The Wall

Saturday 18th November

My third day in Beijing took me to the abundant, ample, big, colossal, considerable, decided, enormous, excessive, extended, extensive, extravagant, extreme, fat, gigantic, grievous, high, huge, humongous, husky, immense, inordinate, jumbo, lengthy, long, mammoth, mungo, numerous, oversize, prodigious, prolonged, pronounced, protracted, strong, stupendous, towering, tremendous, vast, voluminous wall today – words can not describe it so there!

I had booked a great wall trip over the internet back in the UK a few days before but there weren’t enough people to go on it, all was fine though as I booked it at the hostel instead and it cost me half as much so I am not complaining.

A 6am start with two other girls from the hostel meant a 5.30am rise out of bed (owch). We first had to get a taxi to another hostel – the taxi driver either played silly on us or really didn’t know the way – the hostel was down a Hutong and we were lucky to find it in the dark, but eventually after the driver asking locals where it was we found it. (Not as nice as ours we decided). There were about 10 or so people going on this trip so we had a small mini bus (nothing like the wall). Although totally freezing on the bus I managed to get some sleep as I was still a little jetlagged I reckon. I awoke to the most magnificent site ever, we were up in the hills some 3 hours later and straight infront of me was this site that words can not describe, a long stretch of stone wall going on forever and ever and ever. Just amazing.

Although it had warmed up somewhat it was still a bit chilly when we started the walk, already a few locals were trying to get us to buy books and postcards, “later” we said but the followed us. We couldn’t work out whether these were our guides (as we were told there was a guide) or just people trying to sell us stuff.

The first experience was a stop to the toilet. When you have to go you have to go, to say it was a “shit hole” was an understatement. It was as described in the books – a few holes, and nothing else. Very very interesting. But you weren’t here to read about “shit holes” were you? You were here to read about how amazing the Great Wall is.

later….