What a Great Wall
Trip Start
Jun 23, 2007
1
9
11
Trip End
Jul 25, 2007
Traveling can wear you down. The language barrier, the unfamiliar food, the uncomfortable hostel bunk beds; it can be draining. Beijing is especially frustrating and tiring given how big it is and how far flung all the sites seem to be. Add in the endless traffic, the constant, claustrophobic smog and the glutton of people and I was tired of the rigmarole. I was in dire need of a pick-me-up. Enter, the Great Wall. "Great" doesn't do it justice. Incredible, extraordinary, awesome; these come close. Needless to say, it deserves to be one of the wonders of the world. Perched on the spine of a ridgeline, it snakes it way endlessly in both directions. To escape the inevitable crowds, we chose a section of the wall 160 km from Beijing and arrived there at 7:45am. For the first time in China, we were alone. Just the seven of us. And the Great Wall. We hiked 9km along the wall, much of it untouched and unrestored. Being away from the frenetic pace of the city and hiking along this amazing historical monument was re-energizing and re-inspiring. Traveling was fun again.
