Shanghai Surprises: Beijing

To tell you the truth, before this opportunity came up for us I really never had a burning desire to see China. But now that we are here, I want to see as much as possible and first on the agenda was Beijing. We went for a long weekend since the flight is only 2 hours from Shanghai. Although we didn't get to see as much as we wanted with the kids in tow, it was still a great trip and we were in awe of the sights. They are working hard to get everything cleaned up for the Olympics but they have a long way to go. For example, we landed at the airport and instead of getting a jetway, we had to board a bus to get to the terminal. Fine. But it was cold outside and we were at the back of the plane so by the time we got off the one bus they had waiting was packed to the gills. I mean it was like a clown car- you literally could not squeeze one more person on there and there was no way we were going to try it with the kids. As the bus pulled away, I asked the flight attendant how long before the next bus would be there - 10 minutes. This may not seem like a long time to wait but standing on a runway in 40 degree weather with a strong wind and two little kids will make it seem like an eternity. The classic part of the whole situation is that there was another bus sitting right there with a driver in it but they wouldn't let us on- not even to wait out of the cold. Typical. I was just picturing the plane loads of people from all over the world landing there for the Olympics and standing outside in 100 degree heat waiting for buses. Yet another reason we have decided we don't want to be anywhere near Beijing next summer.

Anyway, overall it was a fun trip- it seems a little crazy that we can hop on a plane for a weekend trip and walk the Great Wall of China! Enjoy the pictures.