Beijing on my Mind (Day Two)

Fall is the best time to climb the impossibly narrow steps of the Great Wall.  It isn't too cold that you'd be concentrating on keeping your teeth from chattering instead of the keeping your eyes on the steps.  It isn't too hot and humid that you'd be taking off every piece of clothing you have before you even get to the first gate post.

I'm just about done writing about Beijing now.  We also went to the Temple of Heaven and a silk factory but I can't find pictures.

I love this photo, hair everywhere!

The Great Wall view from the side of the mountain

Beijing on my Mind (Day One)

The Forbidden City looked just that, forbidding, austere but elaborate.  I'd imagined the Empress Dowager and the littlest emperor Pu-yi walking the huge plaza and palace halls.

Tiananmen Square

We were on a guided tour, so imagine the Chinese lady-guide prodding us every 5 minutes to snap our photos and get on with it already.  The Chinese can be a tad rude sometimes, whether selling fake Rolex watches on Nathan Road in Hong Kong or taking your order in a hole-in-the-wall noodle house in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Beijing on my Mind

It had been on my birthday, or even earlier than that, that I decided I wanted to go to Beijing.  I was torn  between Shanghai, dubbed as the Paris of the East with all its designer shopping, and Beijing, the cultural center of China.  I figured there'd be more cultural sites to visit in Beijing and the idea of climbing the Great Wall just seemed so daunting and romantic at the same time.  Trust me to try to appear more athletic than I really am.

Thankfully, I had already rounded up and rallied several of my co-workers to come along.  I am a great Brand Ambassador/Travel Saleswoman and just all-around convincer of all things travel.  Some of them wanted to go to Shanghai for the shopping, I said there'd be lots of shopping places in Beijing but Shanghai won't have the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.  I knew they'd see it my way.

Obtaining Chinese visas for eight people was a breeze.  Getting our tickets issued without paying more than a P1,000 was even easier and one of the most satisfying things I'd ever experienced.  I used to get a high from it all the time.