My Nexus Holiday - 3

Day 4

The first stop of the day was a jade outlet/manufactory. This was very dodgy as this is a good time of the day to enjoy some of the sights – before the heat of the day really kicks in. But perhaps the tour guide was thinking that the tourists would be too tired to make purchases after sightseeing. Nevertheless, it was a pretty slow sales session with most people creeping out to the bus and staying there waiting for the tour guide.

The emperor’s tomb wasn’t much of a sight. There was some silly security checks though. Camera bags were exempt. People didn’t have to be scanned. I’m not really whether it’s useful to have those people there.

After lunch (which was back at the jade outlet) it was sightseeing at the Great Wall. Not much to report on except that there is an abrupt end to the walking trail, and wall for that matter. At the bottom there’s a rope on the ground that somehow is meant to stop vehicles from passing. The security guards on the end of the rope are something to look at. They sit on plastic chairs all day and don’t really have to move. But they still do that noisy whock-spit! So there’s spittle on the ground bunched up quiet neatly.

China is assembling electric power wind farms somewhere on the other side of the Great Wall.

I though the Dr Tea session went quite poorly. Some of the fellow tourists led the sales people on in exclaiming how good the sample teas were. They were also the first to leave saying that they had enough tea at home. The staff even started saying how they had strategies for Tian Qi flower products to beat customs and quarantine of certain countries. Sales were poor enough for the sales girls to badger people outside, next to the coach. No need to sit anywhere strategic or even to feign a toilet break. Just walk out of the room when you've had enough.

The day ended with looking at the night scenery at Olympic stadiums. Notable: silly security bag-only check.