There were two things I absolutely had to do before I left China - set foot on the Great Wall and see the Terracotta Warriors in person. I told the kids before we left Singapore that we would do those two things regardless of cost, inconvenience, weather, political strife, sickness, health, attitude or mental competence and I wasn't joking.
I've learned the hard way that my kids are do-ers and not see-ers. Sightseeing is not their idea of a good time so I knew I needed to find a fun way to get them to the Great Wall. Beijing by Sidecar offered trips to the Wall in a reproduction sidecar motorcycle and had rave reviews on Tripadvisor so I signed us up. The tour would include the ride itself, a long hike, and a french picnic lunch on a less touristy part of the Wall. The reviews were right. Watching BGC weave through the crazy Beijing traffic in the motorcycle driven by someone I had known less than 15 minutes was alarming but she was thrilled. Miniman was riding in my lap and pretended to steer the motorcycle by clutching the rim of the sidecar and leaning to whichever side he needed to veer. The ride was amazing, the picnic was yummy, and we had the Wall all to ourselves. The hike was challenging to say the least but Miniman and BGC powered through without any help. Our hard work was rewarded with views like this:
I've learned the hard way that my kids are do-ers and not see-ers. Sightseeing is not their idea of a good time so I knew I needed to find a fun way to get them to the Great Wall. Beijing by Sidecar offered trips to the Wall in a reproduction sidecar motorcycle and had rave reviews on Tripadvisor so I signed us up. The tour would include the ride itself, a long hike, and a french picnic lunch on a less touristy part of the Wall. The reviews were right. Watching BGC weave through the crazy Beijing traffic in the motorcycle driven by someone I had known less than 15 minutes was alarming but she was thrilled. Miniman was riding in my lap and pretended to steer the motorcycle by clutching the rim of the sidecar and leaning to whichever side he needed to veer. The ride was amazing, the picnic was yummy, and we had the Wall all to ourselves. The hike was challenging to say the least but Miniman and BGC powered through without any help. Our hard work was rewarded with views like this:
I woke up very early the next morning when I heard strange sounds coming from inside our room. After a few seconds I realized the sound was Miniman dreaming about the ride and making motorcycle sounds in his sleep.
My bucket list just got a little shorter.
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