This update is slow in coming because Google and Facebook don't work in China. Think about that you Socialist wannabes... Now I'm sitting here with all the others who have been cut off from their world trying to share some limited bandwidth.
Oct 24
Arose bright and early. All packed and ready to go. Breakfast on the Lido. Then sit around waiting for the signal to go ashore. They take the HAL excursions off first and we followed them. After clearing customs we found our bus waiting for us. It’s not a full-size bus, but very comfortable and has several seats to spare. Ours is a party of fourteen.
The guide is a named Steven and is thirty years old. He has the gift of gab and can rattle on endlessly. He pegged me as a military guy but I don’t know why. Military bearing is not my long suit. Maybe I just stick out because I’m a foot taller than my party and a white guy with short hair. He has a driver to whom I’ve not been introduced and whose voice I’ve yet to hear.
It is Autumn in China. We were blessed with a sunny day and comfortable temperature. The leaves are falling, but many trees still show reds and gold in their foliage.
The trip to the wall was a long drive. Chinese freeways look similar to ours.
I’m told the enforcement is automated.
Cameras catch you and you receive a citation within hours.
From the sound of it, there is no appeal, you just pay.
The loaning of your vehicle apparently frowned on.
If it was your vehicle, it is your fault.
When I saw the steep trek ahead of us to get to the wall, I figured Anh wouldn’t make it.
She’s not much of a hiker.
I was relieved to find that they have a ski lift that picks you up at the start and delivers you to the top.
The ride was lovely, sailing along over the treetops. On the left you can see the slide for those who want to get off the mountain with more of a flare.
The view is beautiful and the wall very impressive.
Too bad there were so many people.
Trying to get a shot without someone walking through it was almost hopeless.
The section of the wall we visited had been restored.
In the distance, one could see a section in disrepair.
When I contemplate the slave labor that built the wall, it seems sad to me.
There must have been many thousands of laborers working for decades to erect thousands of miles of wall.
After the wall, another long drive.
Along the way, we stopped for an authentic Chinese lunch.
There was lots of tasty food and a table with room for our entire group.
The center section of the table was constantly rotating to deliver food to everyone.
Of course, you had to get it as it slid by because the rotation never stopped.
We tasted a "local" beer and also got a taste of something like paint thinner.
It was a Chinese moonshine.
56% Alcohol by volume was all I could make out on the label.
After our late lunch, we were back on the road headed for Beijing.
Along the way, we stopped to see a man-made lake and emperor’s Summer Palace.
We were told the entire lake was dug by hand and used to create a rather large hill with great big Chinese buildings on it(Summer Palace).
It was dusk whenwe arrived and very hard to get good pictures.
After that, we continued on to Beijing and our hotel. It’s right downtown and very interesting. Our room 6417 is on the fourth floor. We have internet but without google seems somewhat useless. The hotel has a strange smell. We were warned not to drink the tap water. All the electrical fixtures were unplugged when we arrived. Nothing works unless you insert your room key in a slot by the door. Only one English Channel on the brain sucker; BBC.
I was very tired and went right too sleep. Kept waking to the smell. The smell is unrelenting even with the window opened and the bath fan running.
The shower felt good, but the drain can’t keep up so I cut it short. The toilet paper is the strongest I’ve seen since the Sears catalog. Something like a rough paper towel. Reminds me of a joke about John Wayne toilet paper; It’s rough and tough and won’t take crap off of anyone.
Oct 25; Day two in Beijing. As usual, up and ready to go ahead of schedule. Sat in the bus and waited about half an hour. Then it was off to the forbidden city. FYI it’s called that because it used to be forbidden to all but emperor and invited. It helps to understand the paranoia with security. The forbidden city is no longer forbidden. There were thousands of people touring the grounds like us. For me, it became like sampling perfume after a while. You can only take in so much antiquity before it all looks alike. Steven was a walking talking encyclopedia of Chinese history.
Had my local beer and it's apparent that shopping is the order of the day. I chose to return to the ship and update this blog. Hope it's worth your time to read it. 
