It was an early start and we were back on the train heading to Beijing. Again, it was about a 30hour train ride with another crazy border crossing. We arrived at the Mongolian border at about 730pm and departed for China around 10pm. Around 1030pm we arrived at the China border. Immigration and customs bordered and took our paperwork. We also had temperature scans to see whether we were sick. I actually caught a really bad cold - fortunately no fever. After they got our paperwork, the train is moved into a gaint "garage" where the wheels have to be changed. The train rails a
re different widths from Mongolia to China - the Chinese being closer together. We stayed on the train as the compartments were lifted up and then replaced on new wheels. The procedure was very efficiently executed but a little unbelievable. The workers had hard hats but no other safety equipment - including no steel toe boots. In fact, one worker sat on his hat while the train was being lowered onto the new wheels and his head! We finished the wheel changing process at about 1130pm and then had a stop from midnight to 1am. We went to bed at that point.
re different widths from Mongolia to China - the Chinese being closer together. We stayed on the train as the compartments were lifted up and then replaced on new wheels. The procedure was very efficiently executed but a little unbelievable. The workers had hard hats but no other safety equipment - including no steel toe boots. In fact, one worker sat on his hat while the train was being lowered onto the new wheels and his head! We finished the wheel changing process at about 1130pm and then had a stop from midnight to 1am. We went to bed at that point.
The following day we arrived in Beijing at about 2pm and were greeted by my cousin at th
e station who hired a van and driver for our 4 days in Beijing. We went to the hotel, showered and waited for the arrival of two new members Sandy and Florent! Dinner was a feast of Peking Duck - very yummy. There was so much food! Another favorite dish and specialty of the restaurant was Pears - fried batter in the shape of pears with red bean filling. So good! After dinner, we headed out to see the 2008 Summer Olympic venues by night - the Bird's Nest and Watercube all lit up in the rain.
e station who hired a van and driver for our 4 days in Beijing. We went to the hotel, showered and waited for the arrival of two new members Sandy and Florent! Dinner was a feast of Peking Duck - very yummy. There was so much food! Another favorite dish and specialty of the restaurant was Pears - fried batter in the shape of pears with red bean filling. So good! After dinner, we headed out to see the 2008 Summer Olympic venues by night - the Bird's Nest and Watercube all lit up in the rain.The next morning, we started our day at the Temple of Heaven and Earth. The temple is where the emperor gave thanks and prayed to the Heaven. My cousin who calls himself an "Old Beijing", someone who knew everything about Beijing. He doesn't speak any English, so I did the translating. The temple area/park was huge and filled with seniors doing TaiChi and other morning exercises. Walking around the park for 3 + hours worked up an appetite. Lunch was another feast. This time the specia
l dish was ZhaJian noodles (炸酱面). A highlight of this meal was the fried bananas and fried cream puffs. We then headed off to see the Forbidden City - the home of last several Emperors. It was amazing how much space one man need
s (plus his many concubines and servants). On route we went through Tiananmen Square, the world's largest square. The square was packed full of people. We were told the square is always crawling with undercover cops. You are under constant surveillance, but probably one of the safest place in the country. After the Forbidden City, we climbed the Jing Hill (景山) behind it for a full view of th
e Forbidden City. The hill is also famous for being the spot the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty hung himself in 1644.
e Forbidden City. The hill is also famous for being the spot the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty hung himself in 1644.Day 2 in Beijing was all about the one of the world's greatest man made accomplishments - the Great Wall of China. The Wall is over 6000KM long and built to keep Mongolian invaders out. The highest and most famous section of the wall is called BaDaLing. However, we decided to venture out to one of the less known locations of the wall called MuTianYu. We spent about 3 hours on the Wall with a lot less tourists, but just as spectacular. It is one of my dreams to hike the Wall for a week and explore the less restored parts via camping. We headed back down by a much faster way - by LUGGING. They have a "luge"
or giant slide to the bottom. Great fun but of course no helmets. I think if weren't for time constraint, the group would have went back up the Wall, so we could lug down again. I tried to show the gang something different every meal. Because we are known for our fantastic and vast varieties of different types of food. So we had to fish for our own lunch! The restaurant hidden in a village near by the Wall was known for its fish dishes. The fish they serve are raised in spring water from the hills. Only Michelle was close to catching anything, so we just asked the waiter to net us a few fish for lunch. The dinning patio of the restaurant was on top of the fish ponds. We watched fish swimming by while we enjoyed eating their cousins.
Upon our return to the city we were ready for a round of massages!
(Part Blog Contribution by Stacey G.)
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