Arrival in Beijing - Final day of Train

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Monday morning had us crossing Inner Mongolia on route to Beijing. The landscape became more vegetated with each passing mile. Small towns and farming villages started popping up. You could occasional catch a quick glimpse of the Great Wall on the tops of the distant hills. We made one final stop before heading to Beijing where we all exited the train to stand on the platform for our first true site of the Great Wall. I stood in awe staring at this structure that stretched off into the distance. Seeing it for the first time it is hard to fathom how such a structure could be built at the top of these mountain peaks. Finally we reach Beijing around 1:30 p.m. We say good-bye to our cabin mates and vow to e-mail each other about or separate journeys. Hilda invited us to spend a day with her in Brussels when we head to Belgium. Sam and I hefted our packs and trudged through the Beijing train station to the exit. To leave the station we had to pass through security that checked our ticket to see that we belonged in the station. We entered the massive front court yard to a sea of people sitting or sleeping everywhere, curled up with their luggage. You can not enter the terminal without a ticket and the waiting areas are crammed hard seats in a non-air conditioned room. Making our way through the crowd we dodged traffic to cross the road and start the trek to our hotel.

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Photos

Cabin Mates on arrival in China
Hilde, Sabrina, Scott and Sam