Great Wall of China

Wow! The Great Wall of China is one amazing piece of fortification. It makes me wonder about those Mongolians. For anyone to be so cautious of another people that they build a wall thousands of kilometers long....well.... I imagine the Mongolians partied like rock stars and were mean when they have a hangovers.
We had a great day that climaxed for me with a stroll down a wall that has been in my list of 'must sees' for years.
The wall is truly a great achievement. As you can see the mountains are steep and jagged and this fence winds it's way along the ridges for as long as the eye can see. Can you imagine being a Mongolian, out for your monthly raid and seeing a wall where there once was trees? Could ruin any good ransacking.
Now hundreds of years later, I think it would make a great motorcross, bmx or skate course. Perhaps a stop on the formula one of street luge.
Factiod: One side of the Great Wall is taller than the other. The side facing Mongolia is about 2 feet higher than the side facing Beijing.

Beijing China - Silk Street Market

It is late on a full travel day and we are climbing the stairs to one of the clothes districts of Beijing: the Silk Market. This is a collection of several hundred shops all with very aggressive sales people all wanting to clothe you. Girls grabbing at you to sell you ties, men stretching underwear under your nose saying "Calvin Klein good for you". We end up at a place that is a little less obnoxious and settle in for several hours of silk selection and pattern picking. Ultimately we end up with several dresses, pants suits and jackets for Ellen. She looks so hot!!! They say they are going to get this all done in the next 36 hours and drop them off at the hotel. We leave in less than 35 hours so we will see if they make it to us prior to our Tibetan departure on the 11th.

Aria, you would love this place!