Goodness, Gracious, Great Wall of China

You could not wipe the smiles off our faces as we arrived in Shanghai, China. We were so glad to be out of India. That was short lived though after an hour bus ride into the city we were turned down by 4 taxi drivers b/c we lacked the chinese address to our hostel. Everything is written in Chinese characters and English Alphabet. Finally, 80 minutes of walking around with our packs on we found the Captain's Hostel. It was a great location close to the Bund and had a rooftop bar which is where we recouped from the walk.

We were so pleased with the sights, smells and systems in place in Shanghai. The city is so modern. One aspect that surprised us was TV's everywhere (Buses, cabs, metro and boats floating down the Yangtse river) all with advertisements. We can expect to see that in the US's future.

We visited a fabulous Urban Development Museum which had models of the entire city, a 360 degree movie screen and plans for an entire pollution-free suburb! We also experienced our first Buddest Temple, the Yuyuan Gardens (where we saw the Pres. of Ghana), a Bazaar and saw Shanghai Acrobats perform. The acrobats were amazing with their strength and flexiblity!

We took two overnight trains in China. The first to Xi'an (which we finally learned how to pronounce Chian) which took 16 hours and the second from Xi'an to Beijing (12hours). Because we only had 10 hours in Xi'an we broke down and took a tour so that we would be able to see everything we wanted to see. As it turns out, they took us to a random "store" where Nate and I were laughing outloud as a chinese lady gave us the fastest tour ever in broken English. Then to some museum and an ancient bath house then FINALLY to the Terra Cotta Warriors. The Warriors were unbelievable over 6,000 individuals & horses in one of the four areas. They all have different expressions and positions. Each was painted but they has faded now and had weapons, horses and even chariots. The oddest part is that it was buried on purpose.

We arrived into Beijing at 6:00 in the morning and proceeded to take the same course to the hostel in Beijing as we took in Shanghai (another hour walking around with our packs on). Beijing was having a huge African-China summit which was interesting because that is the only thing mentioned on the news. It was wild to have no outside influence for media. We were not able to check our blog, the US state gov. travel advisory website or get any other news besides what is happening in China. Beijing is also gearing up for the Olypimcs and there is construction and renovations everywhere. The mascots for the Olymics are adorable and they were everywhere. We visited Tiananmen Square (soldiers everywhere and not much to see), Forbidden City (Huge, crowded, nice gardens), Summer Palace (over-rated) and the highlight for us was the Great Wall.

We took a day tour to Jinshanling (3 hours by bus) to hike for 10 kilometers (2 hours 45 minutes) to Simatai all along the great wall. It was breath-taking in more than one way! The wall is all up and down on ancient uneven rocks. No one was injuried but Kristy fell and both were quite sore for days after the hike. It was so peaceful and beautiful along the wall. I cannot imagine how anyone could appreciate the wall without walking part of it!

The food was excellent. We have loved all the noddle dishes and chicken/veggie options. The teas are wonderful and necessary as the Temp. in Beijing hovered in the low 50's. The Chinese Yen was 7.77 to the dollar.

Few observations of China:
- Barter - You can barter for everything. Nate got our laundry bill cut in half by bartering.
- Spitting - We believe spitting is not only encouraged it is taught in schools. I have never seen/heard so many people spit.
- Toliets - Hold your nose and bring your own paper.
- Travel Note - Always, Always have the address of your hotel written in Chinese for the taxi drivers to understand.
- Pushing - Accepted form of getting from point A to point B.
- English - Gets you no where in China
- Eating - Chop sticks are the ONLY utensil here

China is a great place to visit and 7 days in definitely not enough to see all it has to offer. We would love to return some day to see more of the countryside.

We are writing from Japan as we were unable to open this website while in China. Thanks to everyone who is posted on the blog. We love hearing from everyone and think of you often!