Beijing, Amazing Beijing!

As many of you know, T.G. and I took a USO sponsored tour of Beijing, China!  What amazing opportunity for us!  The simplicity of taking a tour on our first "excursion" out of South Korea was just perfect.  Many people plan their excursions on their own, without a guide or assistance from the local community, but for us, on our first attempt to explore Asia, this was the best way to go.  We were met at the airport by our guide, Eric and bus driver.  From that point on, Eric and the bus driver took care of all of our transportation needs, that part was most helpful.  We arrived in Beijing around 0930 on Friday and our first stop was our hotel.  We stayed at The Doubletree by Hilton in the financial district of Beijing.  Eric got our whole group (21 people total) checked in and we all went our separate ways to get settled in our rooms and have lunch.  T.G. and I walked around the area of our hotel looking for a local restaurant to have lunch, but had no luck finding someone who spoke English or had an English menu, so (as most of our fellow tour group) we went to the McDonald's next door to our hotel.  Luckily, it tasted just like at home!

For some reason we got a Happy Meal box with a toy...I'm not sure which one of us they though was a child...

Later we met Eric and the rest of the group to go on our first tour: The Lakeside Summer Palace and Beijing Olympic Park.  The first stop was The Summer Palace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace

The gardens were beautifully maintained and the lake had a lot of boat activity.  This was a beautiful introduction to the Chinese culture.  Our tour guide, Eric, told us loads of stories about the history of emperors uses of the palace and what it is used for now, which is mostly tourism.  We walked around the palace for about an hour and a half before we loaded the bus to go tour Beijing Olympic Park!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Green

We had limited time to wonder around the park, but it was so interesting to see where so many athletes competed for metals and the beautiful structure of the "bird's nest".  While we didn't get to go inside, it was just amazing to see it from the outside!  (On a side note, "Bird's Nest" is also a delicacy in China.  It consists of the spit and vomit used by swallows to prepare and solidify their nests.  It is collected with delicacy, boiled for hours, and - you know know, it doesn't matter, it sounds gross.)

After the park, we were taken back to our hotel to wind down and have dinner.  T.G. and I had dinner at the hotel with our friend Mark, then we all had after dinner drinks at the hotel lounge.  It was a great first day in Beijing!

Day two, we started with a delicious breakfast provided by the hotel and then it was off to The Great Wall of China!  Words cannot express the amazement one feels standing on this ancient structure, seeing the voluminous mountains and hearing the history involved.  T.G., Mark and I started to climb the wall together.  Unfortunately, my asthma and altitude intolerance kicked in after a while and the boys had to keep climbing without me.   As you can see from the signs, ascend the Wall with caution and at your own pace.  At first I was disappointed to not be able to go all the way, but then I realized that I was standing on The Great Wall of China, surrounded by thousands of people and ancient culture and at that point I just stood on the landing and took it all in.  I had never seen or felt sights like this before.  Many of you know I am not the most religious or spiritual of people, but in that moment, I felt something, that is for sure.  It was the feeling of complete and total awe.  Goosebumps and all!

T.G. and Mark managed to climb to the peak of the area of The Wall that we were at, so many of the pictures are from T.G.'s vantage point.  I'll let them speak for themselves...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

Visiting The Great Wall of China was by far our favorite part of the trip...

After The Great Wall, we went on a tour of a jade factory, lunch at a Chinese food restaurant and then on a tour of The Hutong area of Beijing.  At the factory, T.G. bought a 'Jade Family Ball', which is actually three jade balls hand carved within one another.  Our family ball has a dragon (man), a phoenix (woman) and many other symbols that are supposed to bring good luck to your family.  Needless to say, the items in the pictures are not inexpensive. For example, the hand-carved ship that T.G. is standing next to took three years to complete and costs $61,000!

The Hutong Tour was not really our favorite part of our visit.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong) We arrived to, what appeared to be a very under-developed and impoverished area of the city and were herded onto rickshaws (bikes with a carriage, driven by a Chinese man).  We rode through the very narrow alley ways through dirt and dust to learn about the meaning of a traditional Chinese doorway and visit a traditional Chinese home.  The one pictured is the one we visited.  Mr. Wong's family has owned this 10 room shanty for the last 200 years.  His daughter, who just got married, is the only heir to the property, which is worth 8 million U.S. dollars!  By American standards, this property might be condemned, but Mr. Wong was very proud to show this beautiful home that he shares with his wife, 14 cats, one dog and countless birds.  The price was astounding to us.  Once we left Mr. Wong's residence, we were taken back to the bus to head back to the hotel, or so we thought...

This bus ride took over two hours due to Beijing traffic.  Many of us had been talked into paying to go see a 'real KungFu show'.  The plan was for the bus to take us from The Hutongs to the hotel and then the theater to see the show.  Since traffic was so bad, we went directly to the theater and those not going were placed in a cab back to the hotel.  The show proved to be mediocre, at best, by the majority of us.  More like fake KungFu with a predictable storyline that was super cheesy.  Live and learn, right? 

Once back at the hotel, T.G., Mark and I walked to Papa Johns (very similar to home), also next to the hotel to eat and then had cocktails in the lounge again before turning in for the night.  Day two was great due to our visit to The Great Wall of China!  Absolutely amazing!

Day three included a visit to Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Tea Tasting.  Full day, yes.  While all was very informative the entire group seemed to be running out of steam at this point...of course, we all made the absolute best of it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City

(pause for quick Chinese lunch and visit to the silk factory)

The Silk Factory was really interesting and I got a 100% silk quilt, quilt comforter and free pillow shams!  

http://www.silk-road.com/artl/silkhistory.shtml

On to The Temple of Heaven!  There may or may not have been some photo-bombing by new friends...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Heaven

The departure day from Beijing included an in-room couples' massage by two very kind, non-English speaking women (from a group that regularly provides services to hotel guests).  It was a full 90-minute massage for a mere $23 - hard to beat no matter where you live. The ladies were so impressed by our $20 tip, they asked if they could return the following day to do another massage...WE WISH!  It was a lovely way to start a day of travel.  We met Eric in the lobby and he took us to the second most famous restaurant in Beijing for Peking Duck (I know...I know...Duckie ate duck, but when in Rome, right?)  Then we were dropped off at the airport, just as we were received.  What a great adventure!

  

What I have found very strange, is that I felt this huge sense of relief upon return to Seoul.  I told T.G. that is isn't like I'm 'home', but at least it's familiar.  It's funny how our perspective changes with travel!  

I hope y'all have enjoyed this LONG blog entry.  We had so much fun that we just couldn't wait to share our stories and pictures and put in a big plug to visit Beijing!

NOW, on to our next undertaking!