Saturday, September 8, 2007

China 2007 - Day 3

Day 3:  Jet lag is still an issue for us.  We are so very tired most of the time.   We hope to be rested and invigorated by the time Monday rolls around and we get to meet Zi Gui for the first time.

Today we climbed a remote section of the Great Wall.  We had arranged for the same guide, Mr. Lei, that showed us around Beijing in 2006, to do so again.   He is so wonderful, knowledgeable, and courteous.  He took us to a remote, authentic, unrestored section of the Great Wall, known as Badaling.   There were very few people there, and it was terrific.  To get there, we drove by three of the most popular sections of the wall for tourists.   These areas were packed with people, as you can see in one of the pictures we stopped briefly to take.  The section we visited required an arduous climb, but was well worth it.   Y hitched a ride on her daddy's back for much of the way, but did great on her own as well.  The whole experience was amazing, just as before.   The Great Wall is truly GREAT!

After the climb we stopped by a local canteen for lunch.  We had more outstanding food than six could eat (our guide and driver joined us) and drinks, all for about $10.   After returning to our Hutang, we summoned up the energy to check out the popular Wangfujing Dajie (a very lively high end street mall).

Tomorrow the 5 ½ hour train ride to Zhengzhou should offer a bit of adventure as we travel with quite a few bags, including the orphanage donations of blankets and children's pharmaceuticals.

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