Chinese people are small but they build huge walls!

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Things I've learmt today:

-Chinese people maybe small but they build huge walls, huge steps ans they walk like olympic speed walkers!
- It really is true chinese people cant pronounce their vs and rs, lots of chinese things are 'weally waluable'.
- That Katie girl was propabably right about there being 9 million bicycles in Beijing, ive only been here 2 days and ive counted 6493 already.
- I may be the first ginge to have entered China. I get papped walking down the streets, no lie!
- Chinese people dont like scorpians they impale them on sticks and eat them alive!

Ok say day 2 begins, and with it so does the tour. Me and em wake at 6 to find its actually 5, which is a great start to the day considering we're both as tired as a nun with amnesia who keeps on losing her rosary beads. However it gives us time to get mentally and physically ready for the day ahead with our ritual 30 minute Tai Ci workout- or just 30 more minutes in bed! We were served breakfast in bed which was lovely! Eggs, sweet toast, jam and crackers with warm milk and coffee ( which i actually enjoyed). It was perfectly timed for our tour guide Lovely Lilly to pick us up!

There were ten of us in the group so a nice intimate tour was in order. We began with the Ming Tombs which was an hours drive away. We planned to sleep but with the amazing scenery pasing didnt get many ZZZZs. I never imagined how green china would be but it is so beautiful with mountains and vineyard galore! It reminds me alot of Gaeta where my Italian saide comes from, with people selling there fruit on the streets next to their land. When we got to Ming Tombs we were given loads of info on the ming dynasty and the third emperor ofit,Ju di. The area was amazing, full of mountains with tombs on the peak of each one, yellow roofs just appering out from the green landscape. It was a very peaceful place minus the vendors who shout things at you like "halo t- shirt, hello maganet". We saw loads of ancient artifacts like crowns and money and our tour guide kept on plugging jade jewelrey , so it was hardly a surprise when our next stop was a jade factory.

We were taken on a tour and show all the varietys of jade . We watched some workers making the jade orniments as they were made to work in a glass room and whipped when ever their hands left te machine. We were taught how to tell the difference between real and fake jade and were then sent off to look around the store. Sure enough we were both hounded until we both bought some thing, emma a bracelet and me ome weird stamp thing with a monkey on top.

We ate lunch in the store restaurante and were given dim sum. Me being a fussy eater was afraid I wouldnt eat much, I promised myself id try things and I proud to say I did, and i loved it! Over lunch we got talking to all the other tourists which was lovely as they came from all over the world! Our favourite was a gringo from Mexico, who kindof reminded me of Emily Bullock- it ws probably the greasy hair!

After lunch we set off to the badaling grea wall. Lilly told us all about the heavy casualties that building the wall had. She told us many died carrying the stones up the hill only yo be dropped inside the walls to be buried. But seeing the wall made it worth the death or thousands! With it being so high up we had to get a cable car up, which was scarier than anything ive ever do in my life. A thin wire an old cart,rusty wheels and high force winds dont mix too well. Once on the wall though it was forgotten. The view pver the city ad the mountains was extraordinary. It was great to see the wall snake accross the whole skyline and once you climbed to the top (I understand why its called a climb now, those chinese love uneven steps!), the view was even more breathtaking. One of the best experiences of my life. Im also glad I made so many peoples day better as they took photos with me and of me, lets just say my jaw was hurting by thetime we got back down to the ground!

On the way back to the hotel we drove past the birdnest and watercube which were a real sight, im 'weally' lookin forward to seeing them on sunday! We also made a stop at a silk factory but it was shit so I wont bore you. Instead of going straightback to the hotel, we decided to take our new gringo, who was making the trip alone with her sombraro, to the Wangfujing food market- be warned ts not for the faint hearted! As soon as we entered we were met by street vendors selling every meat you can think of on sticks; donkey; snake; starfish; seahorse; tarancilla; turtle; centipedes; live scorpians and im sure if I would have asked- human (I didnt dont worry mum!). Needless to say we didnt stay long. Being humgry ad tired we didnt stay out late, we grabbed a quick dinner at a noodle bar, whre the herbal tea was really nice, went to a bar, had some bruskies and played cards ( NEVER PLAY A MEXICAN AT CARDS THEYRE EXPERTS!!!). All in time for and early turn in ready for another long day tomorrow.

Update again soon, hopefully with pictures.x

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