Beijing

Posted by Lucy - via email

Hi all.

Sorry - can't access the blog tonight, so this is a quick email instead.

We've had a busy few days - Qingdao on Saturday (smelly, noisy, but interesting), then Dalian on Sunday (beautiful, graceful city but it rained) and today we're off the ship and have visited the Great Wall. What a busy exhausting time, particularly today. We had to get up at 5.30 a.m. only to sit and wait for over an hour before the Chinese authorities would let us off the boat. We then got a bus which took us up to the Great Wall, the journey mostly through the suburbs of Beijing and the traffic was mad! We passed 5 accidents on the way, and the traffic was continually changing lanes and honking horns. Quite nerve-racking.

When we got to the Wall, it was very hot, busy, noisy and dirty!!! But amazing. We managed to walk a few steps and then retired to a tea room. How people were walking up and down the thing I can't imagine. It went on for miles, and that was only the bit we could see.

The bus then took us back in to Beijing, where we're staying at the Marriott City Wall Hotel - very sumptuous and grand. We've just had a quick meal and then it's bed - we're shattered. Tomorrow we're off to see the Forbidden City, Tiannenman Square, lunch, the Temple of Heaven (or something ) and then a visit to the Silk Factory. Probably another early night, and we'll be making an early start to the airport for the flight home.

No idea what hour we land, and we may stay over somewhere on the way back from Heathrow. We're both well, though tired, and looking forward to getting home. The weather has been very mixed - very hot today - what's it like back in England?

Happy Birthday Tony

Love to all
Christine and Richard