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October
16, 1999
Hello this
is Chada Groom Baggarly calling for Around the World Team 1999. The date
today is October 16, 1999. Calling from Zhangjiakou,China
. Today started out with a long cold night once we got our hands on
the vehicles last night around 9pm. We worked on the vehicles until after
2am. We actually got a few hours of sleep in before we were up at dawn
for breakfast. We finished breakfast, and the CIST escorted us to the
Beijing DMV where we got our drivers' licenses. The CIST has connections
with the Beijing DMV and allowed us to get our drivers' licenses that
day.
Getting our
drivers' licenses was quite an event. Once we filled out all of our
paperwork and showed our passports and US Drivers' license, the DMV
marched us off to the nurses' office for an exam. The physical exam
consisted of an eye chart test, color blindness, and our height and
weight information. I'm glad to say everyone passed the color blindness
test. It was a little iffy for Todd, as we all now know that Todd is
slightly color blind (yikes). Luckily there was enough of a language
barrier that we could kind of squeak him through. .
We left the
nurses' office and our drivers' licenses were ready. CIST presented us
with our drivers licenses in a nice ceremony that we video taped. The
ceremony was not unlike a high school or college graduation ceremony. You
wait for your name to be called, walk up to the presenter, take the
certificate or diploma in one hand and shake the hand of the presenter
with the other. All the while smiling to the left so your friends and
family can get the pictures and video they want of you. That was a lot of
fun..
Next we had
to say good-bye to Ping our Beijing guide who was starting to feel like
part of the team. It was kind of a sad departure. We said goodbye to Jeng
and Mr. Go from CIST. On a happier note, we got to say hello to Mr. Lee
who is our new guide from now until we hit Tibet. .
Our next
stop was the Great Wall of China. We had an escort to the Great Wall. We
must have looked very important. We had the Chinese flags, one on each
fender of the vehicles, plus an escort with blinking lights. It was
pretty cool. The Great Wall in Bada Ling was quite a show. We started out
eating at the KFC that wasn't all that authentic, but it was fun just the
same. .
The Great
Wall is just awesome. We took a gondola lift to the Wall and hiked down
into town. It was quite a hike. We have some great pictures. The Chinese
call the Great Wall "The 10,000 Lee Wall." It stretches from
Shaing-hai Guan Pass on the East coast to the Xia Jung Guang pass in the
Gobi desert. It is massive. You can tell where the Great Wall has been
put together by different countries and tribes. Each country and tribe
would build their own wall to keep out their enemies. Eventually all the
walls were connected. .
We left
Bada Ling. We headed for the city of Zhangjiakou, where we are now. It
was 3-hour drive from the Great Wall which was great news because we were
exhausted. We are in Zhangjiakou. We are staying at the Zhangjiakou hotel
that has allowed us to see a different side of China that we had not seen
yet. A word of advice for fellow travelers: if you have a choice between
sleeping in your car or sleeping in a room at the Zhangjiakou hotel, take
the car. On that note, I am going to say goodbye and 'hit the sack'. I
wish all of you well and until tomorrow, good night.
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