Smog City, China

It’s my second day here in Beijing. My blog is blocked and I can’t update, which is seriously getting on my nerves. But I’m leaving for Hong Kong in two days, so hopefully I can posts these entries up!
My first full day was just packed with activities. My family rented our own bus complete with our very own personal tour guide. His name is Alan, and he can speak Mandarin, Cantonese and English. He’s a really nice guy, but he keeps on holding us up, constantly talking on his cell phone.
Anyways, yesterday we visited the Forbidden City. It was extremely humid. I thought I was going to suffer a heat stroke, but thank god I didn’t. The tour gave us free bottled warm water. Although it did keep me hydrated, warm water doesn’t mix well with humid weather. The Forbidden City was nice, but I couldn’t pay much attention as the humidity was really getting to me.
But, oh my goodness, after the Forbidden City, we went to the Summer Palace, just a wonderful place to be. If I had a choice of which one was better, Summer Palace takes the win! Summer Palace was built for the emperor as his summer home. There’s a mad-made lake and a man-made mountain. I took lots of pictures, and we got to ride this dragon boat across the lake. According to Alan, our tour guide, Summer Palace’s lake and mountain took approximately two years to create. Thousands and thousands of workers dug up the lake and piled it together, to make a mountain.
After dinner, we caught a Chinese Cultural show. It was an absolute spectacular. My cousin Matthew was randomly selected to volunteer to take part in an act up on stage. He had to sit inside a huge vase while being twirled by a girl with her feet. It was a hoot, everyone just about died laughing. He wasn’t scared at all, and was happy to take part. Probably one moment he will never forget.
On a negative side, Beijing has the craziest drivers ever. I thought I was going to die a couple of time, while on the tour bus. The driver was always constantly honking at other drivers. But a good bus driver otherwise.
Tomorrow, its time that I climb the Great Wall. Not too sure if I can make it due to the heat, but I’ll see how far my legs can take me!