Thus trip so far has been an eye opener, to me at least. I cannot help but think how my concept of China was so far wrong. Mind you it is only our fourth day her and only in the capital city. I suppose all countries make a point of having their capital as attractive as possible.
The traffic flows well, I am amazed at how so many of the vehicles are luxury cars. However at the same time there are some people on bikes and scooters overloaded with wares.
I have never experienced such polite and gentle people in regards to serving and wait staff etc. Although there are hordes of people they are soft spoken and not overly pushy unless in a crowd situation. The folks we bump into are remarkably well dressed. Being in the capital I imagine there are many government employees her and large firms. They appear to be paid a reasonable amount.
Gasoline is about $1.30 a litre. The streets are immaculate and there is a great attempt to keep the place spotless. There are few beggars.
I am amazed at the fashion- conciseness of the people, even elderly people are smartly dressed in what look like good quality clothing. Maybe only the poor quality stuff gets exported but more likely it is the importer who drives the quality down to maximize their profit.
Counterfeit goods abound. I bought a his and hers Rolex yesterday for 15.00 each. There are upmarket stores that sell the real thing, there is an Apple Store just down the street. Yet yesterday I could have bought what looks like an Apple for a fraction of the cost. Buyer beware.
It was the best day weather wise so far, clear and no wind, about 15 C. Unfortunately I had a bit of an upset tummy after we started the journey to the Wall. It was rather unpleasant in the car on the freeway, not knowing if I was going to bring up my breakfast. All turned out fine although I was a bit queasy most of the day.
We also visited the cloisonné workshop on the way there. We are always interested to see craftsman at work and I have always been amazed at the method used in producing that stuff.
We got caught in a traffic jam on the way home which was frustrating, but interesting. The skill of the divers switching lanes was amazing but not a fender bender.
Tomorrow noon we fly to Xian for two days, a travel day unfortunately. We will see what China Air is like!!!
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| Cloisonné workshop showing the stages |
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| Finished product |
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| The Wall |
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| Another view of the Wall |
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| I need a good soak tonight, there are some very big steps up there! |
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| The wall is amazing from a view of 'How on earth did they build it? |
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| Resting actually |
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| Our day at the wall was very tiring, but exciting |
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