The next morning we arrived in Xingang. By 8:30am we disembarked Diamond Princess and were picked up by a tour guide/driver who drove us to the Mutianyu Great Wall. At the site he chose for us we hardly saw any other tourists (two newly-wed couples having their wedding pics taken... stunning site for a photo session). The Wall was simply breathtaking!!! Stunning!!! Unbelievable!!! I felt overwhelmed by its majestic beauty.
After seeing the Wall, our driver took us to our hotel in Beijing. We were really tired!
Beijing has 17 million of inhabitants! Unbelievable! And yet we believed it when the following morning we made our way to Tienanmen Square and Forbidden City. I have never seen such crowds in one place in my whole life. Just so happened that the weekend we were in Beijing was a public holiday weekend! EVERYBODY (and their brother, I'm sure) decided to come to the Square at the same time!
Beijing has 17 million of inhabitants! Unbelievable! And yet we believed it when the following morning we made our way to Tienanmen Square and Forbidden City. I have never seen such crowds in one place in my whole life. Just so happened that the weekend we were in Beijing was a public holiday weekend! EVERYBODY (and their brother, I'm sure) decided to come to the Square at the same time!
We hired a guide in Forbidden City and really enjoyed our tour. We had to skip many interesting details because E was getting impatient. The place was impressive though. I had watched The Last Emperor a couple days earlier on the cruise ship so seeing the place in person made it that much more exciting!
Back at the hotel, we had a quick lunch and then the boys took a nap while I ventured into town to visit Yong He Gong "Lama" Temple. It was a great experience. The Temple complex consisted of numerous buildings. A true feast for senses (burnt incents, vibrant colours, sounds of a gong, etc).
I returned to the hotel to find the boys still asleep. I took the opportunity to grab a cup of coffee and read a bit enjoying some peace and quiet.
In the evening we went to see the “infamous” night market. The biggest draw is certainly the display of cooked (roasted, fried, etc) insects! We witnessed tourists eating beetles and cockroaches! Disgusting!!!!
The following day was our last day in Beijing. Our flights were not leaving until late at night so we had a full day at our disposal. We went to see the Temple of Heaven in the morning. The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. The Temple is divided by two enclosed walls into inner part and outer part. The most magnificent buildings are The Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan), Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu), and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian). Almost all of the buildings are connected by a wide bridge called Vermilion Steps Bridge (Danbiqiao) or Sacred Way.
We headed back for the hotel to take a short nap before we set off to see The Bird's Nest (Beijing National Stadium) in the afternoon. The stadium was designed for use throughout the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Our South-East Asia trip came to an end. We have certainly got a flavor of this part of the world along with great many ideas for our future trips.
Eric was flying to Singapore while E and I were taking a flight to Poland to stay with my family for a month.
Eric was flying to Singapore while E and I were taking a flight to Poland to stay with my family for a month.
