Day 24 - Beijing

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Today started at 6am, we were armed with 3 double cheeseburgers each (there was seriously nothing else we could buy at the supermarkets) and headed to the back packers hostel. We got onto a bus which doubled as a sauna as the heating was turned up way too high. We arrived at the start of our hike 3 hours later. We chose to do the Great Wall hike to Simatai which is the most original part of the wall and there are not as many tourists here. The hike was 8kms it took about 3.5 hours so the going was quite tough.

Some of the stairs were 80 degrees steep, some steps were broken/missing and there were no hand rails. The hike was tough but it was awesome and the views were spectacular. This is meant to be the most amazing part of the wall and we were not disappointed. Some locals followed us for 2.5 hours giving us a tour and some history on the way and we felt obliged to buy some cheap souvenirs from them for giving us a tour on the way. We tried to lose them in the first 30 mins but they kept catching up because Pepsi had to keep stopping for breaks LOL! Pepsi struggled most of the day and was pretty weaksauce because he was still not feeling well. At one stage he though he was not going to make it but we got there. I have put a lot of kms on my wheels since I started this trip (we walk more than 5kms a day). The weather was good even though there was snow on the ground and I ended up hiking in a T-shirt.

It was so funny eating our double cheeseburgers on the most orignal part of the Great Wall. A lot of the other tourists thought it was funny but also a good idea at the same time because they we eating plain buns and chips. Along the way we met other travellers from all over the world and talked to them on the way (a couple from the states, a couple of guys from Switzerland and Spain, some girls from Canada and a brother/sister combo from Australia). If you go to Beijing this hike is a must do but be careful as it is dangerous and you also need to be fairly fit.

It is hard to describe so check out the pics.

Near the end for $7aud we caught the flying fox back to the meeting point. The view from the flying fox was awesome (over water).

After another sauna in the bus on the way back ( I was sweating in a T-shirt) we made it back to town. We could not get a taxi to take us back to the hotel as the first 8 refused us. We finally found someone willing but the ride took about 40 mins as the traffic was so busy. The fare was reasonable as we did not have to go far and the fares seem to be based more on distance rather than time.

Tonight we will head off to a nightclub to have a quick look and tomorrow we plan to check out the Temple of Heaven and Earth (if we can get up early enough) before heading to Shanghai.

Ripoff Tally - 14

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