Originally Posted by
Happy
Truth be told, we often "squander" our arrival day and departure day especially we hate flights before 9am and avoid red eyes. But we could afford to do so... However, this time we will arrive sooooo early that is before our normal get up time... that the day is longer than a "full" day in our book!
Last time we had such an early arrival to a destination was like 12 years ago... To AKL to be exact. We went to the hotel, took a nap for 2 hours before we headed out again. On this trip I dont know how it would turn out. CA is not CX, despite flying F, I dont have much confidence we could sleep well. Even with CX we normally only slept a few hours at best. On our flight HKG-SFO in January I basically did not sleep the whole time as all 9 seats on the 747 F were taken, so there were some light and occasional noise thru out the flight. I question whether we have the energy to do the Great Wall on the day of arrival after a 15 hrs flight on CA.
Summer Palace might be a better option for the day of arrival despite it also has a lot of walking but it is all on flat land! Also the amenities in Summer Palace most likely are better than what could be found at Mutianyu. So we might as well save that for another day...
I can understand not wanting to over do things on the fist day, and would probably delay the Great Wall trip myself for this reason if I wasn't pressed for time (which, you don't seem to be). But, I'm surprised that you have fears about sleeping in CA F (I find the seats to be very comfortable, and certainly on par with CX, if not better... subjective, I know). Furthermore, the sun rises VERY early in Beijing (except in the winter, of course), so you don't have to worry about fumbling around in the dark upon arrival.
What amenities did you have in mind for the Summer Palace or Mutianyu? If you're talking about public restrooms or snack bars, there really isn't much of a difference, but Mutianyu has more interesting dining options in the immediate area (this is kind of a moot point because on the way back between the Summer Palace and the city, there are lots of good places to eat). Regarding the Summer Palace being on "flat land", it's a lot less strenuous than the Great Wall, but has many hills and tons of stairs.