The Wall

This morning we set off on our first tourist section of the wall. There were so many people and a lot of steps. We walked right to the end where it was worn down and no tourists which was really nice. It was overcast but it was the amount of Chinese tourists wore us down, however it was a nice start to the wall. It was a mission to climb all of the stairs to get to the top, but once we were there it really was spectacular. The wall itself was in very good condition and was clearly a place where Chinese travelled to experience their history. This part of the wall was where I had been when I went in 2011. That afternoon we travelled to the home-stay and that night had a lesson on making dumplings. The home-stay was very basic but comfortable and from our beds you could see the wall snaking over the hills on the horizon. We had to keep pinching ourselves about where we were and what we were doing.

The next morning we got up before sunrise and walked to the wall. There was not one single other person on the wall and it was absolute bliss - a real contrast to the thousands of tourists we saw the day before. The sunrise was beautiful and the terrain very rough and incredibly steep and tested all of us either physically, mentally or both. It was by far our favourite day of the whole five

days of hiking. The views were spectacularly breath-taking and we had it all to ourselves.
We got back to the guest house at 9am and had a sleep before lunch. From our room we admired the wall snaking it’s way over the hills. It was amazing and we felt like the only people in China.

That afternoon we headed off to our next location and the next day was going to be our biggest day on the wall. We hiked 8 hours – not all of it on the wall, some was on pathways next to the wall and through bush due to the varying conditions of the wall. We saw only a few people. Natalie, Maria, Sarah, Mark, Kyle and I all split away from the rest of the group as we were so much quicker. We loved the terrain of the wall as it was nowhere near perfect (as the first day was) but the views were not quite as good. At lunch time, Jimbo said that we had reached that point an hour and a half earlier than expected. That afternoon we did a Tai Chi session with the locals! We had drones filming us and guys with cameras in our faces which we weren't too happy about, but it was all a bit of a laugh with trying to remember the moves and not getting bitten by mosquitos.

We slept well that night.
The next day we went to Jinshansling which was a spectacular part of the wall. It was very well restored and there were a few tourists though not as many as the first day. However the views were something else. You could see the wall snaking

over and through the hills as far as you could see. Again, our group was in front and we had lots of mini breaks, enjoying everything. I preferred the rougher terrain of the wall but the views made up for the perfectness of where we walked. There was a point where there were many steps, quite high between each one and very steep. There were 102 of them (I counted) and it was tough to get up. The sun was hot but we did it in good time. At the top an older Chinese man was cheering us on so it was only fitting to give him a high five which he thought was hilarious.
The last day on the wall was another tourist trap. This was the least enjoyable for us and Kyle was feeling a bit rubbish from tiredness and beginnings of a cold. There was the first half of the walk which we could do and then go back to the home-stay, and the second part was optional if we wanted more time on the wall. Kyle and Mark had had enough by that point so went back to the home-stay, but Natalie, Maria, Sarah and I kept going right to the end. We had to go uphill past four more watch towers, and then there were some steps. Then more steps. Then more steps. Then the Sky Ladder, which was 302 steep steps. We did all of them! My legs were screaming but the sense of accomplishment was phenomenal. Unfortunately the views were average as it was close to a highway. On our way back to the halfway point we stopped for lunch and became celebrities – I don’t know how many Chinese people took photos of us (mainly me, being so tall) but it was a lot. We got back

to the halfway point and the family on our tour had only just arrived and they weren’t going any further. Jimbo was really pleased with what we had done and as he climbs Everest once a month, we were pretty chuffed with his praise! We took some photos and then had a race in the maze that was between the wall and the home-stay. Jimbo was giving pretty obvious clues and Nicola won! Back at the home-stay we chilled out for a while and then went for a cold beer and coke outside with the others. The weather had been amazing for the whole time we had been on the wall, apparently that was quite rare. It was stifling hot and we were drenched in sweat after about 5 minutes every day. It was physically and mentally demanding but the euphoric feeling of completing each day was enough to keep us going. We kept saying how lucky we are to be doing and experiencing this.

The following day we were all stuffed! The van was very quiet and no one seemed to have much energy. We went to the Qing Dynasty tombs which were pretty cool but it was hot and humid and no one had any energy. Finally we had lunch in a dodgy restaurant full of loud Chinese taking photos of us. We headed back to the hotel and had a late dinner at 10pm after the acrobat show half the group went to. It was the last night with our group.

The next day we went to the Pearl Market where I got some earrings (3 different types of pearl studs for $11). We also went to get our train tickets from Beijing Station for our Xi’an trip the next day. It was so busy and we struggled with the zero English instructions. We did get there in the end which was a relief as it was one less thing to do the following day. That afternoon we went to an acrobat show which was pretty good. The crowd didn’t stop talking and we had a screaming kid behind us – Kyle even swore at him! That’s how bad it was! The motorbikes in a cage was pretty good and we were glad to have seen it. Then we went for dinner with Lucy, Nicola, and Jimbo. It was really relaxed, we had more Peking duck and we laughed so hard we cried when talking about Mark being Crocodile Dundee. A bit mean but he really did look like him and being Australian was even

funnier. He also had 5 days in Beijing by himself and doesn’t really use technology so will be very difficult for him to get around! We then said goodbye to them all!

The next morning we were up and out of the hotel by 6am to beat the traffic to get on a bus to the station. It was very straightforward and we arrived a few hours early. We were glad we made the effort to get there early as there are hundreds, probably thousands of Chinese in the train station. The actual train to Xi’an was very comfortable – lots of room and the seats went right back. However Chinese are a whole different kettle of fish. Hoicking, yelling, singing, and the most annoying…watching films, videos, TV etc, on their phones. But with no headphones. SO ANNOYING!! They really are such a different culture.
- Danielle