Nov 18 - Beijing

Nov 18, 2006

Day 2 in Beijing – wow! This morning, Chris got me up bright and early (since we were both coughing instead of sleeping) for a morning workout. Chris can not use the treadmill because he would hit his head on the ceiling. So, we resort to the stair stepper and other equipment, which happens to be located on the deck next to the pool. This would all be fine, except that the pool is located next to the breakfast area, separated by some meager greenery. So here are Chris and I, sweating like crazy next to these poor people eating their breakfast! I quit early….

We showered and came back to the workout breakfast area to eat. The selections are an eclectic mix of east and west, dinner and breakfast. I passed on the baked beans, but did have some Chinese dumpling soup with some watermelon and cantaloupe on the side – yum.

Then, we all loaded up on our tour bus and headed to Badaling. Along the way, we stopped at the Jade factory and had some lessons on fake vs. real jade. We were good tourists and bought a few things, used the very Chinese bathrooms. Then, it was on to Badaling.

We have noticed that there are an AMAZING number of bicycles on the roads here in Beijing. In fact, I would venture a guess that there is one bicycle for every car. If you think it is a bit dangerous to ride a bike on the roads in Colorado or California, you should see these folks! Yikes!

On the way to Badaling, we noticed that the sky was blue – yes BLUE! It was a beautiful day in Beijing. Our guide (who is awesome, by the way) informed us of the many changes that are taking place in Beijing to prepare for the Olympics. One problem that they have tackled is the pollution. You can certainly tell the difference. The have apparently moved factories out of town, planted many, many trees and increased public transportation and pollution controls on cars. I really could not believe that the sky was blue.

We got to Badaling and were just awestruck by the Great Wall. It was a very steep climb, but we enjoyed it immensely. This section of the wall was built 2000 years ago with manual labor. It was a tough climb for us and we were really huffing and puffing. I can not imagine hauling ROCKS along with my own bodyweight! Can you imagine guarding Beijing on the wall in full body armor and carrying a weapon? We finally turned back when we realized that we were the only ones left that were over the age of 30! The steps are uneven – some are very tall and some are very short. This was indeed the REAL stair stepper.

We then toured an enamel factory where they take copper pots, plates, vases, etc. What an intricate process this is. We ate some fabulous Chinese food for lunch at this factory before we went to the Ming Tombs where several emperors are buried. We took a 30 minute walk through here and took some pictures with some of the statues. There is reportedly very good feng shui (energy) due to the arrangement of the park. Next: on to the acrobatic show. This is a very well known show in China and these acrobats were just incredible! I can tell you, there will be no trying any of that at home!

After this busy day, we are now back at the hotel, packing up for tomorrow. Our checked luggage must not weigh more than 88lbs, so we have some creative packing to do. Chris is trying to get me to drink all the diet cokes I brought so that we can reduce the weight of the bags. I didn’t realize that a six pack weighed 8 lbs until they were all but packed…

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. We are anxious to get to Chengdu tomorrow – one step closer to Jack!

Sonja