Day 7 Day of Bargaining, Buddhas and Bye-byes

Today we were up early so we could eat one last delicious breakfast at the hotel then get our bags down to the lobby with full bellies and be on the bus by 8:30.  Today was a little cloudier/smoggier and a little chillier that the previous days.

Our first stop this morning was the Summer Palace, where we walked in one gate, and walked down to the other gate….much to Pam’s dismay as she had to walk by several caches without finding them…she only found one, that she had to sneak off to find.  The Summer Palace is a large urban garden with a large manmade lake in the middle.  David (our guide) had many stories about the Chinese royalty, specifically the Dowager Empress also known as the Dragon Lady.  We loved the long covered corridor that was built along the shores of the lake….it is covered with a 1000 paintings representing famous stories and legends of China.

Next stop was the Lama Temple (yeah another cache!) a beautiful temple that has the largest Buddha carved out of one sandlewood tree….25 metres high and certified by Guinness World Records. There were a 1000 Buddhas in this temple.

Next to the knock off market….the people who were leaving the next day back to North America were frantically spending their money.  Bargaining….is an art….as you near a stall they call to you wanting you to buy from them and the stalls are about 2m by 2m and  6 stories high…so may voices calling to you….You find something you like…they say 700 Y (approx  $120) you say 100 Y ….then you go back and forth….and either walk away or buy. Actually this was quite a classy place…at least it was heated not like Peru or Melbourne. 

We got back to the hotel (we had already checked out) to wait until it was time to go to the train at 7:30, saying goodbye to our tour companions that were leaving for Toronto, Vancouver, Kansas and Phoenix.

 

Now we are on the train, our group down to 14 from 32……our own little 

compartment….4 beds (2 up and 2 down Mo and Carol volunteered for the top!) and communal bathroom down the hall.  We have already gone through the bottle of Chinese wine (pretty good) and cookies while we are writing the blog.