterwards we went to a Chinese Acrobat Show. Incredible, incredible, incredible! Dinner was served family style and was very good. After the lunch which we were not fond of we were pleasantly surprised by the dinner.

DAY 8 – THE GREAT WALL!

An unbelievable experience today…..I walked on THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! This is something I have only dreamed of since an early age! China…the mysterious country that was closed for years! Now open to tourism.

We went to the Juyongguan Pass.  Not crowded at all.  The day was misty so it added a mystical touch to the day and pictures.

The feeling was unreal! I managed to walk to the top of the section we went to. It was steep and quite a climb…but well worth the push to the top!

The entire trip was worth the moment I stepped foot on the wall.

Steps on the Great Wall

Steps in one of the Beacon Towers on the Great Wall

Taken from window of one of the Beacon Towers on the Great Wall

Moi on the Great Wall of China