Women's AA Finals and Mutianyu Great Wall
Trip Start
Aug 06, 2008
1
10
16
Trip End
Aug 22, 2008
Where I stayed
LongMai Hot Springs Village Resort
Beijing, China
Friday, August 15, 2008
We were escorted to our suite, which 11 of us shared. What a great set up! There were 10 seats in the stands, plus additional seating in the suite itself, and a couple of cushy couches with a flat screen TV. There were two stocked refrigerators-one with soft drinks, and one with a wide assortment of beer. Plus, there was fruit, ice cream, and cookies for us.
The gymnastics was a cliff-hanger, with all three of the final competitors lined up to take the gold. Our girls finished 1 and 2, and we were so proud of them!
After the medal ceremony, we took off for LongMai, where we intended to have lunch and get a cab for the Great Wall. We arrived at about 2:15, which was too late for lunch. We raided Diana's granola bar stash, and went for a cab. We had the name of the place written in Chinese characters. Our cab driver asked if we wanted to agree upon a price, or use the meter. It is actually illegal for cab drivers to run unmetered, so we opted for the meter. Unfortunately, our driver did not actually know the way to this portion of the Great Wall! After stopping to ask for directions 6 times, we arrived at about 4:45! Our driver gave us a price break, and offered to wait for us off the meter. It was an offer we couldn't refuse.
We opted to take the cable car both up and down the mountain to the Great Wall. That was a little harrowing-Diana shrieked that she doesn't like Chinese Roller-Coasters! We arrived at the top safely, and were astounded by not only the fantastic engineering of this wall, but also by the breathtaking beauty of its setting. Every vista was more amazing than the one before. It was a perfect, clear, sunny day-there has not been a better one on our trip. We think we got some fabulous pictures, and we hope that you enjoy them, too.
Our cab ride back to LongMai was much shorter than our ride to the Great Wall. We paid our fare, forgave our driver for the 5th time, and went to dinner. Diana chatted with a woman who used to compete against Jenny, Diana's coach.
We have our arrangements for our trip to the airport tomorrow, and we will double check our flight times this evening. The only real issue is with our laundry. I sent it out yesterday. However, the hotel staff wanted to be paid for it when they picked it up, and Diana had all my cash! So, I do not think they did our laundry yesterday, since they received payment this morning. They promised it by 10:00am tomorrow. We leave at 11:00am. Hopefully, with our clothing!
