24.5 hours and we will meet Annalei for the first time! And we will be one week away form introducing her to Dalen, our families and friends. Can't wait!
Today was our trip to the Great Wall. Our day began at 4 am again. I think God is trying to prepare us with only 5-6 hours of sleep each night. We do feel rested though, but it would be nice to sleep a little more. Regardless, we headed out for the Great Wall at about 8 am. It was an hour and half drive north of Beijing just up into the edge of the mountains. Not far from Beijing we could start seeing the great Wall winding up the side of the mountain. What a majestic site it was! It gave you goose bumps just seeing it for the first time. When we got to our drop off spot we were given two options - hike down the mountain a bit and climb your way up a lengthy portion of the wall or ride the tram to a high point and explore it from the top. To Terri's delight I made an executive decision and we hiked! I mean, come on, we're in China, at the Great Wall, and we're going to ride a tram to the top - I don't think so! Two other couples joined us. Though very tiring, the hike was worth the experience. I really do not know how far we walk, but we did hike pretty solidly for almost 2 hours. Most of the hike was up hill with some of the slopes reaching nearly 70 degrees in pitch. Let me tell you, you could fell the burn. I know you all want me to describe the Great Wall, but I do not know if I can. It is simply awesome! I guess there are two ways to view it - you can see it as just a bunch of stone and bricks mortared together winding up some hill or you could see it as a truly magnificent structure, constructed over the course of hundreds of years, which spanned several dynasties designed to offer protection to an ancient people. I prefer the latter. To sum it up, it was simply an amazing experience. Never in our wildest dreams did we dream we could ever have the opportunity to walk on the Great Wall of China - cool! I guess one thing I did not like about the Great Wall was the fact that, as we have noticed everywhere, capitalism is alive and well in China - there were many vendors present. Most of them were at the base where we parked, which was fine, but unfortunately, there were a few on the wall as well. I mention this because I want to share a brief story. When dealing with the merchants it is well known that you are to barter. A few of us guys have made a bit of a contest out of it! - come on, we're guys, you have to expect it. Here's the story: We were getting ready to leave the top and were running late. I wanted to get a t-shirt before we left (you know - been there, done that, got the shirt!). So I made a quick barter of 2 shirts for 80 Yuan ($10 US). A couple of the other guys decided they wanted shirts also. They negotiated 2 for 60 Yuan. If you know me, you know I am just a bit competitive, so I went back and negotiated one more shirt for 25 Yuan just to one up the others! Terri was not impressed! Anyway, we proceeded from the Great Wall to the Cloisonné Factory. At this factory they hand make the most incredible copper vases you will ever see. The work is very tedious and the results are simply magnificent. I will attach a photo. We saw priced from $30-$200,000 US. They were simply amazing. It's too bad Terri spent her allowance on pearls! Regardless, we have had another amazing day and are now more than ready to meet Annalei. Before I sign off for the evening I want to share a little info on Beijing. Many have emailed questions, so I thought I might share a few facts. Beijing is a quaint little town of over 14 million. It is bordered on the south with desert and on the north with mountains. It spans 16,800 square kilometers (have not done the conversion, but that's big!) Main forms of transportation are car, bicycle and of course taxi. There are a lot of each. Traffic, however, manages to flow extremely smoothly. There are times of heavy traffic, but they don't seem to experience the traffic jams that we do. The buildings range from small to large. Have not seen many skyscrapers, but have seen many that are 12-15 stories. The main roads are set up in "rings" (Not round, but square). As you go farther out, the cost of living goes down. The ancient part of town I spoke of yesterday is in ring two. Cost of land there is around $8000 US/square meter. In the rest of ring two and ring three, apartments sell for $1000 US/ square meter. Needless to say, many people live in rings 5-6 where the prices are much less. As I mentioned previously, the people are extremely friendly and often wan to speak to us because we are American. I would not hesitate to visit again, just don't know if I can handle that flight!
Good night and we promise to introduce you to Annalei tomorrow.
