Tank? What tank??

We definitely saved the best for last on our trip. Beijing was lots of fun, despite the Chinese mayhem. We visited the beautiful Olympic Green. I was really cool to see it after watching all of the events on TV and working on the Olympics campaign at work.

We also went to Tiananmen Square, and found that the Chinese government doesn't stop with just limiting internet useage (facebook/my blog/you tube are all banned in China, and you have to use your passport details to log onto the internet!). The Chinese government basically denies that the student protest in the Square ever took place. There are police around everywhere listening to what people say. It is impossible to tell where the infamous tank photo was taken. It was really quite eerie to be in an environment like that! The Square was being decorated when we were there for the 60th Anniversary of the DRC, and it looked to be quite a show. We also visited the beautiful Llam Temple and saw the monks in worship and a statue of Buddha that was 18m high and carved out of a single piece of Sandalwood... it was insane and also in the Guiness Book.

Next we visited the Forbidden City, which was vast and pretty, but somehow still managed to have the Chinese coldness to it. On our way out, we posed under the public phone booths that line the streets of the city... how funny are those??? We also had what seemed like our 100th McD's meal... the McD's we were at was huge, and apparently the locals used it as a massive napping area! There were people sleeping everywhere in the restaurant!

Our last stop in Beijing was at once an amazing and horrifying experience. We went to the zoo and saw the CUTEST pandas!!! we could have watched them laze around for hours! It was the first time either of us had seen one, and they were fantastic. the rest of the zoo, however, was atrocious. The cages that housed every animal except for the pandas was sickeningly small and filthy. I was quite upsetting to see. Alas, those are the experiences you expect when traveling but never really want to see. Things would drastically pick up, however, as we set off from Beijing on an overnight trip to the Great Wall!!!......

We traveled 3 hours on a bus ("Puma, can we have a washroom stop??" "No. You can go on the side of the highway if it is a must or you wait another hour"!!) to the Simatai section of the great Wall. Driving up in the bus and catching the first glimpse of the wall lining the impossible edges of the mountains was amazing. the Simatai section hasn't been restored much - no handrails or easy passes - so it is not the most popular site for the mainstream tourist. This was perfect for us, as it seemed like we were the only ones on the wall most of the time. Walking along the wall and up the stairs to each tower, looking over the crumbling edge, was an experience we will never forget! Mars even bought a Coke at the top of one tower from an entrepreneurial lady.. Uncle Jim would be proud!! On the way down, insteadof taking the 30 minute road to the bottom, we of course opted for the cable swing. we leaped out over the gorge with the wall in our sights... great fun! And yes, mom, we did force other people in our group, including a terrified woman in her 60s who had 5 kids, to take the plunge as well! The next morning before sunrise, we woke up at 5 am to get up to the wall. Myself and 2 other guys walked all the way to the end of the section, after which point you could see the crumbling wall falling into the mountain side high in the hills. We seriously contemplated jumping the barrier to walk the rest of the way, but somehow logic and the steep mountain face that dropped into nowhere won out! My legs were aching the next day, but it was soooo worth it!

For our last night in Beijing, we joined some guys we met from a GAP tour (a funny guy from Manhattan with the most obnoxious loud Jersey accent ever, and a guy from Oregon who was studying Chinese and was an equally serious hardcore Christian and awkward white guy break dancer) at hit the club GT Bananas. Thankfully, our 2 weeks in the country marginally prepared us for the club. We had begun to get used to the lack of personal space, the blatant gawking, and them all asking to take our photo. the club was jammed and everyone jumped all over each other with no rhythm and squealed like children (guys and girls) when bubbles fell from the ceiling. It was hilarious, and an excellent end to the strange but worthwhile journey that was China. As if to make up for the not-so-warm-welcome we received from it's people, we went to the (stunningly beautiful!) Beijing airport to check in for our overnight flight to Delhi, and Air China informed us that we had been randomly upgraded to BUSINESS CLASS! We were like kids on Christmas... putting the slippers on before the plane even started moving, and finished our first glass of champagne but the time the wheels left the ground. I am telling you all now... there is no other way to fly!! We will be devastated to be back in economy on our next flight, but were happy to live out every budget traveler's dream!