(The original title for today was going to be, simply, The Great Wall,
until i just checked my email. More info on the updated title will be
given later in the blog.)
The Great Wall
Today was the day. The day that I had the chance of a lifetime to climb
The Great Wall of China. It was absolutely stunning and breathtaking.
Again- I don't know how they physically did it. I don't know how it
would get built now! The view spanning the horizon of the Wall rising
and falling along the mountainside compares to nothing I've ever seen.
I rode a cable car up one side of the mountain because I wanted to be
near a peak to maximize my viewing. From there, I climbed up and down
and walked through various watchtowers. Since I got there early, I beat
the crowds and only had minimal congestion at entry/exit points. At one
point, after I asked a young man to take a picture for me, he then
turned and signaled for me to take one for him. However, it turned out
that he was asking to take a picture WITH me. I obliged. :-)
Shortly after beginning the bus ride back to the station, which cost
less than a dollar to travel an hour, my bus pulled off at a stop. The
driver parked the bus and got off. He came back a few moments later with
what looked like a mechanic. Great! The one bus I chose was broken and I
would have to figure out how to get the rest of the way home. However,
the mechanic fiddled with the horn for about 10 minutes and we were on
our way. Crisis averted! The bus ride did take twice as long as the
morning ride, because this one was filled with stops along the way. It
was interesting to see other parts of Beijing, by bus.
I returned to home-base to plug in for a little while and regroup. I
still had the afternoon open and went exploring the opposite direction
that take each day to the subway. Well, I found a whole new world with
'real' shoppes, bars and restaurants. After spotting McDonalds, I was in
search for a Starbucks. No such luck though. I kept walking and walking
and walking and located two temples that I'd read about, the Lama
Temple and the Confucius Temple. Eventually, I made my way back to my
street where I sat down to enjoy one last meal of spicy kung pao chicken
and a coke at a local restaurant near my hotel.
My final challenge will be to obtain a taxi tomorrow morning at 4:30am.
I'm a little nervous trusting the taxi, but I don't have any choice. The
airport express sub line doesn't start running until 6:00am and that
puts me at the airport too close for departure time, especially given
that I (again) don't know what to expect during the process or how long
it will take. The young lady at the front desk has called a driver for
me and has collected my money...so, fingers crossed!! I can't wait to
see the airport though. I've heard it's an architectural beauty.
While relaxing in my room and checking email, I received one from the US
State Department saying that as of Thursday, the Chinese had confirmed
14 cases (6 deaths) of H7N9, a new strain of bird flu in Shanghai and a
3other provinces!! The email goes on to tell you symptoms and what to do
if you get it. The final note says that the the World Health
Organization advises that there be no international travel restrictions
put in place for China with the current information. Ahh!!! Get me out
of here, please!! I can't handle anymore stressors.
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