One of our last official activities as World Racers before
Final Debrief was to tour The Great Wall of China near the capital of Beijing. Getting there from our last ministry location
involved a 2 hour bus ride and a 32 hour-double overnight-train ride! Our hostel in Beijing
(site of the 2008 Summer Olympics) was only about 5 blocks from famous Tiananmen
Square.
Here I am at Tiananmen Square before touring The Forbidden City our second day in Beijing. I
should also mention that Jake and Spano and I enjoyed some incredible Tex-Mex
the day before and TGI Friday’s that night.
There is a large portion of The Great Wall near Beijing
that has been restored and it is packed shoulder to shoulder with tourist. There’s a cable-car to the top and a
Starbucks at the bottom. We didn’t go there! We went to the “secret-hidden wall” where we
climbed up the mountain and then we were the ONLY ones hiking on the “as-is,
original condition Great Wall of China!” for 2 miles or
more. At the end of the hike we came
back down the mountain to a small village where an awesome 6 course lunch was
prepared for us. The Great Wall exceeded
all of our expectations! It is a
phenomenal testament to man’s ingenuity and drive.
Looking Westward
Looking Eastward
Looking Upward!
Jimmy and Me and Chad (Check out the mountains in the
background!)
Me and Tana
It looks like a toy
village from up on The Wall
Candice and Briellyn
While we were in Beijing we discovered a tailor right around the
corner from our hostel that specialized in Silk and Cashmere.
Alyssa had this dress made and I had this Sport Coat made! Don’t I look spiffy with my camp trousers,
Jeep cap and tailor-made Cashmere Sport Coat.
