Here in Hong Kong: Our Beijing Vacation

We decided to stay in Beijing over our week long October Holiday to catch up on rest and do some of the tourist things we hadn't had a chance to do in the city. Although it wasn't very restful, we had a great time hanging out with friends, seeing the sites, and sleeping in for a whole week straight. From the Forbidden City to the Great wall to riding our bikes to BeiDa and Tsinghua (two of China's top universities) to dinner with friends, we took full advantage of our time off and have pictures to prove it! Enjoy!

We weren't the only ones who decided to go to the Forbidden city over the break! With it being a national holiday, and with Beijing the capital city, you could safely say we weren't the only ones with the same idea! The two of us and the rest of China...or at least that's what it felt like!

We decided to use this as an opportunity to take some pictures of the local "Beijingers" and of Chinese tourists who were on their first trip to the big city! After living in Beijing with so many other internationals, you don't feel quite as famous as you would living in a more rural area with not so many expats. We were in for a surprise, however, when after working our way through the Forbidden City, we came across a large Chinese tour group having their photo taken. I (Hayley) asked Aaron to take a quick group picture of them. Little did we know what we had gotten ourselves into! The flood gates opened and all of a sudden I couldn't see Aaron any more! They swarmed around him and began snapping pictures right and left. I tried to run over, but was jerked back so hard I was expecting to turn around and see some giant standing there. Much to my surprise, it was a little old lady about half my size! That was the beginning of our 20 minutes of fame! The photo shoot lasted just as long and really was the highlight of our day! They kept asking Aaron all sorts of questions, and couldn't believe our hair was naturally blond! The joys of being the first "white people" for some of them to ever see!

The photo that started it all!

The incredible Great Wall

We did it! A picture after making it to the top

Once we made it to the top, there was a construction area you couldn't go past due to renovation. I (Hayley) didn't mind too much though!

Looking down from the peak we climbed to

Aaron and I thought it would fun to ride our bikes out to BeiDa and Tsinghua just to see the equivalent of China's 'Ivy League' schools. There again, we weren't the only ones with the same idea! This time it was tons of high school students and their parents, all aspiring for their kids to go there one day!