Setting our alarm is something we were looking forward to not having to do, so when my alarm went off at 7.00am i wondered what was going on until i remembered today was Great Wall day. Clothes on, grabbed our bags full of water and off down to the lobby to catch our booked tour to the wall. We had a choice of tours and we went for the least touristy one but for that we had to travel 4 hrs out of Beijing to a secluded and unrestored part of the wall. The coach turned up and about a dozen [View Full Entry]

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So after saying goodbye to a great two day with Ivo in Yangshou. I caught the taxi to the airport early morning ( i don't know why i chose to travel so early in the morning...im on holiday for god sake GIRL!!!). I dont know what it is with these Chinese men they have this disgusting habit with making this fleming noise and spitting, it is sooooo disgusting!!!...i had to put up with it for the whole 1 1/2 journey. Arriving in Xian, i must admit i was surprise with how developed and modernised it was, full of fancy department [View Full Entry]

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Everyone I know always says that they would love to go and see the Great Wall. I myself was looking forward to it. Nothing however can prepare you for the scale, size, and beauty of the place. I was at Balding, the most touristy place on earth, but It still didn't take away from my amazement of the place. At the bottom of the main entrance gate, there is a cable car(75yuan). Most people however opt to scramble up the wall itself. The start is a pleasant enough walk, but very crowded. You have to be patient to get though [View Full Entry]

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Warning. This will be a long blog. I spent a few days looking for the perfect tour of the Great Wall. One that doesnt go to all those government shops on the way and one that will allow me to spend as much time there as I wanted. The best I found was a tour that stopped at only two shops.Booked it, since I came all this way. Was talking to some other travellers later and I was given a webpage to look at. On it was a local student who takes you to any part of the wall you [View Full Entry]

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Lelde/ I'm so tired. Travelling is really a hard work rather than rest - you have to get up early as you dont want to waste your day and then you have to cover big distances in order to see all the sights, you have to try everything, you have to see as much as possible, you have to experiece the more the better..... Your feet and body are aching at the end of the day and you are tired as a dog.... For instance today we had to be up at 5.30am in oder to take the tour to the [View Full Entry]

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My last full day in Beijing, I went to the Great Wall. I went to Jinshanling and Simatai. It was fantastic! I joined a group going out from the city, we stopped and picked up other people from other hotels around Beijing. Sam from my hostel came along as well. The trip was actually a hike on the Great Wall. We drove out to Jinshanling, about 3 hours from Beijing, hiked 10 kilometers along the Wall to Simatai, then had dinner and drove back to Beijing. What a day! We left the city and hit some traffic. Beijing is huge, so [View Full Entry]

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First, thank you all for your patience. I have been a bit behind in updating my blog. I seem to let other things get in the way of writing…like going out with friends, coffees, shopping, and of course travelling. I have resolved this week to bring everything up to date. The other problem has been the pictures. For now, I think the problem is resolved. Now, if I can figure out how to get you all access to my google picassa web albums…Next project… Now, where have we been since March? Many places. We finally made it to the Great [View Full Entry]

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A whole crew of people from the University, including Vice President Yaing, went to the Great Wall of China. The fog was even worse that day. So bad the highway was closed at one of the tollbooths. All gates were down and cars, buses and trucks alike were waiting in no particular order with their engines off and a cigarette in hand. In fog where you can’t see 3 center dashed lines in front of you, you can’t tell if you’re right next to a city or a field and if you didn’t know better, you’d think everyone here knows each [View Full Entry]

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Day 157, 4th November Sonid Youqi - Tomortei The wind had changed and it was pretty much in our favour today. We left the hotel at nine and went in search on a bike shop for Scott to get a new derailieur. A guy on the street with a lathe cutting keys sorted him out for Y30. He not only got some guys to find a derailieur that would do, but also fitted it and got it working! This drew a huge crowd, and also the attention of the police. I suppose than never before have we looked like foreigners and [View Full Entry]

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Wow! what a night! The church that i've been going to, BICF, ran a trip for International students to the Great Wall last night, there were about a hundred people and Laura and I tagged along. When we got on the coach we met a group of 5 Americans and some of their chinese friends and we ended up spending most of the time with them which was great fun. We got to the wall at half 11 at night, we wernt really supposed to be there as its being restored so we walked to it in pitch black and we [View Full Entry]

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