Day 1-1/2

We have finally made it to China. And we are so exhausted it’s not even funny.

We left Columbus on Thursday as scheduled. We arrived in Detroit about an hour later. We had to go from gate 68 to gate 30 and the plane was supposed to leave in less than an hour. We made it, and decided on the way home we would use the tram, not try to walk.

We were delayed leaving Detroit as we had to wait for 10 passengers coming in from Chicago. We finally left the ground, and the longest leg of our journey began.

Mike is plagued with motion sickness, and Miracle has experienced it also. He was feeling ill the entire time we were in the air. Miracle and I did okay until about 10:00. We both got headaches and our stomachs were upset. We gave her more Dramamine and she got to feeling better. I didn’t take any (stupid!) so I was queasy the entire rest of the trip. Please pray that our return trip is not plagued with sickness. That is a horrible feeling!

Our trip from Tokyo to Beijing actually arrived early. We got in a little before 9:00 pm local time on Friday. It was smooth sailing until we hit Immigration. There were probably 15-16 lanes opened. All the lines were backed up to the far wall. It was packed. They had people segregated into “Foreigners” and “Chinese Nationalists.” There were more of us than there were of them, so their lines shortened before ours. A very nice official let us move over into their lines so we could get through faster. By the time we made it to the baggage claim, they had the ticker-things shut off. We had no idea where our checked luggage was. We finally found it on the very last carousel. We got through Customs (the easiest part so far) and found our guide and driver. She told us they had decided to wait 5 minutes more and then they were going to leave. I told Mike if they had left I would have lost it.

I don’t know what you’ve heard about Chinese traffic, but believe every outrageous thing said. These people don’t believe in using the brakes or turn signals. Instead they use the accelerator and the horn. I was glad it was dark so I couldn’t see very well. Mike sat up front so he got a really good view.

We finally made it to our hotel. It looked so wonderful. We had the keys, we had picked up our phone, and the bellboy was going to bring up our luggage. We found room 527 and opened the door. Now, when you’re entering a motel room, especially one you’ve never been in before, what’s the first thing you do? Turn on a light, right? Not us. Our lights didn’t work. The room was dark. The only light came from the hallway.

Great! Just what we needed! We’re tired, we’re sore. We just want to take a shower and go to bed. And we cannot because our room is dark. Thankfully the bellboy showed up and told us you must put your room key in this slot by the door. Only then will the lights come on. Wouldn’t you think that was pertinent information?

Anyway, we got settled in, everyone had their shower, and we’re ready for bed. The room had two beds. They’re slightly larger than twin beds, and they’re shoved together. Guess who got to sleep on the crack? Yep, me. I didn’t care so long as I could sleep!

Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep long. I was awake by 4:00 am. Miracle was already awake. We tried to go back to sleep but we couldn’t!! So we got up and washed some things out in the sink and hung them to dry. We painted our toenails. We wrote in our journals. Mike woke up something after 6:00. We just went ahead and got ready to go. We were leaving at 8:30 and we had to have breakfast and find some bottled water.

Breakfast was uneventful. We found water in the business center. We got on our bus and we were off for Tiananmen Square.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in one place in my life! They were everywhere. I’m not sure but I think all 15 million were there today. We got our group picture taken. People were trying to sell us hats, kites, postcards, books, and Mao watches. Our guides had told us not to buy anything from these people. They were looking for the opportunity to steal your money. Some of them were very persistent.

From the Square we walked under a big road to the Gate of Heaven. It’s the first gate leading into the Forbidden City. We also got out first taste of Chinese public restrooms. How do I even begin to describe it? You walked through these strips of clear, heavy plastic. That’s what was there instead of doors. There was a kind of gift shop thing, and then the restrooms. Did I mention that you could smell them from outside? It was the single most disgusting thing I’ve ever smelled. And there were no Western toilets. There were only squatty potties. They are as wonderful as they sound. And the best part is, you bring your own toilet paper, and you do not flush it. They have a little trash can for it’s disposal. I kept meaning to take a picture of them, but I never remember to take my camera into the bathroom. Maybe tomorrow at the Great Wall.

Anyway, we lived through that ordeal. It was on to the Forbidden City. The royal family lived there. They were not allowed to leave, and the “common folk” were not allowed to go in. It was a self-contained city of about 10,000 people. One emperor had one wife (the empress) and 2,999 concubines!

It took us about two hours to walk through the City. At times it felt more like we ran! But the buildings were beautiful. It’s amazing that something that old is still here today. The glaze on the roofs of the buildings in still shiny after hundreds of years.

After we got back to the buses, we went to lunch. It wasn’t too scary. Miracle didn’t eat much, and neither did I really. The fried rice was excellent.

We drove past where the government is building the Olympic Village, then we went to the Summer Palace. We got to ride a dragon boat across a lake, then we had a 30 minute walk back to the bus. We were on a beautifully painted walkway at one point, kind’ve behind our group. All of the sudden, these Chinese people are freaking out over Miracle. A lady at Tiananmen Square asked if we would take her picture with Miracle, and that was no big deal. She was very polite about it. These people rather freaked Miracle out. One even put her arm around Miracle. They kept begging, “One More! One More!” We finally told them we had to leave. She didn’t understand why they did that. We told her it was because they probably had never seen a child who looks like she does. They’ll probably go home and show all their friends their pictures.

We stopped at a pearl factory and a silk factory. We bought a few things at each place, but we really just wanted to be done. We finally had supper and came back to the hotel.

And so, here we are. We’ve all had showers. Miracle is tucked into bed and is sleeping soundly. Mike is laying with his ankle propped up, waiting for me to get finished up here, and he keeps drifting off. My eyes are heavy, and we’ve got more to do tomorrow. I’m going to bed.