Monday, January 5, 2009

Good Evening from Beijing!

After today I get to say, “I climbed the Great Wall of China”.  I also purchased a sweatshirt with this statement on the front.  I am proud to be a tourist!!

We took an organized tour to the Great Wall.  Also included in our tour were several other stops to a jade factory, Ming tombs, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) research facility, and a traditional Chinese lunch.  There were three other couples on our tour from Colorado, Orange County California, and Argentina.  It was great to converse with others who spoke English.  The Chinese individuals who speak English say they speak “Chinglish”.

The Great Wall was absolutely breathtaking!  It was also extremely unlevel and steep.  Definitely not handicap accessible!  It was very challenging however I was extremely determined.  The steps were not evenly spaced and sometimes very high for me to climb.  Needless to say we made it!  I made it to tower # 6 and Hayward made it almost to the highest tower # 8.  As he continued on I could see and wave to him.  While I waited for HG I was able to interact with native Chinese who were also climbing the wall.  Many of them gave me thumbs up for making it as far as I did and others just stared.

After we returned from our tour we rested in the hotel and then we ventured back out to a nearby Chinese market.  Hayward has learned how to barter with the Chinese salespeople.  Everyone knows how much I love to shop however I believe Hayward has purchased more than me on this trip.  HG has been entertained by the bargaining process.  I hear HG let out one of his belly laughs and I think “what deal has he found and what is he purchasing now”.  We have found wonderful treasures thus far.  We are really looking forward to visiting the traditional Chinese market on Wednesday.

We were exhausted this evening so we rewarded ourselves with an hour long massage in our hotel room.  Needless to say we are making the most out of our holiday in China.

Lots of love, Jaime & Hayward
xoxoxo