China 2019, day 16: The Great Wall

We got up and went through the schedule again: today we were going to make sure that Ada gets all her naps and meals on time. We ate yet another mediocre breakfast at the hotel, took the subway, and found the stop for the bus that goes to the Great Wall. The bus ride takes about an hour and we timed it perfectly for Ada's first nap. However, it was incredibly warm on the bus. In fact, it is incredibly warm almost everywhere in Beijing: malls, the subway, the subway stations, stores, and our hotel rooms - everything is heated beyond what I would consider comfortable. That doesn't stop everyone from wearing multiple layers, beanies, and scarfs. Don't even get me started with the babies that are being dressed in sweaters and puffy jackets.
Anyway, Ada, just like us, was melting, so she was very upset and couldn't sleep. We completely undressed her and left her only with her diaper. She was finally happy and fell asleep. Other passengers on the bus were, of course, very concerned about her warmth, but I kindly told them to mind their own business and waved with my biggest awkward smile to those too far to hear me.
Then we got to the Great Wall. First, the bus dropped us off in the parking lot, where dozens of tour guides who wear portable speakers yell into their microphones. The noise levels are out of this world. To get up on the wall, one can either walk, take a sliding car from the parking lot, or take a gondola from a different parking lot. We bought tickets for the sliding car and started walking towards it. The first thing you encounter is a pit of bears. I can't imagine that they're very happy there.

Then we found the sliding car. It's pretty awesome - it's a lot like a roller coaster, but without the screaming.

The wall itself, what can I say, is pretty great. We had pretty bad visibility at first, but it cleared up a little bit as we walked around.

Julia and I often ask ourselves what ethnicity does Ada look like and do her Chinese genes show. We got an answer to that when we overheard a young boy ask his mother "why does this white man carry a Chinese baby? What does it mean?". To be honest, that is actually a very good question which I often ask myself as well.

As far as I gathered, there's only one place to buy food on the wall itself, which is where the gondola stop is, and we got there right when it was time for lunch - so far so good! Among other random stuff, they sell pre-wrapped hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, which may look like they have little potential, but they're actually pretty great. They also sell popcorn chicken which we thought would be great for Ada, but when she started eating it and protested vocally, we realized they were pretty spicy. We also bought pork buns so she ate those instead and was pretty happy.

We walked a little bit further and touched the wall of a tower that felt high enough for us to be satisfied and turn around. It started to get pretty drizzly, but we didn't mind too much.

We waked all the way back to the sliding car and rode it down the mountain. We got to the bus right when it was time for Ada's second nap, and she fell asleep pretty quickly. We were killing it! 

We got back to Beijing with plenty of time to kill, so because Ada was stuck in her carrier all day, we went back to the mall and let her play in the indoor playground again. This is her, with a stuffed octopus, sitting in a bath full of foam balls, in the urban warfare section of the playground. That's just how she rolls:

From there, we went to Shichahai, the touristy shopping area that's close to our hotel. We bought Ada two adorable dresses, and then went to get dinner - again, right on time. Finally, we felt adequate again as parents.

Then we went to our hotel, put Ada to sleep, and packed.  Tomorrow we go home! I'm so ready to go home.