Mao says climbing the Great Wall makes one a man.  Daisy and I did just that so does that make us men?

This stele states Mao’s comment in Chinese.

I found a driver and a guide and off we went to the Great Wall with a couple from Bintan, Indonesia.  Robert is an American hotel owner and his wife Etie is a darling Jakarta native.  Robert wanted to smoke his cigar on top of the wall to celebrate his 57th birthday.   We had a “hoot and a howler” laughing about all the little mishaps during the day.

First stop the Jade Factory and Market.  They wanted to sell us jade out the wazzoo.  I took a picture of a giant jade cabbage, one of those auspicious omens.  Who needs a jade cabbage in the first place and where would you put it?  Then to the wall, as we paid our toll, we passed a two hump camel going the other direction though the toll.  Like I said a “hoot and a howler!”

We climbed to the first tower, huffing and puffing.  Low and behold look what I found!  What are these terra cotta soldiers doing on the wall, guarding?

Robert with cigar in hand passing me up to higher towers.  I took a latte break and only climbed two towers.

Next to the Ming Tombs.  As it turned out, we were the only tourists there,  it is bad Feng Shui to visit a tomb during the holidays.  For some reason it riles all the dead emperors!  Nothing is more fun than riling up dead Chinese emperor souls!  No bad ju-ju here!  The guide said it would unbalance the Yin and Yang!

We walked into the entrance and it was totally vacant.  The guide just wanted to leave and I kept dragging him on.  We patted the butt of  a turtle sculpture  for good luck.  Then the guide made us say something in Chinese as we stepped into the rooms where the ceremonial banquets for the emperors were held.  Left foot first for men and right foot for women, he was so superstitious.  The picture with the red canopy bed is for the dead souls to lounge in.  I thought that was really cool, Daisy about lost it at this point and wanted to leave.   I thought if I was dead, what fun this would be to lounge and look at the tourist folk passing by.  The Chinese emperor that is seated in the throne shows his traditional garments.   It is not a stuffed dead emperor!  Well I don’t think so.

Next stop was “China Town!”  Yes a China town in Beijing, just like San Fransisco. We experienced the Tea Market and the Silk Market.  They are always wanting us to spend more money, sorry I spent all mine at the Forbidden City yesterday.  The driver took us lastly to see the Olympic bird nest stadium.  Very cool, but I am not into sports so we went in the Boxing Stadium and had a foot massage instead.  Absolutely hysterical wonderful day!

I’ve had no strange dreams of Emperors coming to visit me in the middle of the night!  The Chinese and their beliefs!