Our last stop was the capital of the great asian nation of China. Beijing is home to great things like the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, and The Great Wall of China. One aspect of China that we figured out was there were lots of Chinese people. I felt great about it, but Nicole on the other hand did not. She said at one time, “It seems like everyone is looking at me.” In my reply to be funny, “They are probably mad at you for taking one of their own as your husband.” She then believed me and we kept on walking.

The journey started with a check in to our hotel a day early because the train ride from Xi’an fell through and we booked a last minute flight to Beijing. One, we were hoping that the taxi driver could speak english so we could tell him where to go. That plan fell through. Two, we were hoping that the hotel would not be full because we needed a place to stay and did not want to go hunting at 10pm in a place we have never been before. That plan cost us. There was a room, but it was the “Superior Executive Rip me off Suite.” Though it cost us an arm and a leg it did have antique Chinese furniture and an antique Chinese bed. That stuff really did not impress me too much. What I did like was the wall mounted flat screen with Wireless Internet and a computer for browsing on the flat screen. Plus, the refrigerator had COMPLIMENTARY drinks. That was a first.

We got a good nights rest, headed downstairs to checkout and checkin to our new rooms, and headed for Tienanmen Square. Luckily Nicole did her research and the Square was only about 1/2 mile down the road from where we were staying. So we walked to find that there was a million Chinese people touring the grounds. Nicole’s reaction was, “I thought all these Chinese people would have seen this already.” I don’t think we seen a white person the whole time we were there at the square. We did see plenty of umbrella’s though. It did not matter if it was a macho asian man, or a little old lady, they had an umbrella. Some of the men even had pink flowery umbrellas, but I don’t blame them. It was super hot out there and with a million folks around you it makes it even more intense. The main attractions there were Chairman Mao’s picture and the gates to the walls of both the Forbidden City and out into the square. We did not spend a lot of time there but we did see the sites, took some pictures, and headed for a place to eat lunch across town. The night was not much more exciting as we toured a bit and then headed back to the hotel for another night.

The 2nd day would prove to be the most enduring. After having a great buffet breakfast at the hotel we got a taxi to take us to the train station which takes you to one of the main locations of the Great Wall. The hardest part about the taxi rides are hoping that you get to the location because you cannot communicate with the driver nor do you have any idea where you are going. Not to my surprise the taxi driver dropped us off at a place where we could see the train station but not get to it. He motioned us to walk around the corner and cut through the back of some building. I should have took a picture of where we were going because it seemed as if it would be the last picture we would ever take. We listened to the taxi driver and walked around the corner to where about 4 asian men with no shirts were sitting down. As we walked past I kept my eye on them and they stood up…..at this point in my mind there were a lot of things going through. Should I say something to them, ask them a question, get my fists ready to fight, etc. I told Nicole to get ready to run if they come toward us and that those guys would get a Camera, iPad, and headphones to the face if they tried something. Then I would take off running. If you know me you know that i’m not a fighter, but I can run like the wind. Nothing happened and who knows what they thought about us coming back there. As we figured, there was no entrance to the train station from there so we had to walk back to the street, walk up the street, and make our way to the front entrance. This train station was a bit better than the one in Xi’an in that there wasn’t 10,000 asians trying to get to the Great Wall. Easy as pie we bought the tickets and then made plans to head to the Bird’s Nest and Watercube before our train left.

The Bird’s Nest and Watercube were the main spots for the 2008 Summer Olympics and a main attraction now for Beijing. This would be my first experience to go to a Summer Olympics site overseas. The Chinese know how to build it big and uniquely. The Bird’s Nest looks to be a building designer’s nightmare, not in a bad way. This was the most out of ordinary design for a building I have ever seen. Props go to all the little Chinese people who help build that place. The Watercube was also neatly built, but in the day time you do not get to see it’s glamor because it’s presentation exemplifies at night when the whole building lights up. After a few pictures we purchased some tickets and then headed into the Bird’s Nest to walk around and see the inside. Spending about an hour there awestruck, we realized we needed to go back to the train station and hired another taxi. Again hiring a taxi was no easy matter. The first guy we talked to said 150 rmb ($23), which is about 3 times as much as we paid to get there. I told him real quick he could kiss my tail feather. Just kidding of the tail feather part, but that is what I was thinking at the time. We then found another taxi about 100 feet away and he drove us there for about 20 rmb ($3.50). The only problem was the guy brought us to the same crazy alley way the other guy did and said that we could walk around back. By then I looked up how to say “NO” and told him in a stern voice and motioned to the front of the station. He then dropped us off at the correct spot and we headed for the train.

At the terminal we met a couple and their kids. I started a conversation with the husband (John) because he had a pizza, and I wanted to know where he found it because we did not want Asian food anymore. After a few laughs about the culture we kind of hit it off. Nicole conversed with the kids and John’s wife and we actually were on the same section of the train together. At this point, Nicole and I had not eaten anything for lunch so we were a bit hungry. Out of the blue, as we are in route to the Great Wall, I hear “Pizza Delivery” and John’s wife brought Nicole and I three slices of pizza. This was a blessing from God! It’s crazy how God meets your needs even though you are not even expecting or asking when you are in his will. So I gave him a quick line of “thank you” and that it was the best pizza I’ve had in China. In which, he knew that it was the only pizza we had it China. Oh, and I forgot to add, one of the reasons we started talking was because he spoke ENGLISH! Very uncommon in China if you were wondering.

The train made it to the station and we headed to the entrance of the Great Wall of China ta Badaling with our new friends. Oh my, this one of the coolest aspects of the whole trip. A wall that has history before Christ’s time and has been stretched of upwards to 10,000 miles. Some believe even more. This thing was grand and I was glad I did not wear flip-flops on this day. On a small estimate we probably scaled, climbed, hiked, and walked about 3 miles of this portion. In my mind, if we do 3 miles a year of the great wall we will have the whole thing explored in a bit over 3,333 years. Even if we did 3 miles a day, every day of the year, it would take over 9 years to walk the whole thing. I think the Chinese food would get to me before then. Total time spent there was about 5 hours and then we headed back to the train station for the trek back to the hotel. On the way back John told me if we wanted something good to eat (American) we should checkout the Hard Rock Beijing.

So as any hungry person looking for American food would do, we hired another taxi. Not to my surprise again the taxi driver dropped us off at some hotel and motioned his hand for us to go around back of the hotel. We paid him and got out and went straight to ask someone else how to get there, finding out it was about 2 blocks down the road. Word of advice if any Chinese Taxi Drivers are reading this, IF YOU DON’T KNOW DON’T NOD YOUR HEAD AND SAY YES IN ENGLISH. We found it went in and “to my surprise” seen all the white people of Beijing. I guess this was the hangout place for Americans. The funny part was the Emo Asian band (The Hurricane) that was singing a bunch of old 80s music. They were actually good. Next to us at a long table were about 10 tall black guys and 2 white guys. Nicole then asked, “Who are they?” like I am suppose to know who tall black people are. Though this time I did. The And1 Basketball Team was taking a tour of China and playing at some local hot spots. I did not find this out until I went over and chatted with them. They were really polite and had the same humor about the band as we did. After eating the best BBQ Sandwich and Chicken Tenders ever, Nicole and I went back to the hotel and hit the bed.

The last full day would be filled with the Forbidden City tour, shopping at the Pearl Market, and dinner at Outback Steakhouse. It was neat to see where the country of China was managed from in the old days. We took some pictures, but really did not spend a lot of time there because we wanted some pearls. The pearl market was really neat in that it had everything you could imagine electronic, clothing, and jewelry wise. Though it was all “knock-offs” (except the pearls) that would be the fun of it because it was JEW time. Our first stop was the top floor where we met Wang Shen Yang, a girl, that sold us some pearls. Wow, these things are beautiful, and cheap. We were able to purchase some and then we headed down to the clothing for some cheap Pashminas, Polo’s, and all kind of other stuff. Nicole went for the Pashiminas and I went to start and bargain for some clothes. We had a good time at that because the Chinese people are good sports when it comes to that. I probably paid too much for the shirts, but it was fun going back and forth lowering and raising the price. After that experience we then traveled to the greatness of Beijing, Outback Steakhouse. I knew this would not rival the Ruth Chris Steak that I had in Hong Kong, but it would be filling. It was great and we made our way back to the hotel to pack up and get ready for the flights home.

All together I would give Beijing a 7/10. It was really spectacular to see the main sites of the city, but other than that there was nothing that impressed me about Beijing. I can tell that they are slacking off the “hospitality” that was presented during the Olympic games. Hopefully it will not go to far down hill and it will still be a place where lots of people travel to see the main attractions.

I look forward to posting a few more stories on the blog so keep in touch and don’t forget the Jesus is the MAN!
Chris