Friday, May 28, 2010 - Last Day in Beijing and Olympics tour!

I can't believe it is already 5 days into the tour and today is the last day. Since I'm exhausted from all that walking, I'm just going to upload some photos. First stop, the Beijing Silk Factory, which has a long history of silk-making.

first, soak the hardened cocoons in hot water

look at the little silkworm cocoons!

a bundle of silk

stretching out the silk to create silk pillows and comforters

keep stretching and layering!

beautiful silk tapestry

Then it's off to lunch!

our bus passed by a strange totem pole

the restaurant we will be having lunch in

an intricate jade ship

a mynah bird; my dad raised one in his Guangzhou home

Then it's off to the Olympic Green!

the Beijing National Stadium, in the shape of a swallow's nest

inside the Beijing National Stadium

a tightrope walker high above the stadium

music and dancing in the stadium

the Beijing National Aquatics Center, or the Water Cube, where Phelps won all his medals

binoculars from the top of the Ling Long Pagoda, which is not yet open to the public

view of the National Stadium from the Ling Long Pagoda

taking the subway from Olympic Green station

and we arrive at Beitucheng station, where our bus will finally take us to the hotel - for the last time

Sadly, our Beijing tour has come to an end. I had a lot of fun, ate a lot of great (and fancy) food, lived in a 5-star hotel, and met a lot of amazing people. I hope that someday, I can come back to this beautiful country to learn more about its different cultures, people, and places. Perhaps Sichuan, Hainan, and Guilin should be my next stops. For now, we take a plane ride back to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, our plane has been delayed for three hours due to the intense fog in Guangzhou and parts of Beijing. My laptop ran out of battery and I was waiting with the others for hours. Finally, my Dragonair flight came and I got back at my uncle's house at 4am. I drifted off to sleep as I hit the bed.