Tory and Nikole Enroute Home!!!
From: Diana V Thompson [mailto:diana.thompson103@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:33 PM
To: kc@zoiboyz.com; Tom Golcher; Robert Crooks; Aunt Diana; Nikole Krause-Thompson; Maurice Thompson; Judith Myers; Kay Daniels; Sid Picht; mountainpk73048@gmail.com; d1030krause@gmail.com
Subject: Saying goodbye to China
Good afternoon friends and family!
Nikole and I are all packed to go and have just 15 minutes before our taxi arrives to take us to the airport. Nikole is busy snapping last minute pics of the huge Buddha in the lobby of our hotel, and I am already hungry for lunch....
Two days ago, we left Beijing on a private bus for our long drive through Beijing traffic to the section of the Great Wall we were to call our own. We lunched along the way on wheat bread, cheese, apples, ham slices (for me), and crackers, filling the floor of the bus with crumbs. And then suddenly there it was in the distance -- long and imposing, snaking around the mountains in a continuous, unbroken line, the Great Wall of China! Stashing our overnight bags in the bus, we loaded our daypacks with plenty of water and snacks and were launched onto the wall itself for a 5 kilometer trek atop the wall. There were steep steps up and even steeper steps down, up and down, and through the old guard towers and signal towers (which also served as convenient places to catch our breath). Nikole and I were accompanied by Chinese ladies who "guided" us (took our pics and held our hands on the steep bits), in exchange for the "opportunity" to buy souvenirs from them at the end, for which we were somewhat happy to comply. It was an incredible experience for us both, and we got crazy good pics!!
That night our group stayed at a farmer's family's house (large house -- we had a room to ourselves) and dinner prepared by the farmer wife and grandmother. We agreed it as the best meal we'd had on the trip so far!! At dawn, Nikole and I joined a small group to climb to the top of the nearby hill for a view of the sunrise over the mountains and the wall in the distance. It was just amazing! Unfortunately, because our ambitious group nearly raced to the top of the hill, we arrived a friggin 45 minutes early, well before the sun actually crested the hills. Gosh, it was freezing up there!! We got great pics of ourselves as we slowly turned into popsicles.
Returning to Beijing, we stopped by the Olympic sites to see the Birds Nest and the Water Cube, though everyone in the group was just transfixed by the street vendors selling childrens toys which we bought in abundance!
Nikole and I settled for our last night next to a pedestrian area in the old part of Beijing, and relaxed ourselves with retail therapy and massage to ensure our muscles and bones were in exceptionally good shape for the long flight back home.
And speaking of home, we miss it so much!! Nikole and I are craving western food, soft beds, normal traffic, free toilet paper, regular showers, and sane traffic like you cannot imagine. And we miss each of you, though we've carried you in our hearts every step of the way!
Next email, hopefully we will be back home, safe and sound in your arms and on the phone to order local takeout -- just NO Chinese food (for a while at least)
Love T
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:33 PM
To: kc@zoiboyz.com; Tom Golcher; Robert Crooks; Aunt Diana; Nikole Krause-Thompson; Maurice Thompson; Judith Myers; Kay Daniels; Sid Picht; mountainpk73048@gmail.com; d1030krause@gmail.com
Subject: Saying goodbye to China
Good afternoon friends and family!
Nikole and I are all packed to go and have just 15 minutes before our taxi arrives to take us to the airport. Nikole is busy snapping last minute pics of the huge Buddha in the lobby of our hotel, and I am already hungry for lunch....
Two days ago, we left Beijing on a private bus for our long drive through Beijing traffic to the section of the Great Wall we were to call our own. We lunched along the way on wheat bread, cheese, apples, ham slices (for me), and crackers, filling the floor of the bus with crumbs. And then suddenly there it was in the distance -- long and imposing, snaking around the mountains in a continuous, unbroken line, the Great Wall of China! Stashing our overnight bags in the bus, we loaded our daypacks with plenty of water and snacks and were launched onto the wall itself for a 5 kilometer trek atop the wall. There were steep steps up and even steeper steps down, up and down, and through the old guard towers and signal towers (which also served as convenient places to catch our breath). Nikole and I were accompanied by Chinese ladies who "guided" us (took our pics and held our hands on the steep bits), in exchange for the "opportunity" to buy souvenirs from them at the end, for which we were somewhat happy to comply. It was an incredible experience for us both, and we got crazy good pics!!
That night our group stayed at a farmer's family's house (large house -- we had a room to ourselves) and dinner prepared by the farmer wife and grandmother. We agreed it as the best meal we'd had on the trip so far!! At dawn, Nikole and I joined a small group to climb to the top of the nearby hill for a view of the sunrise over the mountains and the wall in the distance. It was just amazing! Unfortunately, because our ambitious group nearly raced to the top of the hill, we arrived a friggin 45 minutes early, well before the sun actually crested the hills. Gosh, it was freezing up there!! We got great pics of ourselves as we slowly turned into popsicles.
Returning to Beijing, we stopped by the Olympic sites to see the Birds Nest and the Water Cube, though everyone in the group was just transfixed by the street vendors selling childrens toys which we bought in abundance!
Nikole and I settled for our last night next to a pedestrian area in the old part of Beijing, and relaxed ourselves with retail therapy and massage to ensure our muscles and bones were in exceptionally good shape for the long flight back home.
And speaking of home, we miss it so much!! Nikole and I are craving western food, soft beds, normal traffic, free toilet paper, regular showers, and sane traffic like you cannot imagine. And we miss each of you, though we've carried you in our hearts every step of the way!
Next email, hopefully we will be back home, safe and sound in your arms and on the phone to order local takeout -- just NO Chinese food (for a while at least)
Love T
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