DAY FOUR: GREAT WALL

Our last full day in China was also the day of our departure back to Manila -well our flight back is 1:00AM the following day so it is, technically the same day right?

Well, at this point, we already had three action packed days so we were confident that we were making good use of our time so far.

So, on that chilly winter morning, we opted to REST and agreed that it will be a free and easy day.

We stayed in our hotel room until around 12:30 PM just lounging around as we have already packed the previous night.

We only checked out of our rooms when our Driver called declaring that he has arrived.

By the way, we again opted to hire a private van. This time around, we booked it privately with the same  company who brought us to the ski resort only this time, the Hotel did not have a "cut" anymore from the quoted package.  It saved us around 300-400 RMB.

We were thankful that although it is still cold outside, it was not snowing anymore and the wind is not that strong.

Our first stop is the OLYMPIC PARK

OC Confession:  Parang gusto kong gawing capital ang p sa word na Park

Remember that China played host to the 1988 Olympics right?

Well, the area where the games were held back then is still very much operational but it has become more of a Tourist spot than an actual sports venue.

Above picture shows the famous "Water Cube" Building where all the water sports were played. This building is indeed unique as the wall looks like "water filled".  It's made daw of a special fiberglass, ek ek and as usual, the Engineers in our group had a field day.

The structure at the far right is of course the "BIRD'S NEST".
It is not only famous because of the Olympics but also because the prices of steel way back in 2006-2008 skyrocketed to almost 300% of its original price because apparently, the supply in Asia was used in the construction of this building.
As per Jon, madami daw ang mga steel suppliers ang nalugi during that time.  Oh well.

After spending an hour or so in the complex, we visited a Silk factory.
Well, while we have the option not to go here, we spared a little time for the sake of our driver as he might be targetting a certain "quota" in bringing tourists there.

 In fairness, the quick trip there proved to be very "educational" if not fun and interesting.  We learned many things from the guide.

As expected, there were items for sale at the end of the talk but we knew all too well NOT to fall prey so we respectfully declined and headed outside.

Here's the little bub posing for a picture in front of the Silk factory

Then it was time to head for the Great Wall.

There is actually three areas of the Great Wall that are opened to Tourists.  Back in 2007, Jon and I went to the Badaling section where it was steeming with Tourists from all walks of life.

This time around, we asked that we be brought to the Mutianyu section of the Wall.

At the entrance

We were happily surprised that there weren't too much Tourists, in fact, we were the last group to come in.  We opted to ride the cable car going up and try the TOBOGGAN on the way down.
Unfortunately, the Toboggan ride was closed during the winter so we had to take the Cable Car both ways.

Ito yung itsura ng mga Cable Cars - Safe na safe....NOT!

I was holding the little boy very firmly kasi "open" ang cable car and pwede talaga mahulog. So scary. Tapos malamig pa kaya medyo hindi malakas ang grip mo not to mention the layers of cloth you have.

Eh mukha namang enjoy si Kulit dahil he shouts "snow" everytime he looks down on the snow capped mountain on the way up

Maya mayang kaunti, ayan na, nakikita na ang Wall from afar. Nakaka GOOSEBUMPS ito, I tell you!

We were up the Wall in no time and of course, we hurriedly took pictures kasi we wanted to savor the place.

Ito talaga ang target ko:  Na when the time comes that my boy studies about the different places we have been to, I will be able to show him a picture of that place with him in it bilang masyado pa siyang bata para maalala the experience.

Ayan na nga ba sinasabi ko oh, pakialam nya sa mga pader na yan.  He was happily playing with the snow and keber lang nya sa great wall na yan. Hehehe.

The Great Wall was all to ourselves, yipee!

A few more minutes and we were already being called to go down.  Apparently, they were already closing kasi it was almost 5PM na din.

And, of course, we were happy to go down na din kasi we were all looking forward to what else? SHOPPING!

"Baratan" portion muna pero in the end, we became good friends with the two Manongs who happily smiled for a souvenir picture.

After that we went back to the hotel na para ayusin sa mga luggages all the items we bought the whole day.  Not an easy feat ha considering ang dami na naman naming maliliit na supot na na-pick up here and there.

After that, we had dinner at the nearby New World Shopping Mall.
And because we still had time and some Yuans left, we went to the Supermarket at the basement and had a last hurrah on shopping.  Haha.

Then the airport shuttle we commissioned arrived and whisked us to the airport in no time.

The flight was smooth save for some little "turbulence" once in a while.

We arrived around 4am in Manila.

That ended our adventure in China!