Traveling by train! We took a night train from Nanjing to Beijing--9 hours (9:30 pm-6:30 am). Jim and I shared a cabin with 2 other passengers. They took the top bunks, so we settled-in below. Not a bad way to travel. (The 4 kids shared their own cabin. Probably a bad idea!)
We sat in the dining car for as long as we could handle the cigarette-smokers playing cards next to us. At least our cabin was smoke-free--something I have learned not to take for granted.
When the cat's away, the mice will play! Sooooo, our kids didn't get a good night of sleep, but they really liked taking the train.
Beijing at 7 am! Our train arrived and Jim decided we could walk to our hotel. Unfortunately, the maps aren't always accurate. We got there eventually in spite of the grumbling.
"People Mountain, People Sea." This is a saying the Chinese use when there are lots of people in one place. During our trip to Beijing, we were part of the sea! Wow. The news reports all said that the tourist sites had record-breaking crowds, mostly due to the Olympic venues being open to the public. Neveretheless, we were able to manuever quite well around the city. The newly upgraded subway system is very user-friendly, thanks to the Olympics. I kept thinking my friend Lisa K. would be so proud of us, using mass transit with the masses!
We did the standard Beijing toursit activities: the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, an acrobat show, a Kung-Fu show, the night market, and shopping at Silk Street. We were ready to come home when the plane departed. The kids enjoyed the big city, but got tired of being hounded for photos like celebrities. It's hard being blonde and blue-eyed in Beijing.
I have lots of photos to show you...but give me time to get them organized. I will post them based on the location or activity. Keep checking as it may take me a few days! (Plus we heard our surface shipment will arrive tomorrow...the one we sent in July!)
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