Beijing

We went to Beijing over our 4-day Easter holiday. It was a wonderful trip and exceeded our expectations. The weather was beautiful, and the spring trees were in full bloom, reminding me of the US east coast at this time of year. Our Chinese certainly came in handy, and we did pretty good communicating with people, although Erik is much better than me. The highlight was of course seeing the Great Wall. We went to a more remote area called Simatai (over a 2 hour drive from Beijing) where the wall isn’t as restored as other parts, and it is less touristy. There was some fog and mist which added to the mystique of the place. Me and our "guides". These ladies latched onto us when we first arrived and followed us the whole time even though we told them repeatedly we did not want a guide or to buy the souvenirs they were selling. It is really impossible to shake these "guides", and it happened to us in India too. In the end, we had plesant chats with them and bought their souvenirs.
Tiananmen Square was viewed from across the street of the Forbidden City. There isn’t much to see at Tiananmen Square, but the Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, is massive. There were tons of tour groups there. One of several requests to have my picture taken--I think it's the blonde hair.

More to come.