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Published: April 14th 2007
Cable Car
Taking a cable car to the top is the easiest way to get up to the top. The other option is about 1400 steps. 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 Wall. We have been told that you have not been to China until you have seen the Great Wall. It has only taken us 9 months to get there. Our intent for this trip was to film a presentation of Dave for our nephew Sean. Sean received his Eagle Scout and asked Dave if he would give a presentation. Of course we had to do it via DVD. Dave chose to have it set at the Great Wall.
I think we frustrated our tour guide. He kept wanting to walk us along and give us the history. We kept
At the top
We can finally say that we have been to China. We hope this is the beginning of going to other sections of the wall. stopping at various points to film Dave’s presentation. The guide gave up and agreed to meet us back at the car. No problem for us or for him. He just took a nap while he was waiting.
We filmed Dave 5 times. Part of it was because of background noise. The last take was the best, except, I had my finger on the microphone for the first part. His speech sounds muffled until I removed my finger. We did not realize this until we got home and watched the tape. UUGGHH! Dave managed to salvage it though. He took the first part from a previous take and spliced together a decent presentation. It was not bad for amateurs. Film producers we are not.
What are our impressions of the Wall you ask? Oh, yea. I guess I should say something.
It is hard to add anything to what has already been said. It is impressive. This section of the wall (Mutianyu) was built during the Ming Dynasty around 1368 on top of the foundation of the Wall built during the Qi dynasty. According to Lonely Planet it was built as a decoy alternative to the Badaling section.
Looking down the Wall
There are many different views. The Wall is impressive. What an amazing feat of engineering. It is also let touristy than Badaling. Badaling section is closest to Beijing and pretty easy to access. Mutianyu is about a 2 hour drive away in a very hilly area. We did not walk the length of the wall since we were more interested in filming Dave. We did walk a short length which still required some uphill climbs. As you can see by the pictures, spring had not yet sprung in the area. A few bushes were blooming, but winter still had not completely gone.
One advantage to Mutianyu is that it is not as commercial. There were quite a few people including the requisite salespeople. They were not too pushy and it made for a pleasant experience. If you are up for a hike, you can walk up the almost 1400 steps to the wall. We opted for the cable car. I am not fond of heights, but I admit is was easier than climbing steps. We thought about walking down, but the slide looked like too much fun. I highly recommend it. It was interesting. The sled has a brake handle with a rubber pad under the seat. As you pull back on the handle,
Original portion
There are still parts that have not been restored. It can still be seen. the sled slows down. If you are a speed demon, then let the handle go, lean forward and just enjoy the ride. The problem is that there will always be someone slower than you just in front. And there are some turns that require slower speed so that you do not fall out and go tumbling down the mountain.
Overall, we enjoyed the trip. I look forward to seeing other sections of the Great Wall. We expect to be in China a little longer than expected. This gives us a chance to see more of Asia and especially China.
I will be adding pictures to the blogs. this just gets me started.
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