6/4 - Best seats in the house

today, pauline's cousins took us on a much anticipated tour of the great wall. this is one of those places i always wanted to see but never thought i would ever get a chance to. on the way, we hit a ton of traffic, got to drive against the flow of traffic at one point and even witnessed a fight in the middle of the highway.


had to make a u-turn on the highway to get out a traffic jam - kind of scary

on a side note, i am amazed (and terrified) at the drivers as well as pedestrians and bikers here. at every turn and intersection, there seem to be at least 3 close calls. the way pedestrians fearlessly jaywalk into oncoming traffic is a bit bewildering. and i'm talking about all ages, w/ and w/out baby carriages, etc. pretty crazy.

due to all the delays, it ended up taking nearly 3 hours to get there. but it was worth the wait. when we left the hotel, it was so beautiful and sunny but as we approached the great wall, the skies were dark and menacing. we even saw some lightning. as soon as we parked, it started to rain but we thought it was probably just a passing shower. thankfully, we were right and a few minutes later, the sun was back out (only now it was a bit cooler and the air was so clear). as we climbed higher, the views were breathtaking.


what a view!


before it stopped raining


after it stopped raining

pauline's cousin had also gotten tickets for us to see the chinese acrobats. i had seen them before on tv so felt like i knew what was coming. i couldn't have been more wrong. to my surprise, we had front row seats so i prepared myself to catch someone if they fell from 50 feet in the air. i don't think my jaw every left the floor once during the entire performance and several times, i found myself holding my breath while watching some of the crazy stuff they were doing. it was an incredible experience and so much fun.


there are 3 girls balancing things using their hands and feet... while upside down and contorted





















































next, we went to a north korean restaurant where the waitresses not only serve food, but also sing, dance and play traditional instruments while you eat. again, we had the closest booth to the stage and really enjoyed the performance. the food and service was amazing. there were so many interesting things to eat and as usual, i ate more than i should have. it will be a miracle if i still fit into my pants by the end of the tour.





while driving, we were also able to see the bird's nest and cube (main arena and aquatics center for the upcoming olympics) which was pretty cool.


bird's nest


aquatic center

tomorrow, we are leaving for guangzhou. we had such a wonderful time w/ relatives and i hope we can come back soon.