The Great Wall

I think you can see my wall awe even from a back view.

Very seldom do events or things meet my expectations. That’s not to say I have a disappointing or terrible life; the opposite is true. However, the great wall of china blew my mind. Roc had informed us that in China there is a saying that "one is not a true man until he has climbed the great wall of china". So in addition to having a great experience, I'm happy to report that I am now a true man.

We took a cab to the bus station where a fleet of buses leave every few minutes to take heaps of tourists to the closest entry points to the Great Wall. My research had informed me that the "Badaling" section was the best preserved out of the few options we had. The tickets were cheap and we boarded a bus full of Asian tourists. A young man babbling on headphones was included with the price of admission for the hour long bus ride.

The talker. You'd have thought he built the great wall himself.

We couldn't understand what he was saying but apparently it was pretty boring because almost everyone fell asleep. When we finally arrived to the drop off another man hopped on the bus to help the guide wake people up. I hadn't fallen asleep but I was stiff, freezing, and experiencing nausea and abdominal cramping. I wasn't feeling very ambitious which was inconvenient given that the task at hand was a once in a lifetime opportunity to hike the largest wall in the world. 

It was freezing and windy at the drop off point and we had to walk a 1/4 mile from the bus up a hill to the actual wall entrance on a dark path. We purchased our tickets and walked through a cave of vendors before reaching the entry point. I purchased a pair of mittens because every bit of air felt harsh on my skin. My research had informed me that there would be a north path and a south path. The north path was more arduous but offered greater views. I meekly presented these options to Joseph. At this point Joseph gave me a toughen up, we are at the great wall of China pep talk. I needed this pep talk and we chose the north option. 

There's Joseph on the left trying to catch up with me.

From the onset the walk was steep. Wanting to generate heat and feel better I booked up the wall at an almost running pace. After a few minutes I was feeling warmer and much better and was able to take in the truly majestic experience of the great wall. 

Inside a guard tower nook

The wall was broken up by guard towers which provided shelter and higher lookout points though the high look out points were not available to tourists. 

Look at those heels!!

The path was often steep and made of individual stones which were often uneven. I was amazed to see elderly people and women in high heeled boots trooping along. 

I was also taken aback at the amount of snot rockets and loogies ejected from the tourists' orifices. I forgot to mention in other blog posts that loogies were prolific everywhere we went in China. Despite signs reminding people to protect and treasure the historic great wall I saw people hock their loogies right onto the pathway. It was beyond me why they simply couldn't spit them off the side of the wall. In any event, not even loogies and snot rockets could detract from my wonderful wall experience.

Steep

The ubiquitous handmade Chinese broom

We hiked until we had our fill and then turned around to walk back. 

Joseph dropped his horrid glasses on the wall and the glasses got what they deserved.

We bought some snacks from the tunnel of vendors and boarded the bus for the trip back to Beijing. Not only was the wall even grander than I could have imagined but it was an experience I never thought I would have. For whatever reason in my mind, seeing the great wall of China seemed as near a possibility as visiting the moon. But there I was and I''ll never forget it.