Beijing - 20 September

We were out at the bus at 8:00 after an okay breakfast. The hotel tries very hard to provide a western-style breakfast but they don’t succeed too well. We drove for 1 ½ hours to get to the Great Wall. We went to the part known for being the most intact. It is called the Ju Rong Guan section built during the Ming dynasty. Nancy, our tour guide, said that one million people worked on the wall or 1/5 the population of China. Many people died while working on it and were buried under the wall. It was known then as the cemetery wall. We arrived at the wall and my eyes were bugging out of my head. We were blessed with a gorgeous, clear day and could see for miles. The wall could be seen for great distances in several directions. I didn’t know which way to look first!

We finally parked the bus and Nancy finished her spiel about the wall and we were allowed to exit. She arranged for us to have a group photo taken first before we went off in every direction. We were given 2 ½ hours to walk and climb the wall. If we went to the west side of the wall, where everyone was going, we were faced with a strenuous climb but spectacular views of the valley which made everything worthwhile. If we went to the east side of the wall, where no one was going, then we would have the wall to ourselves for some peaceful contemplation and extraordinary views of the wall. How to pick?

I chose to follow the hoards of people up the steep wall on the west to begin. I clambered up the steps at a great pace and then started to huff and puff and slowed down quite considerably after about 10 minutes. It was painful! I’m happy to say that many of the students who are half my age were having difficulties with the climb too. I got to the first tower and went to the top where the views were stunning. After using the excuse of taking pictures as a reason to linger and catch my breath, I continued up the wall to the second tower. There were four towers at various intervals that led up the mountain. I managed to get to the second one and then couldn’t convince myself that there was a compelling reason to go to the other two closer to the top of the mountain. The view from where I was standing was quite nice, thank you very much, and I was quite content with it. The crowds had thinned quite considerably after the first tower so I was able to stand up there and not be disturbed by the throngs of people. It was an experience that is difficult to put into words. I have seen so many pictures of the wall and have admired it for many years. To stand there and see the miles of wall in the distance gave me goose bumps. I have to admit that I was so overwhelmed with the reality of being there that I was fighting back the tears a couple of times. It was a very powerful experience for me and the photos didn’t even begin to do it justice.

After spending some quality time on the west side of the wall, I went back down the mountain. I then walked over to the east side to enjoy some quiet time just absorbing the experience. I have to admit that I didn’t climb too far on this side since my leg muscles were screaming at me by this time. I was content to sit at a temple that was close to the wall and just take in the moment without the international babble of voices around me. It was blissful. I had used up two hours of my allotted time and decided that a big ol’ bottle of water would be really useful and it was. Since I had a ½ hour left of my time, I went to the government stores that were set up in this area to look around. Nancy told us that bargaining in the government stores does not happen like it does with street vendors. What she failed to tell us is that they do give “discounts” if you know to ask for one. One of my fellow wall-walkers had discovered this and passed along the information. Very handy. I made a couple of purchases and then met everyone on the bus. All of the students were looking exhausted but happy as we drove off to the restaurant for lunch.

Lunch was at a huge restaurant that also doubled as a Cloisonné manufacturing place and shop. Before we were allowed to sit down to lunch, we were obliged to go through a staged workshop where a select group of craftsmen were working on vases. It was a fascinating process to watch although we couldn’t understand what the tour guide was saying due to the level of noise. We were then led to the restaurant for an excellent meal. I’m sorry to report that my chopstick skills are not improving at all. I would like to say that it is not my fault since they give us plastic chopsticks that are impossible to use but the other people sitting at the table didn’t seem to be experiencing the same difficulties – the stinkers. After a quick lunch, we were allowed to go shopping at the store. It was another government run store so we were again told that there was no bargaining, just “discounts”. It was a huge store with Cloisonné pieces that were stunning, clothes, paintings, and every other do-dad that you could possibly want to buy. We all had a great time buying things without a thought as to how we would stuff everything into our carry-on luggage. (The same luggage that wasn’t supposed to weigh more than 11 pounds. I don’t think so!)

After lunch we drove to the Summer Palace. Nancy, the tour guide, asked for my help in keeping our bus passengers together so that we wouldn’t lose anyone as we toured the compound. I’m not sure why we couldn’t just go off on our own but she wanted us to stay together and it was my job to bring up the rear and urge the stragglers along. It started off well with everyone staying pretty much together. I had a good time enjoying the architecture of the temples and palace along with the views of the lake which were incredibly beautiful. The problems started when we were walking along the lake and everyone started to walk off in different directions to get better photos. I started losing people and then got so far behind Nancy that I lost sight of her and the group! Zut Alors!!! I continued to walk along the same path in hopes that I would pick up the group again but after 5 minutes I didn’t see anyone else from my group. I started to panic. Not only had I lost sight of the stragglers but I also lost the rest of the group. There were a lot of swear words running through my head at this point. I started to jog down the path with the vain hope of finding them but it soon became obvious that they had made a turn somewhere that I didn't see.

Nancy had told us that if we got separated from the group that we would meet at the East Gate where we had entered. Unfortunately, the east gate was quite a distance from where I was thanks to the jogging that I’d been doing. So I started running in the other direction as fast as my sore legs would take me. I’m sure the other tourists thought I was incredibly rude to be running through the palace grounds but at that point I just wanted to find the rest of the group before they left me. I finally turned a corner and almost ran into Nancy coming back to look for me. I was out of breath and sweating profusely at this point and incredibly thankful that I had found her. The bad news was that we had lost three students and couldn’t find them after a search around the grounds. We found out later that they were in the bathroom because one of them was suffering from intestinal problems. We had no luck in finding them and the decision was made to leave the Palace without them. Fortunately, all students were given an itinerary with the hotel name on it and they were smart and carrying the sheets with them. After figuring out that they had been left behind, they got a taxi back to the city. Needless to say, all of us were very relieved that this incident had a happy ending! To make a long story short (not really), I didn’t enjoy the Summer Palace at all! The experience definitely left scars.

After the Palace, some of us had signed up for an Acrobatic Spectacular in the city. We went to the early show before dinner and had a wonderful time. I was able to pull myself together after the trauma of the Palace and was very impressed with the acrobats. Some of them couldn’t have been more than seven years old and the oldest was probably about 17 or 18. They were phenomenal. It made my bones ache just watching them twist and bend in unnatural positions.

When the show was over, we went back to the hotel to wipe off a layer of the grime of the day. Eileen and I joined a husband and wife for dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant. One of the tour guides had made reservations for us in a private room which was such a treat. We stumbled through the order of the meal and managed to have a bottle of wine delivered to our table with only a little bit of confusion on everyone’s part. Two bottles of wine and lots of beef later, we were all very happy with our lives.

We took a taxi back to the hotel around 10:00 and dived into bed as quickly as possible. It had been such a memorable day but totally exhausting with four more to go. I’m not sure I’ll be able to last!