Shanghai!

I started my day in Beijing. Heini finally arrived early Saturday morning and I was really happy to see her, I am no longer traveling alone! We had a great breakfast at the guesthouse in Beijing before I showed her around the area near were I was staying. We then hopped on board the high speed train to Shanghai. After 5 hours on the train we arrived in Shanghai and what a city! While riding a taxi from the train station to downtown Shanghai we were immediately amazed by the cities fantastic architecture and the skyline of the Pudong district. We decided that we needed to stay here a couple of days more than planned just to get to know the city a little better. 

The Great Wall of China

So I finally got to see the Great Wall of China and it was amazing. I got up around 7 in the morning to get on the bus heading for the wall. When I got there I took a cable car up to the top, the cable car was just a regular ski lift. At the top you had an amazing view of the surrounding area. From there on I climbed the steps up to the highest point on the wall. The steps were at times so steep they seemed more like a ladder. I could not help but think about the people who gave their lives building these steps 600 years ago. Or as the guide said, the people who had the honor of sacrificing their lives to protect China from the Mongolians. I do however have a feeling that their sacrifice was not voluntary. Either way, the world was a different place all those years ago.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is certainly not forbidden anymore. After taking the subway through Beijing I made it to the Forbidden City. I was greeted with a long, long line to buy tickets to get in. After waiting for a while I finally got the tickets and headed inside the walls. While this place was indeed beautiful there are so many people here it was hard to really appreciate it. Nevertheless the Forbidden City was an interesting place to visit. Heading up to the Great Wall tomorrow, looking forward to the excursion.

Beijing - Day 3

I finally woke to a beautiful day in Beijing, the sun was shining and it was about 20 degrees. I got up around 7 in the morning and ate a great breakfast at the guesthouse. After that I went down to Behai park and walked all the way down to the Forbidden City. The walk was much longer than it looked and it took many hours just to get there. But it was worth it, so much to see so little time. Later in the afternoon I took a walk through the local neighborhood and tried some tasty street food. It was awesome. All in all just another great day in Beijing.