Thursday, July 27, 2006
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5:42 a.m.
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There were various sources describing the length of the walk between Jinshanling, the small town where we'd be spending our night on the tour, and the distance to Simatai, another small town, that we'd be traveling to.
My Uncle said it was 10km. He didn't know if that was up and down mountains, or 'as the crow flies.' David insisted on asking as many people as possible this question, using crude hand gestures to stand in for the crow.
All in all, it was a four hour walk. Up and down mountains. Thirty towers on the Great Wall stood between us and our destination, and to even attempt any kind of description would do the sight itself injustice.
A wonder of the modern world. Mountains all around us and this huge, snaking wall improbably standing along it for hundreds of kilometers.
We arrived early evening last night and got our first steps on the wall out of the way. Our guide was obviously used to this and had no problem going up and down and a break-neck speed. All three of us were wheezing and sore and it took less than half an hour. We didn't say anything last night, but we were all sure we were screwed.
Dinner at our hosts store was fantastic. More than 10 dishes were served up, a 'Farmer's Meal' they called it, and insisted we eat as much as possible. If we stopped, they'd say 'eat, eat!'
When we first arrived, our guide called out, in Chinese "foreigner's are here." His wife came out of the back, took one look at him, then pointed at him and said 'you're drunk!'
Because it had been raining earlier and there was a threat of a storm, we stayed in one of the lower towers that night with an older American couple that we got along quite well with. Catherine, David and I stayed in a building on the tower while the American's opted for a tent on the battlement. Our guide went below to sleep in 'solider's quarters.'
I woke up around 4 and struggled out of bed at 5. I had to go to the bathroom, which in this case was a small grassy field. Squatting is not fun. Though it can be funny. The night before David was squatting over an open toilet and was balancing his flashlight in his underwear. One bad move and he dropped it into the toilet.
We didn't tell them about the lost flashlight.
When I say up and down, I mean up and down. Catherine compared herself to a mountain goat more than four times that day and it was apt. Some sections had us pulling ourselves up hand and foot to make it. When you see the pictures and the distances between the towers, you'll get just how tough a walk this was. Parts of the wall we were on haven't been renovated and the sides have long since crumbled away. To call it treacherous at times is putting it mildly.
But four hours and 10km later, we made it. What an incredible feeling. To cap it off, David and I took a zipline down to a boat on the far bank. The boat dropped us off at the parking lot, where our driver was waiting. He's been waiting for us since he dropped us off. He got a hotel room less than a km away and was sleeping when we walked up to him in his car.
Catherine got stuck with the bags and had to walk down. David and I just relaxed.
That's the way to do it.
This was the best thing we have done in China, even David agrees and he's been here for 14 months. This is possibly one of my most unforgettable things I've done in my life. Thank god for my uncle. As soon as David gets back, I'm going to call him on his cellphone to thank him.
I'm damn tired now. I rewarded myself with a 'great wall baguette' here at the hostel that was terrible. But it was called 'great wall', so I figured I had to.
I'll be home late Saturday. 10pm for sure. Don't call me until Sunday on risk of death.
My Uncle said it was 10km. He didn't know if that was up and down mountains, or 'as the crow flies.' David insisted on asking as many people as possible this question, using crude hand gestures to stand in for the crow.
All in all, it was a four hour walk. Up and down mountains. Thirty towers on the Great Wall stood between us and our destination, and to even attempt any kind of description would do the sight itself injustice.
A wonder of the modern world. Mountains all around us and this huge, snaking wall improbably standing along it for hundreds of kilometers.
We arrived early evening last night and got our first steps on the wall out of the way. Our guide was obviously used to this and had no problem going up and down and a break-neck speed. All three of us were wheezing and sore and it took less than half an hour. We didn't say anything last night, but we were all sure we were screwed.
Dinner at our hosts store was fantastic. More than 10 dishes were served up, a 'Farmer's Meal' they called it, and insisted we eat as much as possible. If we stopped, they'd say 'eat, eat!'
When we first arrived, our guide called out, in Chinese "foreigner's are here." His wife came out of the back, took one look at him, then pointed at him and said 'you're drunk!'
Because it had been raining earlier and there was a threat of a storm, we stayed in one of the lower towers that night with an older American couple that we got along quite well with. Catherine, David and I stayed in a building on the tower while the American's opted for a tent on the battlement. Our guide went below to sleep in 'solider's quarters.'
I woke up around 4 and struggled out of bed at 5. I had to go to the bathroom, which in this case was a small grassy field. Squatting is not fun. Though it can be funny. The night before David was squatting over an open toilet and was balancing his flashlight in his underwear. One bad move and he dropped it into the toilet.
We didn't tell them about the lost flashlight.
When I say up and down, I mean up and down. Catherine compared herself to a mountain goat more than four times that day and it was apt. Some sections had us pulling ourselves up hand and foot to make it. When you see the pictures and the distances between the towers, you'll get just how tough a walk this was. Parts of the wall we were on haven't been renovated and the sides have long since crumbled away. To call it treacherous at times is putting it mildly.
But four hours and 10km later, we made it. What an incredible feeling. To cap it off, David and I took a zipline down to a boat on the far bank. The boat dropped us off at the parking lot, where our driver was waiting. He's been waiting for us since he dropped us off. He got a hotel room less than a km away and was sleeping when we walked up to him in his car.
Catherine got stuck with the bags and had to walk down. David and I just relaxed.
That's the way to do it.
This was the best thing we have done in China, even David agrees and he's been here for 14 months. This is possibly one of my most unforgettable things I've done in my life. Thank god for my uncle. As soon as David gets back, I'm going to call him on his cellphone to thank him.
I'm damn tired now. I rewarded myself with a 'great wall baguette' here at the hostel that was terrible. But it was called 'great wall', so I figured I had to.
I'll be home late Saturday. 10pm for sure. Don't call me until Sunday on risk of death.
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