Beijing - Day 2
The Great Wall!!!
Who knew I would ever spend a day hiking the Great Wall???
I certainly didn't even think I would ever do it even a few months ago!
So there I was, day 2 in Beijing... I am so lucky!!!!
We had to get up at 6am and take a bus that left at 6:15....lame! The bus took 3.5 hours over an incredibly bumpy road. When we got to the wall, all I could think about was 'holy shit I am at the Great Wall of China!'.
As we climbed for the 10km trek up and down thousands of stairs, I was often at a loss for words and just kept saying "Holy shit I am climbing the Great Wall of China!" ( I know I am supposed to keep this blog relatively clean but I think The Great Wall warrants an expletive, dont you?!?)
I dont think anyone could ever get used to the magnitude of the Great Wall. Every time we got to the top of a bastion, it just looked longer and longer. The wall stretches over 6,200kms and was built over three dynasties and for a variety of Emperors. I think it was the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) who ordered all the original walls be connected to form the first 5,000km. At this point in Chinese history, over 70% of the population was working on the Great Wall at once.
This pic was taken about half way into the hike backwards at what we had covered so far. The weather was so absolutely perfect for us. Not too hot or too cold. Not too polluted and just breezy enough.
The section we covered is called Simatai and is considered 'dangerous, but definitely worth the trip' so there weren't many tourists.... just the young, crazy ones. The Simatai part has received little or no restoration so it looks truly authentic. There were so many stairs...both up and down, making the ten km trek seem more like 20km. And it was surely worth it.
Apparently there are more dangerous and difficult sections but most of them are closed off to the public. I would like to do a three day trek along one of those parts one day and just camp out. Apparently you can get a guide and the 'white skin pass' works on these sections like a charm. On my list for August I think!
Although this pic isnt really of the Great Wall, per se, I think it is my favorite pic of the trip. This woman in the window is waiting with her "Coca Beer" (Coke) to sell to the tourists as they walk from bastion to bastion along one of the wonders of the world.
The bus ride home after the experience was 4 hours. Longer than the walk along the wall. It gave me a lot of time to sit and think. I thought a lot about completing big events like that in life and how there always seems to be a bit of an emptiness in me after ticking off yet another adventure. Like, half the fun is really just looking forward to and planning for it, you know?
Who knew I would ever spend a day hiking the Great Wall???
I certainly didn't even think I would ever do it even a few months ago!
So there I was, day 2 in Beijing... I am so lucky!!!!
We had to get up at 6am and take a bus that left at 6:15....lame! The bus took 3.5 hours over an incredibly bumpy road. When we got to the wall, all I could think about was 'holy shit I am at the Great Wall of China!'.
As we climbed for the 10km trek up and down thousands of stairs, I was often at a loss for words and just kept saying "Holy shit I am climbing the Great Wall of China!" ( I know I am supposed to keep this blog relatively clean but I think The Great Wall warrants an expletive, dont you?!?)I dont think anyone could ever get used to the magnitude of the Great Wall. Every time we got to the top of a bastion, it just looked longer and longer. The wall stretches over 6,200kms and was built over three dynasties and for a variety of Emperors. I think it was the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) who ordered all the original walls be connected to form the first 5,000km. At this point in Chinese history, over 70% of the population was working on the Great Wall at once.
This pic was taken about half way into the hike backwards at what we had covered so far. The weather was so absolutely perfect for us. Not too hot or too cold. Not too polluted and just breezy enough.The section we covered is called Simatai and is considered 'dangerous, but definitely worth the trip' so there weren't many tourists.... just the young, crazy ones. The Simatai part has received little or no restoration so it looks truly authentic. There were so many stairs...both up and down, making the ten km trek seem more like 20km. And it was surely worth it.
Apparently there are more dangerous and difficult sections but most of them are closed off to the public. I would like to do a three day trek along one of those parts one day and just camp out. Apparently you can get a guide and the 'white skin pass' works on these sections like a charm. On my list for August I think!Although this pic isnt really of the Great Wall, per se, I think it is my favorite pic of the trip. This woman in the window is waiting with her "Coca Beer" (Coke) to sell to the tourists as they walk from bastion to bastion along one of the wonders of the world. The bus ride home after the experience was 4 hours. Longer than the walk along the wall. It gave me a lot of time to sit and think. I thought a lot about completing big events like that in life and how there always seems to be a bit of an emptiness in me after ticking off yet another adventure. Like, half the fun is really just looking forward to and planning for it, you know?
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Thanks, dude.
It was a pretty insane trip.
It was one of those events in your life where the entire time you're like 'is this really happening?'.
I cant wait for you to come do some traveling with me. Have you made any final decisions on the Phillipines yet?
Sweetest pic ever of you sitting in the 'window' and the great wall behind you!