Beijing and the Great Wall

Yesterday was just a crappy day. It poured buckets of rain all day. Had decided on these kind of days to use them for museums. I headed out to the National Museum of China. Thought there would be no one there on such a crappy day. Wrong! The lineup was insane to get in. I had my little plastic raincoat I had bought at Lake Baikal so I stood in line in the pouring rain among umbrella city for about an hour just to get a free ticket. No charge to get in. Then another line to get in. Crazy! It was worth it. The ancient China exhibit was unreal. They had so much stuff from as long ago as the dinosaurs up until 1911. Was subtitled in English so it was easy to follow. What an incredible history! It was so well put together and so amazing all this place has accomplished over it's existence. I spent 6 hours getting there and back and was so tired, but honestly it was a fabulous place to go. Spent the evening learning how to play Mah Jong. Interesting game. Lucky we were all beginners as lots of

mistakes were made and not a lot of clever moves.
Got up this morning knowing it was going to be perhaps my toughest travel day yet. Changing hostels so I could go hiking on the Great Wall. Top 3 bucket list! Jumped on the subway to try to get to the bus station. Got to the right subway station but the directions weren't good to the bus station. Eventually hired a tuk-tuk to take me. Cost $2. He ripped me off as I was only a block away. Got on the 980 bus and headed to the next stop. A police fellow was helping me, so he told me when the time to get off was. It was the wrong stop! After being accosted by taxi drivers wanting to take me to the hostel for a large sum, I found a bus station. Wrong one! My bus went from a different one. Found the right bus station, but it was a 2 1/2 hour wait. Crossed the street and found a minibus that was a little more money, but he left right away. He dropped me in the right spot, but again the directions that said go right should have said go left. Kinda figured it out, but asked a young guy who confirmed for me. Found the hostel! I am looking at the Great Wall of China as I write this. This place is hard to get too, so there are only 3 other people here. I have 2 full days here and the area boasts 2 - 4-5 hour hikes on the wall. Can't wait to go, but will wait until tomorrow. Just going to sit at my little table, have a beer or two and contemplate. Am in a very good state of mind right now. Starting to feel confident about travelling in China. Hopefully the next 2 days are as good as I hope them to be!