Day 15: Final Day; Ibrahim Perspective, Part II

It is our final day in China which is both hard and easy to believe. It feels like a long time ago we were last in Beijing but also only a few days ago. Ibrahim is back in the spotlight. He has remained the happiest of our travelers but we were sad to learn that he lost his panda hat along our journey. 

We drove to Tianamen Square this morning, intending to go in, but the security line to get in was going to be an hour at the least. Instead, we drove by it slowly to get pictures and heard about it's history from Miranda. We took a long walk in Jingshan Park and walked up a man-made hill with a 360 degree view of the city. Ibrahim thought the view was great and was impressed that the hill was not natural. Ibrahim shared his research about Beijing on the way down the hill. Without visiting Tianamen Square, we had more time, so we took a leisurely stroll through Beihai Park that contained a man-made lake, and then walked to lunch. Hopefully, all of the walking will tire us out for the long flight home. 

After lunch, we visited the Olympic Park that was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The huge stadium (The Bird's Nest) was hosting a concert so there were thousands of fans lined up. A few students, and an excited Mr. Dickson, went inside The Water Cube to see the Olympic pool. Ibrahim didn't expect the Olympic Park to be so huge and thought the seating area for the pool would be bigger. 

We loaded the bus to the airport, said goodby to Miranda, and waved goodbye to China! 

Ibrahim's Highlight of the Day: Going inside the Water Cube. They were projecting a video of highlights from the 2008 and 2022 games onto the stadium wall and seats, creating an enormous screen. 

Ibrahim's Challenge of the Day: Recognizing that this was the last day we were in China.