We Made It

Well we finally made it to Beijing. It was a long flight and we landed about 3:30 pm Friday afternoon local time. This would be 2:30 am Friday morning in Wisconsin. Both Joe and I maybe got an hour of sleep on the plane. By the time we collected our luggage, cleared customs, found our guide, and checked in at the hotel it was almost 5:00 pm. After checking in and exchanging US $ in the Chinese Yuan, we had to meet in the lobby in 20 minutes so our guide Michael could show us where the nearest grocery store is to purchase bottled water. In China, you are not supposed to drink the tap water as it will make you very ill. We picked up our water and proceeded to the check-out counter. We were absolutly clueless on how to pay for it. Our purchase came to 12.50 yuan and we gave the clerk 100 yuan and she continued to say three (at least that's what I thought she was saying). We then gave her another 5 yuan and she just shook her head and gave us a bunch of change back. Who knows if we got ripped off. I have no idea.

You can tell this city is really gearing up for the Olympics. It is very nice here, lots of flowers and other greenery. There are also TONS of Beijing 2008 signs on every block which is very interesting to see. I will post pictures tomorrow as we have a day of sightseeing. We will be headed to the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall of China. On another note, you should see the people on bikes here. Unreal. It's dangerous to cross any intersection because you might get hit by a bike or a car. They don't yield to pedestrians. it can be very amusing.