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Published: November 12th 2006
Great Wall - start
Just starting out - looking fresh - only 10km to go!!We left the hostel at 06:40!! Orla was in a terrible state of shock, finding she is up earlier everyday travelling than she ever is for work at home!
It took 3 hours in a cramped minibus to get to Jinshanling - our starting point for our walk of the Great Wall. Our bus driver was a maniac so the drive seemed longer!
A German girl called Andrea asked if she could walk with us. She was really nice and we started walking together with shouts from local traders of "Postcard, postcard" - something you hear alot in China!
The weather was hot and the walk quite tricky. The 10km between Jinshanling and Simatai, our end point, has not been renovated very much yet but that was half the attraction! There were very steep up and down sections and rocky areas with nothing to hold onto. At one point, a hawker joined us, trying to sell the dreaded postcards! He seemed to accept our rejection quite happily but then walked silently beside us for about a kilometre. We weren't too sure what he was after! When we stopped for a drink, he stopped with us. When we stopped
Great Wall - 1st Tower
Pit-stop no.1 - done 200 yards!!! to take photos, he waited for us. Very strange indeed! After a while at a very steep section of the wall, he pointed across the trees below the wall and said, "Shortcut". We felt that would be cheating so declined. He stopped walking with us at that point - don't think he was mad enough to tackle the next part of the wall!!
We walked at a gentle pace, stopping at every tower for respite from the sun. The hawkers also sat here to sell water and beer but, of course, their prices were inflated so we were glad we came prepared!
It took us about 4 hours to complete the walk. In some places, we were the only walkers to be seen which made it even more special. It was pretty hard work but we enjoyed the challenge and the views were amazing.
At the end of the walk, we treated ourselves to a cold drink to re-charge our batteries for the white-knuckle ride home. The driver didn't disappoint us, nearly crashing once then stopping in the middle of the road, blocking all the other traffic to shout at the car driver. We were thankful when
Great Wall - a long way to go
Amazing view of the route we have to walk! We have to walk!!!? Why couldn't they build it in a straight line with no up and down bits!! we arrived safely back at Downtown Backpackers.
That night we went out to try the famous Peking Duck. The duck arrived on 2 plates at our table, half the head on 1 plate, half on the other. We weren't sure if we were supposed to try and eat the head but after poking it about a bit, decided to give it a miss. Not a lot of meat - mainly beak!! The duck was very nice - different than duck in Chinese restaurants at home. Not at all crispy here!
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