Southeast Asia: Day Five - Lama Temple

After breakfast in our apartment and getting our bags packed and ready we started out on our last day in Beijing. We got into a taxi and headed to the Lama Temple. We got our tickets and entered through a gateway of yellow leaved trees to a beautiful temple.

We walked through the entrance to even more beautiful buildings with the red, gold, and blue. We walked through many temples with all the intricate designs everywhere.

Everybody was burning incense as a prayer and the smoke would deliver this prayer up to the heavens.

Sage found this pot full of beautiful flowers.

After exploring for awhile we went to the temple with the fifty foot golden Buddha. We walked in and the statue just went up and up forever to the temple roof. We had to be careful to be very quiet whenever we found a temple that the monks were in class or meditating.

We walked back out to treed path and left the temple then decided to look around at some of the shops across the street as there were no taxis. This was our big mistake. After we were at least a block or two down the street we couldn't get a taxi. We tried for awhile but every taxi we hailed down did not speak English and when we showed them the card with our hotel address in Chinese they still wouldn't take us. We figured they just wouldn't fit 6 people so we headed down another street in search of a bus. That was difficult too as we couldn't understand their written language and we couldn't use google maps because China doesn't allow it. Instead we ended up at an entrance to a big office building with security outside. We got some help from one of the staff and they called two four seat taxis for us. We started on our way home after an hour delay. Dad and my taxi was following the other taxi on the way back but we got separated at a red light and our taxi driver got a little lost but soon we got back to the hotel. We all went up to our apartment for the last time, put on our backpacks and then jumped back into a van taxi to head to the Beijing airport for our five hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

It was getting dark when we landed in Thailand even though we went back an hour so we got to see the city lights all the way to our hotel on the river. It was hard to wait to check in but they gave us all coconut candies and guava juice which were delicious. Soon enough we were in our rooms and off to sleep.   

Total taxis: 5

Total planes: 1

Total miles walked: 4.2 miles

Southeast Asia: Day Four - The Great Wall of China

We were able to wake up at a decent time to meet our guide in the lobby and started to head to the Great Wall of China. The drive was longer than it was supposed to be because we got caught in traffic for an hour so we had to push the end of the tour later. Once we got there we walked up a hill to catch a ride to the top. We had to literally jump onto a ski lift which seemed faster than others (they don't slow them down for you to get on they just tell you when to jump) that was headed to the entrance to the Great Wall of China. We rode up and up the mountains until we saw the Great Wall of China for the first time.

It was so big. It stretched onto the horizon as far as the eye can see and a lot farther. We jumped off the ski lift and were rushed to get out of the way of the next one coming. We walked onto the Great Wall of China. It was 16 feet across so it could hold up to four horses side by side which helped moving soldiers across the border. And as if a huge wall isn't enough defence they had strongholds set up on the other side of the border. So to get across they would have to defeat a stronghold and get over the wall to invade the country and if they did they would also have to beat a ton of soldiers that would travel over the wall after getting the warning. They had a great system for warning the rest of the wall when the enemy was coming. There were guard posts every so often down the wall with big towers and a torch so if there was an attack they lit the fire and the guard at the next tower over would see and light his fire and so on until the whole wall knew. We entered at one of the guard posts and headed out along the wall.

The view across both sides were beautiful mountain ranges. Across the whole wall all the stones fit together perfectly, not as perfect as Machu Picchu but still really well. We walked from guard tower to guard tower on the beautiful wall. Most of the way was up and there was a lot of stairs. Sage was getting a little tired but we made to the end of the safe section of the wall (the other parts are a little damaged and dangerous to walk on.) We climbed up in some of the towers to see the view and what it would have been like to be a soldier guarding the wall. We walked all the way back and said goodbye to the beautiful Great Wall of China.

On the way down we had a choice between going back on the ski lift or tobogganing down the mountain. Of course we chose to toboggan down so we grabbed some toboggans and got in line. The guy working the toboggan slide was really nice and was showing Sage a video of a panda from where he was born. He also showed us that one of the mountains was a face if you look sideways. He did all of that without us really able to understand him as he didn't speak much English. After the people in front of us stopped taking selfies and actually went we got to start our way down the mountain.

The toboggans went really fast but we had to stop all the time because the guy in front of us was taking selfies which is not allowed on the toboggan ride. Zaddek was the first one and was behind him so he had to keep slowing down. But a few times I let Zaddek go ahead and I got to go super fast. It was still very fun in the end and we all had a great time.

After we left the Great Wall of China we continued the tour and got some lunch. Lunch was a typical Chinese lunch with all food placed in the middle on a turning table and after we finished they made us take a jade tour. The jade was really nice but quite expensive so we didn't get anything. For a little tiny carving it was 30 dollars. Zaddek was quite upset about that.

Next stop on our tour was a burial tomb and we had a choice between a good emperor that everybody liked or an Emperor named Dingling who really was a dingaling.  But the good emperor's tomb had a lot that was closed to the public because he was respected but the Dingling's was raided because he left a stone that had the exact location of his tomb. Also Dingling's tomb was 80 feet underground. We chose Dingling's tomb because you could see the actual tomb and our guide suggested it. The entrance to the tomb was really nice and had a nice courtyard with a bunch of ancient trees that had been there for hundreds of years. We walked over to the tomb part and went way down into the ground and came out into a huge underground tomb that looked more like a giant garage with huge cement roofs way above. It was gigantic. We went to the burial spot where the thrones were covered in money people had thrown in for good luck. There were also a ton of huge red boxes, one was for the Emperor and two were for the Empress's tombs. (Emperor Dingling was the only Emperor to have two Empresses.) The other boxes had treasure they thought they would need in the Afterlife.

Once we left the tomb we left the courtyard and the guide told us to say something in Chinese so we could walk out of the spirit realm as we walked through a gate or we would be trapped in the spirit realm forever. We all made it through and headed back to the van. Once we got back to the hotel we had dinner and settled in for the rest of the night.

Total ski lifts: 1

Total toboggans: 1 each

Total vans: 1

Total miles walked: 6 miles
Total flights of stairs: 52

Southeast Asia: Beijing Day Three - The Forbidden City

We woke up at our new hotel and walked over to the Forbidden City which took about a half hour. The entrance was a huge concrete wall with a huge temple on the top overlooking a huge courtyard full of people. Chairman Mao's picture is on the wall at the entrance. He was the man who founded The People's Republic of China. Dad wanted a family picture so we asked somebody to take one and all of the sudden a ton of other random people were taking pictures of us. (It might have been Zaddek's and Sage's blonde hair but it was a little weird.)

After taking some photos we went through the entrance and came out to another gigantic courtyard bigger than the first one with another big temple at the other end. After going through the crowd all heading to the other end we went through yet another huge courtyard with temples and buildings at each side. So once again we walked all the through the courtyard.

We took a side tunnel and explored the vast city of temples and buildings. It seemed crazy that it was a huge labyrinth of temples just for an emperor. Every little design was beautiful but it was a lot to take in all at once.

 The Iron Bulls are said to stop and protect against flooding and were originally kept at the Summer Palace. After exploring a bit longer we started to head for the exit. It took us awhile to get back but once we found our way out we walked back to the hotel for lunch.

(We passed by this beautiful river on the way back to the hotel)

Once we got back Dad and I went to find some lunch so Mom, Sage, Kaden and Zaddek could have a break. We ate and headed out again. This time to the Temple of Heaven.

 The Temple of Heaven was one of the tallest temples we had seen so far and had some of the most beautiful blue and indigo colours. The Temple of Heaven was used to pray to the Heavens for good harvest in the year to come and was built in 1406 to 1420.

We continued on to the Temple of Heaven complex with a few other temples, a beautiful marble altar and the Echo wall or Whispering wall with the angle and brick overhang so your voice echoes around the entire wall.

After we finished looking around we started to double back to the exit where our hotel advised us to exit and where all of the taxis were but Dad decided we should exit out the south side instead since that's where we were. He thought we could just come back in and head to the east side if there weren't any there but when we exited the Temple of Heaven they stamped our tickets useless so we couldn't get back in. There were no van taxis so we walked around the corner trying to find the east exit from the streets. We doubled back after half an hour of walking and squeezed into a small car with Mom, Sage, Kaden, Zaddek, and I squished in the back.

We got back to the hotel and went to a great restaurant to experience Chinese style eating. There was a huge lazy Susan in the middle of the table that spun around with a bunch of delicious dishes like vegetable spring rolls and veggie potstickers. After we finished Mom, Dad and Sage took us to the night market with the scorpions on sticks. Some of them were still alive. We got back to the hotel and went to bed shortly ready for our adventure to the Great Wall.
   

Taxis: 1 van and 1 small car

Total miles walked: 6.3 miles

Southeast Asia: Beijing Day Two - The Summer Palace

We woke up late after our long flight from Toronto and went down to get some breakfast. After we arranged for a taxi to our new hotel for the next three nights in Beijing. The drive through the city was interesting and a while later we were there. We did a quick stop to drop our backpacks off and then headed right to the Summer Palace - the Emperor's summer home/palace. The front part of the palace was on Longevity Hill and is one of the entrances to the summer palace.

The very front is a building that could be a palace by itself with a huge courtyard and an intricate roof but as we continued onward it got bigger and more intricate, and more colourful, with every little detail and every carving. It would have taken forever for just one part of the huge expanse of the Summer Palace. We climbed up a few stairways to the top of Longevity Hill and came out to more temples and buildings where I found a great photo spot out across the city.

Then we came to a huge temple eight stories tall. Every little design and all the painting was perfect. All this for one Emperor was crazy.

It turns out though that this was only half of the summer palace. Over the other side of Longevity Hill was a huge horizon of temples and buildings leading out to Kunming Lake. Kunming Lake is a man- made lake that was originally reservoirs of water for the city and crops but was turned into an imperial garden after 3500 years of use. The garden was built after the practice which is of one pond and three hills. The Kunming is surrounded by three hills, one of which is Longevity. The Summer Palace was built in 1700 and named Qingyi Garden but was destroyed by British and French Troops in 1866 and it was rebuilt as the Summer Palace. Then in 1900 is was damaged by European forces and was looted of many of its treasures. It was repaired but in 1940 it was damaged a third time and was repaired to the way it is today.

After taking in the view from the top of Longevity Hill we walked down to the lakeside part of the Summer Palace with beautiful willow trees and temples built out over the water. The whole place was beautiful and so intricate. 

We explored the vast gardens and then started to head for the exit and got lost in another maze of temples before finding our way out at another one of the other entrances to the Summer Palace.

 We went in search of a taxi van that could fit us all but we could only find four seat taxis so we went back towards the main entrance and finally found a taxi van to take us to our new hotel for the night. We got our bags out of storage and checked into our room. It was one of the best rooms we've ever had with two big bedrooms, a bath the size of a hot tub, a big living room and kitchen. We settled in for the night while Mom, Dad and Sage went to get some dinner. They had a really hard time finding anything to eat in the dark city where no one spoke English but they did find some good bean sprout Chinese type burritos. They even found a food market with live scorpions on sticks and fried bugs.  

Total taxis: 3

Total miles walked: 8.1 miles