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ello peeps!
Well today has been a very adventurous day! Lou and I managed to book tour of The Great Wall late last nigt and were picked up this morning by our tour guide and private taxi. We were then expecting to be driven to a mini bus to meet other people also taking the tour.......WE WERE IT! So today we have been driven around Beijing in our own private car with tour guide. We booked on-line and paid 320 currency which works out at sixten british pounds each including lunch.
First we headed to a Jade Factory. We were shown how the precious stone is mined and manipulated into jewellery and statues etc. After our brief tour we are then wheeled into a shop with a huge amount of very expensive Jade products. Needless to say Lou and I left with a bottle of orange juice and nothing else.
Next we headed to the Great Wall. It is simply breath-taking. I expected it to be freezing, it was cold but manageably so. We headed up the less tourist part of the wall so we could act like loons without many people watching. This worked very well as the pictures and video will testify to. There are still some picutres to come from me as they take an age to upload and we can't get facey-face here! The steps are very steep and had to indulge in some Golum like climbing at one point and there is still ice and snow on parts of the steps. The view is outstanding and really showed you the contrast between the flat plain of Beijing and the montainous terrain the wall is perched on.
After negotiating the steps back down again (on our bottoms at some points) we headed to a vase factory and shop. We were shown the traditional stages of the brass based prodcts. I emphasise the word 'products' here as the 'FACTORY LEADING TO VERY EXPENSIVE SHOP' appeared to be a well established structure to the tour. We are constantly followed by assistants - we learnt very quickly not to make eye contact! We then headed to lunch which can only be described as 'A BANQUET FOR SIX'. Soup, rice, cucumber, beef, kung pou chicken, cabbage and mushrooms, warm veg salad, green tea and pop! We didn't even touch some dishes.
We then headed to the Ming Tombs which is placed between the Tiger and Pheonix Mountains. The architecture of the entrance buildings are stunning but unfortunately you can't get to see the tomb itself due to being buried in a mound! You'll see from some of the pics that there is still a lot of snow on the ground here and was very quiet but I cna imagine it being very busy in the winter. We got to see some of the headress, possessions etc that the emporer's were buried in and these were very delicate. It's shame that we didn't get to spend a bit more time here as there was alot more information on the walls but it appeared that our guide had some where else for us to be.
Next we headed back into busy Beijing and past the Bird's Nest where the Olympics were. It's massive and the construction looks amazig. We then headed to a tea chain stor called 'Dr.Tea'. This was lovely, we were guided into a private room where a guide explained the traditional tea ceremony. We tasted four different types of tea in very delicate and petit china teacups and taught the different ways that the tes is supposed to be drunk....slurping,chewing and grasp are all important). Lou invested in a some selection of tea as well as a 'pee-pee boy' (This is a tiny ornament of a boy who when you pour hot water that is the correct temperature for tea he, well, he pees). Then in the very practised fashion of the tour we were guided to the shop! Hmmm....there did sem to be a pattern occuring!
Finally were were taken to a silk factory and shown how the the silk worms are bred and used to produce different silk fibre densities. This process was facinating as you can literally see the fibre being coaxed from the surface of the silk worm;s cocoon. Next......wel next came the shop. It was at this point tht our tour guide decided to hammer home to us the imprtance of tipping the driver as the company that he wroks for is different to the booking agents. She also made us fully aware that we are very lucky to have the tour being driven around in car,rather than a van. This was a shame as they day really had been a pleasant assult on the senses so far. Even though we have planned on leaving something for him we dicovered that breaking into a large note was not something we were willing to chance. Suddenly the quick tours around the factory sections made sense. They were obviously working on commission.
Now back in the accommodation. Lou is sleeping and I'm listening to the playlist my sister put on my ipod.
Night, night. XX
- comments
Tim Glad to see you're having such a good time. At this rate you'll probably sleep through Australia! Thanks for keeping us all updated, it's nice to have something to read here in grey old Norfolk xx
Dad Great to see the pics and read about the adventure so far - really envious!!! Take care. Lots of love. Dad (Weston) xxxx
Candi Photos look awesome, Monkey looks happy, and you both seem like you are having a great time. Keep it up, missing you and take care, Candi & Boys x x x
Kirsty Hey Vic, Thanks for the email and the blog notification. It sounds like you're learning a lot and fast! Hope you've got over the time dif. Not a lot to report here. Glee continues to be excellent! :) Hopefully going for dress fitting number one next week! Will let you know how it goes. Missing you loads already. Kirsty (and Sven) xxxx
Lindsey Loving the pics! My, oh, my, you have been busy bunnies. Look forward to the next installment, stay safe and enjoy! And as the sign says... No Striding! Love from, Lins, Gaz, Boo + Moo.xxx