China Day 2 Morning - The Great Wall

We all met for an early breakfast in the hotel and then joined our tour guide, Lisa, and our driver in the lobby to begin our day. 

Some photos of the lobby. It looks very warm and cozy but, in reality, it was surprisingly quite chilly. I must say that there were very few times in China when I was comfortably warm. 

  

Shiv and Kevin discussing our day's activities.

 Jan and the kids ready for the cold. Not.

The plan for this day was to drive to and hike around a section of the Great Wall in the morning, drive to have lunch in a village nearer to the Summer Palace and then end our day with a visit to the Summer Palace.

I won't go into too much detail but here is some very basic info about the Great Wall, really just enough to give you an idea as to how massive the Wall is/was. For the most part, the Great Wall was built along an east to west line across the historical borders of northern China. Its purpose was to protect the Chinese Empire against invasions by foreign peoples and forces. The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Lake in the west, along an path that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. Archaeological surveys have determined that the Ming walls measure about 8,850 km or 5, 500 miles. This distance includes 6,259 kilometers (3,889 miles) of sections of actual wall, 359 kilometers (223 miles) of trenches and 2,232 kilometers (1,387 miles) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. Another survey determined that the all of the branches of the entire Wall measure out to be 21,196 kilometers or 13,171 miles. 

The section of the Great Wall that Lisa took us to was called, "Mutianyu" which was 70 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of central Beijing and about a 90 minute drive from our hotel. This section is one of the best preserved parts of the Great Wall and is not as heavily touristed as the other restored sections (Badaling, Simatai and Gubeikou) that are closer to Bejing. 

To give you an idea of the different sections of the Wall...

The following is adapted from www.travelchinaguide.com.

"Located in Huairou County about 45 miles from Beijing, this section of the wall was first built in Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 557). In the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), this section of the wall was rebuilt it in order to strengthen its defensive potential and it served as the northern protective screen, guarding the capital and imperial mausoleums for generations.

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall winds 1.4 miles through lofty mountains and high ridges, many sections of which are made of granite. The unique structure makes the wall almost indestructible. It measures 23 to 26 feet high and four to five yards wide. Both of the wall's inner and outer sides have parapets to defend against enemies coming from the two sides. Some parapets are saw-tooth shaped instead of the regular rectangular form. Below the parapets, there are square embrasures the top of which are designed in an arc structure, different from the traditional round embrasures.There are 22 watch towers distributed at close intervals along the wall."

This is a map of the Mutianyu section that was posted in the parking area.

In order to get from the parking area to the top of the Wall (and back down again), we rode in a surprisingly modern cable car. 

The cable car took us very high up over the mountains and we had a great view of the Wall & the surrounding area. The Wall looked so tiny on top of these huge mountains!

Lots of photos from on top of the Great Wall. There were amazing views and sights in every direction.

Our group. 

The photo below is a close up of the Chinese characters (slightly visible above Jim's head in the photo above) that are inscribed on the mountain adjacent to the Wall. I wish I could remember what Lisa told us the exact translation of the characters is but I can't and I haven't been able to find anything about them on the internet. I do remember the translation being something to the effect of always being loyal and true to Mao Zedong. 

Lisa, our fabulous tour guide.

Family photo.

The Great Wall.

 

 

  

 The surrounding area.

 

 

 

On the Wall.

  

The kids and I didn't last too long in the cold so while the others continued to hike, we took the cable car down to the village and found a (somewhat) warm cafe and had a cup of hot cocoa.

At the base of this section of the Wall, there is a little village (also named Mutianya) that is recognized by the Chinese government as being a model village because of its rebirth from the growth of tourism and glassware industries. This village is "twinned" with the village of Shelbourne Falls in Massachusetts.

Looking up the street from the parking area towards the cable car access point. 

Camels wandering in the streets.

Not a MacDonald's in sight (surprisingly) but there was a Subway that sold, in addition to the typical Subway fare, a wide selection of regional Chinese favorites. 

Vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs as well as heavy coats, "fur" hats, scarves and gloves lined the sides of the streets. The vendors were very aggressive in trying to persuade us to purchase something and, to me, that was a real turn off. In trying to sell their wares, the vendors weren't above following us, grabbing on to our coats or standing in front of us so we couldn't pass. We soon found out that this aggressiveness is quite common in China and we were subjected to it at almost every "tourist" area we visited.  

One vendor did make me laugh though. He was incredibly insistent about me buying "I Hiked The Great Wall" t-shirts for the kids and I. I kept shaking my head "no" but he continued to badger me so I told him very sharply that I wasn't interested. The instant he heard me speak and realized that I was an American, he quickly flipped the t-shirt over to show me a photo of President Obama screened on the reverse. I still can't quite figure out the connection between "I Hiked The Great Wall" and President Obama but I did almost buy a shirt from him, if only to acknowledge his creativity. 

I was going to post about our entire Day 1 activities but it has taken me a long time just to write this portion about that Great Wall so I will post about our visit to the Summer Palace tomorrow. 

Have a great Saturday!

China - Arrival and Day 1

I am combining our arrival in China and Day 1 in this post because a) neither was very exciting and b) we (the Keating family) arrived in Beijing in the very early hours of Friday morning and the rest of our group (my brother Jim, his wife Jan and their friend Shiv) arrived late Friday evening. Day 1 (Friday, December 28th) was really just the Keating family in Beijing. Day 2 (Saturday, December 29th) was when we all began our adventures together. 

I mentioned in an earlier post that I really didn't focus on this trip because of planning for the kids' birthdays and our family Christmas. In retrospect, this turned out to be not such a good thing. Before any of our overseas trips and/or moves, I have purchased travel guides (usually DK Eyewitness and Fodor's) and study them well in advance. These guides provide me with great information to plan for our visits...what the "must sees" are, what to avoid and tips/advice for getting around the area. I did order guides for this trip (Eyewitness Top 10 Beijing and DK Eyewitness Travel Guide For China); however, I just did not have time to read them before we left and then I forgot to bring them along to read on the plane. Other than knowing we were going to see the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, we went into this trip pretty much blind. I didn't even know where our hotel was relative to the airport and the city. That will not happen again. Ever. I hated not knowing where we were or the history of what we were about to see. By the end of our trip, a request for Jan to do "more extensive research" on a topic or an historical site became a frequent utterance.

We arrived in Beijing at 1:00 am and the airport was, literally, a ghost town. It was really odd because I didn't think, in this day and age, that airports "closed" at night. However, our flight was clearly one of the last flights in for the night as the heat and most of the lights had been turned off and there were very few airport employees around. We opted not to pay the $145 fee charged by the hotel to have a car and driver waiting for us because we really did not think it would be a problem to catch a taxi to the hotel. However, after we collected our bags and walked toward the airport exit, Kevin and I began to get a bit worried. The parking lot was pretty much empty and there were very few taxis in sight - and a lot of people ahead of us in the taxi queue. A man walked up to us and asked, "Taxi?". I'd like to think that it was the late hour and the worry about not having a ride into the city that made us quickly we nod "yes" and follow him out of the airport. He led us to a very dark corner of the very empty parking lot to a big black car that looked like a hearse and that had been in more than a few fender benders. The driver showed Kevin some card (license, id, permit ???). It was in Chinese so we will never know. We weren't all that naive because before he loaded our suitcases into the car, I thought to ask him the cost (450 CYN - China Yan Renminbi) for him to take us to the hotel. Had I read the Top 10 Beijing, I would have known that a) these type of black cars are illegal (but *safe*) taxis and b) the typical fare for a taxi ride from the airport to the hotel is less than 100 CYN. So, not even an hour in Bejing and we were already scammed. Unfortunately, this was not the first time or attempt.

Once we were all in the car, the fear set in. What had we gotten ourselves into? Who was this guy and where was he taking us?!? If I ever read an article in the newspaper about a family visiting a foreign city that willingly got in a car, in the dead of night with a complete stranger and then that family disappeared, I know would think to myself, "how could anyone be so stupid?!?". Yeah, well, that would be us. I will tell you that every horrible scenario that you can possibly imagine this situation ending in ran though my mind. Fortunately, thanks to my generally suspicious nature, I noted that the driver showed some document to the guard at the exit of the airport parking lot so maybe he was somewhat legitimate. In addition, there were cameras EVERYWHERE and I took a small measure of comfort in the thought that if anything bad did happen to us, at least it would be known who did the bad. I was so incredibly nervous the entire ride to our hotel. We did get there safely and I must say that, compared to Bangkok drivers, this driver was very considerate as far as not speeding, using signals, changing lanes, etc. Must be all of those cameras.  

We stayed at the Hilton Wangfujing (website is here) and I would definitely recommend it if you are planning a trip to Beijing. The hotel was a short walking distance from an upscale mall with lots of restaurants and shops. It was a longer walk to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden Palace (more on those in Day 3) but still doable (although not pleasant in winter). There also was a pedestrian mall lined with shops, restaurants and offices nearby. 

Day 1... we didn't even wake up until 11:30 am (love those black-out drapes) and by the time we showered, dressed and ventured out of the hotel into the BITTER cold, it was almost 2 pm. 

Bundled up.

Photos outside of the hotel. 

 

We were all starving and walked over to the mall for lunch. Christopher chose the restaurant and, no surprise, it was Pizza Hut. For a Pizza Hut in China, it wasn't all that bad. Or maybe we were so hungry we would have eaten almost anything.

After we had lunch, we decided to walk to Tienanmen Square. In the bitter cold. The doorman at the hotel gave us some basic directions and we set off. Note - we did visit Tienanmen Square again on Sunday (not that anything changed other than it was warmer and the sun was out) so I will give you the official "report" then. However, let me just say that after walking 25 minutes in the bitter cold, I was a little disappointed to see that Tienanmen Square is really just that... a square.. flat and concrete covered. 

We were so cold and frozen by the time we got to the Square that we stood there for not even one minute, looked at each other and then turned around to walk back to the hotel. 

Caitlynne and I did a little speed walking on the pedestrian mall. We were cold.

 

Not a happy camper in the cold.

Christopher was thrilled to see a favorite basketball player and a favorite brand-name advertised in China.

 

It began to snow right as we returned to the hotel and the kids (both the little ones and the big one) were so excited to go out and experience it! The kids haven't seen snow in at least 8 years so this was a BIG deal. For me, not so much.

And where was Mom, you ask? In the hotel lounge - enjoying a glass of wine, reading a good book in peace & quiet and staying warm! 

The kids and Kevin played a cut-throat game of BS. 

We were beginning to feel the effects of our late night and opted to have dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants and go to bed. Jim, Jan and Shiv arrived much later so we made plans to meet up for breakfast.

This tree was in front of the restaurant where we ate breakfast each morning. It was so pretty and I am already planning how to replicate it next year for our 2nd tree. 

 Caitlynne was a perfect (and unintentional) match to the tree!

 

End of Beijing Arrival and Day 1 and on to the present...Jim and Jan leave tomorrow morning. Sniff, Sniff. It has been so nice to have them here, especially with Kevin gone. We have done a ton of fun things around Bangkok and Thailand and seen some amazing sights. I spent some time this evening organizing all of our photos and working on blog posts so stay tuned!

Have a great Thursday!

The Weirdest Thing...

Long time, no post. We are all still alive, although some of us are feeling better than others! 

Some very odd illness invaded our home Monday evening and all of the BOYS were left violently ill. Christopher was the first to fall on Monday evening with vomiting, muscle aches and other "un-blog-able" digestive issues. Kevin woke up at about 2 am Tuesday morning with the same symptoms. In our almost 20 years together, I have never seen him that sick. Very unfortunately for Kevin (and his seatmate), he also had to board a 7 am flight to the U.S. Later in the morning, Jim also began to to feel ill and it only went downhill from there. 

Since the GIRLS were completely unaffected and felt better than great, the only thing we can attribute the sickness to is the gelato that all of the boys had for dessert Sunday evening. Instead of gelato, the girls chose to have rotis (a crepe stuffed with a choice of bananas or mango and then topped with chocolate sauce) and it looks like that choice might have saved us. 

Christopher and Jim both went to bed yesterday afternoon and were not seen again until breakfast this morning. They are both feeling better but still feel tired and weak. Kevin made it to D.C. without incident and is also beginning to feel somewhat better.

I really am working on a post for our China trip. To give you an idea of what I am facing...between Jan, Caitlynne and myself, we have taken 1,552 photos since we all met up in Beijing on December 27th. We are totally camera crazy! Jim, Jan and I went downtown today to play tourist and Jan took 260 photos at our first stop! Her camera is so much better than both my camera and my phone so, for the most part, I am going to "steal" her photos to use in my posts. 

My plan is to photo-edit and write tonight so I will have something to post about our first day in Beijing tomorrow. 

Fingers crossed.

Have a great Wednesday!

Made It To Missouri

I just crossed into Missouri at Mile 1231.5 and am almost in Ozora, Missouri, (Ste. Genevieve County). Only about 800 more miles until I am at the halfway point of this Transcontinental Run and only 2,831.50 miles left until I reach the finish line of the Pacific Ocean! 

It is going to take me a while to cross through Missouri. 

I am progressing nicely across the United States.

In 2012, I ran a total of 1,116.50 miles. Granted, I ran most of those miles before mid-August and before I suffered my knee injury. I have been running the last few weeks without any aches and pains so I hope 2013 will be an injury-free year for me. As long as I can make it through the rest of our time here and get back to the U.S. without any more injuries that prevent me from running, I will be happy. The running surfaces in Virginia are so much better for my joints and the weather (for the most part) makes it so much more enjoyable to run. I am already thinking about the routes for my first few runs when we are back in Fairfax. I found out (through Facebook of all places) that a group of moms in my neighborhood formed a running group so I hope that I will be able to join in with them a couple of times a week. 

In December 2009, I began keeping an on-line running log using a tool on RunnersWorld.com. Since December 2009, I have run a total of 5,305.3 miles! Wow! If I had begun to run this Transcontinental Run when I first started keeping the log, I would be almost 1,250 miles into the Pacific Ocean. 

Have a great Thursday!

Back In Bangkok!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a wonderful and prosperous 2013.

We returned from China late Tuesday night and hit the ground running. Jim and Jan (my brother and sister-in-law) had a later flight in from Beijing so Caitlynne and I went back to the airport to pick them up in the early hours of Wednesday. While we were picking them up, Christopher prepared a delicious "midnight snack" of turkey sandwiches, a (very artfully arranged) fruit plate and lemonade for us to have before we all crashed. 

We spent yesterday catching up on our laundry and sleep and we are now all set to begin our adventures. Today we are meeting Kevin for lunch at his office, touring the Embassy, having Jim measured for suits and dress shirts at Kevin's tailor and doing some souvenir shopping at MBK (more info about MBK here). We will finish our day downtown with drinks at sunset at the Moonbar (more info about Moonbar here). PeePorn is going to make pad thai, pomelo salad, spring rolls, a salad and a fruit plate so we will have a late dinner back in Nichada.

I have lots of photos and commentary on our trip to Beijing but I probably won't have a chance to put together a post recapping the trip until after Jim and Jan return to the U.S. at the end of next week. I will leave you with a couple of photos though.

Kevin, Caitlynne, Christopher and I at the Ming Emperor Tombs.

 Caitlynne in Tienanmen Square.

From left to right - Caitlynne, Kevin, Christopher, Jim, Jan, myself and Shiv on the Great Wall.

 Caitlynne on the Great Wall.

 Family Photo on the Great Wall.

It was a fabulous trip and I am so glad that we went. We saw everything we wanted to see and then some. Obviously, it was incredibly (brutally) cold while we were there which really was the only negative about the entire trip. I don't think I was ever so happy as when we de-planed in Bangkok and began to thaw out.

Have a great Wednesday evening and Thursday.