Day 3 - Waking up on the Wall and Summer Palace (Our 1 year anniversary!)

The Wall Coming out of the Fog

Although we could not see the sun rise, the fog rise was almost as sweet. As it got lighter out, more of the Wall and watch towers could be seen. At 4:00 in the morning, the wall looked like it disappeared into nowhere. I was just awestruck by the experience of watching the Wall emerge out of the darkness and fog. At first, I was unhappy that we did not have clear weather, but I think this experience was as cool as experiencing a sun rise. We could hear people talking and moving around, but we didn't know where they were. I tried to take a few pictures, but they didn't come out very well. I was up for a half hour before Kim. Except for a few people moving around us, it was very quiet. Between last night walking on the Wall in the dark and watching the Wall this morning, it was an experience that I will never forget.

It was our one year wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe its been a year already. For weeks, I was trying to come up with an idea for a surprise. When the time was right, I gave her a "Pearl Necklace". Boy was she surprised and yes they were real pearls! I brought them with me and was always afraid that Kim would see them at the security check-points at the airport. My original plan was to put them around my neck and hide them with my shirt. However, I couldn't open the clasp and had to put them around my arm. [Note from Kim: I was very surprised with my pearls. I thought I knew all his hiding places for his gifts to me. In the past, he used an old box of diarrhea medicine to hide a diamond ring]

Pearl Necklace 

After we were awake for a while, Hailong came up and made a breakfast of noodles and tea. We then went for a mile hike on the east side of the Wall. It wasn't long before we came to the unrestored section of the wall. I'm not sure which I liked better. The restored sections showed how it looked when it was new. The unrestored sections are the original work. We were going to go further, but it started to rain. At that point we turned back and decided to get an early start back to Beijing.

Hotel Room 

Hailong and his Family 

Before we left, we took a bathroom break. After a few minutes I heard Kim cough. I figured her side was as disgusting as mine. A minute later I heard her gag. At that point I thought she was going to loose the noodles we had for breakfast. She managed to keep her noodles. (Another note from Kim: It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen or smelled. There was no privacy, just row after row of rectangular openings in the ground. I now have a new respect for the American Standard Company).

Best Toilet at the Wall 

We went directly to the Summer Palace from the Wall. It was a long trip. Our driver dropped us off at the entrance. While we were getting a handle on how to get the tickets, several tour guides came around and asked if we needed their services. At first, we planned on self touring with the tour book we brought with us. After the second guide approached, Kim and I talked and thought maybe it would be a good idea for this palace. I had been here only once before and the tour wasn't very good. Maybe with a good guide we would get more history and information. One guide came back a second time and caught us at the right time. We decided to go with her. Her name was Sherry. She bought our tickets and ushered us into the Summer Palace.

Once inside, Sherry immediately started to talk about the palace and give us a history. The Summer Palace was the home for various emperors and their families to stay during the summer months. The emperor did not travel lightly, it was common for him to have 3000 concubines and many, many trusted eunuchs.

The palace consisted of many building that were often only used once or twice a year for various occasions or ceremonies. One of the largest and ornate buildings was built by Emperess Cixi (Sissy) to celebrate her birthday. The building was only used on this day. We were impressed with Sherry's knowledge and professionalism. It was an enjoyable tour and well worth the 200 yuan we payed. At the end of the tour, she offered to guide us through the next day's sights. It was an easy decision.

Since Sherry understood some of my Chinese, I again tried to use some of my Chinese skills with our driver again to get to a bank. At first, I didn't think I was getting through, but a little later we appeared in front of a bank. Finally some success. Maybe I'm getting the hang of this language!

Summer Palace 

Summer Palace 

We were met at our hotel, at the Office of the Sichuan Provence, by Mr Yu. Although he didn't speak any English, he made sure that everything was set. When Mr Yu needed to give me some information, he would call someone who spoke some English and she relayed it to me. We had our first shower in two days. When we were freshened up, Mr Yu took us to the Silk Market. Kim is still not used to the high pressure tactics of the sellers. ( Note: high pressure doesn't even come close to describing how the sales people would call out to you, thrust their products into your hands, or literally pull you into their stalls) We got through all of the floors and only bought a few items. We are waiting for Tibet before buying a lot of stuff.

We had reservations at the restaurant at the hotel. It is famous for its Sichuan food. We were told that we would get food that was not too hot. So we decided to go for it. Mr Yu came and helped. We didn't realize when we said the food looked OK that we were actually ordering it. We were just looking at that point. When we settled on something, we thought it was the only thing coming out. Before we knew it, the table was full! The food was spicy, but not burning hot. That changed when the Hot and Sour soup arrived. I got a bowl down, but it burned.