Beijing Oct 15 - 19

After a beautiful summer at home in the US, Thomas and I have now headed to China for the first stop on our Asia trip! We landed in Beijing on Tuesday and met with Yingchu who Thomas met while studying in Cuba and later with Pete and Ruth from the UK. Ruth also took lessons in Cuba with Thomas and Yingchu.

We visited a part of the Great Wall on Wednesday in Mutianyu. It was very beautiful and not as crowded as I imagined. The weather was also very pleasant. It was an impressive hike and we ended up walking until sundown. On our way back to Beijing we stopped and had Pekin Duck for dinner. It was really delicious and is eaten on a small tortilla type wrap with cucumber and a dark sauce.

On Thursday we went to the Forbidden City and were guided by the masses throughout the entire available grounds looking at ancient clocks and thrones of past emperors. It was very impressive but the sheer amount of people always clustering around us was extremely overwhelming. In the afternoon we visited the Lama Temples which was much calmer. We saw many beautiful temples and burned incense. Inside the last temple was a huge 26m tall buddha statue made completely from one piece of sandalwood. It was over 3 stories tall and very wide as well. In the evening we went to a brewery and played cards all together. Yingchu's boyfriend also joined us and treated us to the evening.

For our last day in Beijing, Thomas and I went to see the Temple of Heaven and the gardens surrounding it. It was very beautiful and we enjoyed taking a break from the busy streets for a walk in the gardens instead. In the afternoon, we met up with Ruth, Pete and Yingchu at the Summer Palace just outside of Beijing. We walked almost completely around the small lake - it was breathtakingly beautiful as the lake was surrounded in weeping willows , small bridges and music was playing through tiny speakers disguised as rocks.

Beijing was a great city and we enjoyed how clean and friendly it was! On to the next stop: Xi'an.