China Day 2- The GREAT WALL!!!

Day Two...It was capital H-O-T...but also F-U-N...this was it. This was the day we were going to see the great wall. This was Number 4 on Kaley and my bucket list of things to do in Asia. We were very fortunate to actually do almost all of the things on our list. Kaley leaves tomorrow...we had a grand adventure together in Korea and I think I made it through this year because of her!

We woke up...early...because Beijing in an hour behind Korea...I chose not to reset my watch and forgot that when I woke Kaley up at 7:30 for breakfast...it was really 6:30. Ooops...Luckily she is a forgiving spirit and we all headed down for breakfast. Let me start off by saying that we had sweet accommodation. Holiday Express Temple of Heaven I salute you! We had a wonderful breakfast and then met Harry and Mr. Chow in the lobby at 8:30. Our day had officially started.

We got in the van and fought the traffic in Mr. Chow's capable hands. Now Mr. Chow is what I would call an aggressive but safe driver. I don't really know what kind of traffic laws he was following but we always got where we needed to be safely...So to me that is all that really matters. The traffic in Beijing is insane. There are a lot of bikers, taxis, and cars. It was an adventure and dad really enjoyed marveling at the craziness of the traffic and some of the old school bicycles.

Our first stop was at the Jade factory. I don't know if you now it or not but Jade is a pretty big deal in China. We learned a lot about Jade. There are many different colors of it, it is good for parts of your body, it changes color over time, and it is very important to Chinese people. Needless to say the whole process is fascinating. The carvings at the factory were jaw-dropping astonishing. We all purchased some Jade from the factory. Dad got a 4 generation jade family ball, Mom got a pendant, I got a ring and a small bracelet, and Kaley wheeled and dealed for a GREAT bargain on a jade bangle.
After the factory we headed over to the wall. Unfortunately, the smog was intense so our views of the wall were not spectacular but it was still AMAZING and the highlight of our trip. The spot we went to on the wall was called Badaling and it is a fairly touristy spot therefore it was very crowded...but again we were running on excitement fumes and we didn't really care. The only thing that continued to frustrate us was when people would stop and sit on the stairs and take a rest. The stairs were not very wide at these points and it made it difficult to vault over people on the already uneven steps...
The view from the bottom.
Mom on the wall...
Locks of Lovers...
The CLIMB begins...
A good photo opportunity. This is a picture I never thought would happen in my wildest dreams My Dad and I on the Great Wall in China!!!! This was a very special trip.
Kaley and I wanted to go higher...Holly red, Kaley orange...
Mom and Dad head down to snap some more pictures like the one below. Mom- pink Dad- orange.
Kaley always likes to take jumping pictures...she has about 100 of them :). I thought the great wall is pretty much one of the best places in the world to have a jumping picture so I 'jumped' on her band wagon.
The views on the wall were stunning and we were just so happy to be there! It was a really great day even though it was super hot and I got a little sun-sick. It was just nice to be there with some of my favorite people in the world. Sharing this experience knowing that I probably will not see the great wall in person again.
When we had our fill we made our way down to the bottom again and explored some of the sights, sucked down some bottles of water, and took some more silly pictures.
The last picture is another favorite of the day. We are holding up 4 fingers because it was number 4 on our bucket list. The list we made about the second or third week we knew each other. We did it Kaley!
After the great wall we went to have yet another AMAZING lunch. We were all hot and sweaty and dehydrated but the food was spectacular and true to what I call Asian form you don't get nearly enough liquid to drink with your meal. We ended up purchasing two extra bottles of water from the restaurant.

After lunch Harry and Mr. Chow took us to another factory. A Colenesse Factory...that is the word Harry kept using. I still don't really know what it is and it doesn't come up on my spell check so it is wrong but I don't know what else to call it. They take copper pots and draw designs on carbon paper and then put the designs on the pots. Then they take small small pieces of copper and go over the designs with them. They all get soldered together. After they are soldered they get painted then fired and they do this seven times! the whole process is quite amazing and the end product is a very nice glass/enamel look vase. It would be good if I could show you a picture...but sadly with four cameras none of us managed to take a picture. I think it was because we were all fascinated with the whole process.

After the factory we made the long trek back to the hotel, took naps, and walked to McDonald's for supper...yes we went to McDonald's...lame we know but we were all really tired, hot, and hungry and that was what we saw...please don't judge.

All in all another good day in China

Look for day three to come soon!
Holly