TravBuddy.com: Great Wall Travel Blogs and Reviews

Camping the Great Wall: Escape from Simatraz

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:07:25 PST

Great Wall, China>, Jun 23, 2008

What happens when a couple of foreigners play barbarian and occupy a piece of the Great Wall of China for a weekend? Prison Break, anyone?

For the original article by Rebekah Pothaar on ChinaTravel.net, go here.

Crouched in a corn field, we scanned the moonlit shadows for an escape route. Only a hundred meter sprint to the bridge across the river and we'd be free. Seconds before we made a mad dash for it, we spotted him. Beneath a tree by the bridge, the movement of his lit cigarette was the only evidence of his presence. Another guard. All exits from the tiny town were being watched. We decided then that even if we had to sleep in the corn fields that night, we wouldn't let them hold us captive.

***

My Norwegian friend Thor and I had been housemates in university in South Africa before going our separate ways. Both avid world travelers, we crossed paths in China a year later and almost immediately began scheming to spend a night on the Great Wall.

While package day trips from Beijing to various parts of the Wall (Badaling, Mutianyu, Juyongguan, Huangya, Jinshanling and Simatai) are wildly popular, we hoped to find a deserted stretch of the Wall where we could sleep in an old guard tower.

Entrepreneurs have turned hot spots like Badaling into Disneylands of parking lots and cable cars leading up to modern brick reconstructions interspersed with souvenir stalls, fast-food stands and flooded by invading hordes in matching hats brandishing cameras. Poorly executed restoration efforts have left sections of the Wall near Beijing looking as historical as a Hollywood set. However, the further you get from the capital, the easier it is to avoid the onslaught of tour groups.

Going on advice from other travelers, we bought a blanket and some basic supplies and caught a public bus three hours from Beijing to Jinshanling, arriving just as the sun was setting. The steep hike up to the Wall left us gasping, but when we finally stepped onto the ancient flagstones and looked out over miles of watchtower-dotted Wall snaking across jumbled mountains as far as the eye could see, the views proved truly gasp-worthy.

The setting sun tinted the Wall pink as we cracked open�"what else�"a bottle of Great Wall Cabernet Sauvignon and sat resting our bare feet on the worn sun-warmed stone, euphoric at having all to ourselves an architectural masterpiece that took 18 centuries to build.

We'd done our homework, and we realized just how lucky we were to be there. Though 30 percent of the wall is estimated to be in ruins today and 50 percent has already disappeared, 20 percent remains in remarkably good condition, having withstood assaults by the elements, the Huns and the war with Japan over the course of the centuries. Today, the greatest modern human threat to the Wall comes from farmers in rural areas using chunks of Wall for landfills and building projects.

In other cases, ill-conceived "restoration" projects have turned stretches the Great Wall into the Embarrassingly Bad Wall. For example, in Gansu province farmers "restored" the Wall by covering it with cement and installing a gate so they could charge admission.

Finally, the Wall, built to keep out foreigners, is now the number one tourist attraction for the increasing number of international tourists visiting China. This, of course, contains its own threat�"rogue tourists clambering all over the ancient stones could hardly be good for hopes of its continued preservation, right? That's where Thor and I come in. On that September night, it was our turn�"two foreigners launching a private invasion and one-night occupation of the Great Wall.

The moon rose, casting enough light to silhouette the mountains for miles around. We hiked up uneven steps, skidding on loose stones and slick grass that grew tall from between crumbling bricks. We explored each guard tower along the way. Out here in the moonlit darkness with not a soul around and no modern facilities for miles, we felt the uncanny echo of history. For centuries, guards had spent solitary nights in these very watch towers, freezing their fingers and toes off as the wind gusted through the mountains.

Being this far out, our needs were fairly basic�"finding a place to pee, wondering if we brought enough water, hoping the blanket would be warm enough and debating if it would be wrong to light a fire. After hiking for a few hours, we set up camp in the highest tower we'd yet come across. The ancient stone platform leading to the door was crumbling, so it was a bit of a struggle to make it up. But it was worth the effort: The views through the wide arched door of our tower were the best the Wall had to offer.

Thor and I sat on our balcony under our blanket, backs to the Wall, roasting sausages on sticks over a little campfire (the cold settled the debate). Sausages were followed by copious amounts of red wine, chocolate and a few well-rolled smokes. Leaning back against our stoney perch, Thor put it perfectly: "This wall really is great. It couldn't get any greater than this." We stayed up late, staring out over miles of monolithic defenses that now functioned as accommodations for a couple of curious twenty-first century travelers keen to "rough it."

It was the perfect moment to snog, but we refrained. Shoulder to shoulder and sharing a blanket, we were far from prying eyes and humdrum daily reality. I'd always secretly fancied Thor since our university days, but he'd always been happy in a relationship. Yet the thought of spending the night cuddled up under a single blanket on a bed of stone in an ancient tower in the wilderness on one of the greatest wonders of the world...it had a powerful allure.

Nonetheless, I managed to douse my cave woman urges by performing such practical tasks as washing my face with (very cold) bottled water, brushing my teeth and arcing mouthwash out the arched stone window before donning every item of clothing I'd brought before hitting the sack. Three hoodies, two pairs of jeans and two T-shirts would keep me warm�"and protect Thor from getting jumped.

Looking up at the rough brick ceiling, moonlight pouring through the stone window above our heads, it was hard to believe where I was. Thor slept like a baby, but sleep eluded me. My head was clouded with thoughts of the ghosts of guards who had once been stationed in this tower and my family far away in Canada�"not to mention my frozen toes and the pain in my hips as they pressed through the blanket into the Wall's cold stone.

* * *
As the early morning sun scoured our retinas, we drank canned Nescafe and ate chocolate muffins on our crumbling balcony. After our healthy breakfast, we donned the Chinese silk bathrobes we'd brought to wear as "tourist costumes."

Thor wanted a Great Wall haircut, so I obligingly sheared his messy curls while a lone peddler�"the only other living soul who had hiked as far as we had�"badgered us, pulling a seemingly endless supply of Great Wall T-shirts, postcards and cans of Coke out of her handbag. How foolish we had been to think we could escape the commercialization of the Wall.

Nonetheless, Thor was delighted at the chance to stash his pile of hair clippings in a nook of the crumbling Wall, waiting to mystify�"and perhaps horrify�"future generations of tourists. Thor was here.

By the time we reached the town of Simatai, the weather was so warm that we descended from the Wall to go for a swim in a reservoir, drying off afterward by lying in the sun. That evening we hiked up to the Wall above town with a few bottles of Tsingtao beer, arriving at one of highest points on the Wall in the area. Towering over the surrounding hills, we watched the sun set and then descended into town for dinner.

We'd planned to stay only one night on the Wall and had abandoned our cheap blanket back in the tower midway between Jinshanling and Simatai, but after such an amazing day, we decided to spend a second night in our old tower. But things didn't go as planned....

* * *

It's 11:00 pm and I can feel Thor examining the bags under my eyes. "Should we just give up and crash in a guest house tonight?" Since finishing dinner four hours ago, we'd been kept under house arrest by a drunk and verbally abusive martinet who was trying to keep us from the Wall by forcing us to check into a guesthouse for the night. We hadn't set foot more than 30 meters from the restaurant when he accosted us. I'm not certain what his actual job was�"perhaps local police chief�"but regardless, he proved a force to be reckoned with.

The more we protested, the more erratic he became. Obviously there was the language barrier, but it was more than that. Simatai was his territory and as long as we were in town, he was the boss. He assigned a guard to follow us with instructions that we were not to leave town and, as we discovered later, he'd also put guards at all exits from Simatai. It became rather obvious that he was unpopular with everyone�"we figured his habit of roaring within inches of your face might have something to do with that.

And for us, our night had become much more than just wanting to sleep on the Wall, it had become about escaping from what I came to think of as "Simatraz" and its obnoxious self-appointed warden. It became a matter of beating this man, of winning. Fortunately, his lack of popularity gave us a way out.

After sitting outside on the sidewalk for a few hours, we made friends with our appointed guard, who seemed quite pleased to get to practice his English on us. We gave him a paper cup of wine from the convenience store and, sure enough, he rewarded us by tipping us off to a secret route out of town. His guard shift was over at 10 and, after that, he said he was not responsible for us. When he finally left, we crept to the outskirts of town to try the escape route, only to discover that it was guarded by cigarette-puffing watcher in the woods.

We hid in the bushes for half an hour before finally making our break for it. We sprinted down the dark road out of town, with, for all we knew, a pack of Simitai sentinels on our heels�"probably all direct descendents of the Wall guards who had fended off Huns and Mongols back in the day. All we could hear was our own heavy breathing and the crash of our footsteps. We expected at any moment to be taken down, kung fu warrior-style, by the screaming chief and his squad.

But no one stopped us. We imagined that the fearsome chief had passed out drunk somewhere and would wake up the next morning to tear verbal and physical strips off his hapless underlings. The barbarians had breached the Great Wall! (Again.)

We ran until we reached the crest of the hill about a kilometer out of town. Still fearing pursuit, we took one look into the valley between us and the Wall, shining in the moonlight a couple of kilometers in the distance, then plunged forward, skidding madly through wet knee-high grass and fighting our way through the sharp-stalked cornfields. By the time we reached the Wall, it was midnight. Once we stopped racing, we realized how cold it was and as our adrenaline rushes wore off, exhaustion set in.

Winning started to seem less exciting as the reality of being stuck in the cold all night sank in. We had at least another three steep kilometers to hike up to our tower and our blanket. My knees were shaking with every step. In just 24 hours, we'd traversed over 20 km, almost all of it uneven steps and rugged hilly terrain. After hours of painful hiking, we finally reached our tower, dying for shelter and the little bit of warmth our cheap blanket promised. But...the blanket was gone.

It was 2:00 a.m. We were still midway between Jinshanling and Simatai, at least six kilometers in all directions from anything other than stone, mountains and trees. With almost no supplies and no bedding we were tired, cold and grumpy. It was far too late to go back to find a cheap hotel, and even if we tried, we risked a second detention in "Simatraz"�"or worse. We were stuck and we knew it, so we tried to make the best of it. We'd made this bed for ourselves and now it was time to sleep in it.

Thor tried to light a fire. No luck. Finally, we were reduced to collecting grass and twigs from the Wall to create a bed on the cold stone. I cracked open our last bottle of Great Wall wine while Thor sprayed our "bed" with bug spray. After donning every item of clothing in our packs, we cuddled up tightly and tried to stop shivering...unsuccessfully.

Soon, my body was shaking from head to toe and I'd lost all body heat. I couldn't tell if Thor was sleeping or not. 3:00 a.m. I needed to move to warm up. I woke Thor. We threw our stuff together and started the long hike back to Jinshanling, back to the where we'd started, eight kilometers off and about three or four hours of tedious hiking at a brisk pace. The only consolation was that our pursuers had no doubt all long given up and gone to bed.

We arrived at Jinshanling with the sunrise, having spoken hardly a word along the way. My thigh and calf muscles burned and my whole body ached but at least I wasn't freezing anymore. After our adventures and misadventures, on and off the Wall, it was strange to enter the stage-managed scene at Jinshanling.

After traversing rugged ruins in the dark, haunted by thoughts of imperial guards from centuries past as well as of our own personal "Simatraz" sentries of the night before, the newly reconstructed Wall looked unreal, with its cable car station set to disgorge tourists.

As for the backpacker's ideal of camping out and "roughing it," what did we see on the smooth surface of the reconstructed Wall but eight pristine orderly tents. It was 6 a.m. and a German tour group was rising cheerily with the morning light to dig into picnic hampers full of bread, cheese, milk and fruit, with strong European coffee brewing on a utility camping stove.

It was all Thor and I could do to crawl into the tower next to their tents and collapse on the stone floor in one last attempt to get some rest. Then the Germans started singing. Yes, singing. And laughing. We hated them and their shiny tents, pitched two feet from the cable car station. And their story would, at least on the surface, be the same as ours: "We camped on the Great Wall!" The only thought that saved me from succumbing to a massive fit of irritation was: We're coming down from Everest to base camp. We had really done it. These Germans with their fancy tents are the tourists who stop at base camp and tell the story for the rest of their days of climbing Everest.

We gave up on sleep and hiked down the well-worn trail from the Wall, hitching a lift to the main road in the cab of the garbage truck. You German tourists move en masse in air-conditioned coaches, we go smoky garbage truck-cab. Fine. On the main road flagged down a bus headed for Beijing. The trip back was silent. I hadn't slept in two nights and looked like hell. That's how you look when you escape from Simatraz.

Ultimately, we'd achieved what we'd hoped to achieve�"we took the Great Wall of China on our own terms. We'd outwitted the Wall's modern-day guardians, occupied our own tower, and communed for a moment with a truer spirit of the Wall, spending two lonely wind-swept nights wondering what was out there beyond the perimeter of our tiny secure zone, experiencing a fraction of the daily discomfort that countless Chinese soldiers must have felt night after night alone in the cold, defending the length of a stone dream that they, like us, may never have fully understood.

Tips for travelers

You don't need to risk arrest and hypothermia to enjoy the Wall. Here are a few recommendations for doing Great Wall in style with far less hassle.

Learn from our mistakes! Much of what we did on the trip, we later found out you're not really supposed to do. As signs in Simatai state: "No staying overnight on the wall," "No Swimming," "No smoking," and "No fires." We were careful to follow good camper's etiquette, leaving nothing behind (other than our blanket, which the wandering souvenir vendor no doubt made good use of, and Thor's memorial locks of hair, which he assured me were 100% organic and biodegradable), but it's easy to understand how thousands of reckless campers could further damage what's left of the Wall.

That being said, conscientious and careful exploration of the Wall is well worth the adventure, and I'd be a hypocrite not to recommend it. There's a whole lot of Wall out there, and they can't really keep you off of it. But while most rules may be meant to be broken, it's important to be respectful. If you smoke, take your butts with you, and if you camp, follow the rule of leaving your site in better condition than you found it.

Getting there: Jinshanling is 87 miles (140 km) outside Beijing. Simatai is 75 miles (120 km) outside Beijing. The hike between Jinshanling and Simatai is 12 km of steep, uneven steps. Take a public bus from Beijing or a minivan with a tour service or hire a taxi from your hotel around RMB 300 each way.

Cost: Admission passes for both Jinshanling and Simatai will cost RMB 65 each.

Best time to visit: Spring and fall (summers can be too hot and winters are too cold, not to mention the likelihood of snow and ice).

If you don't want to camp, pick up a tour package that leaves early from Beijing. It takes about two hours by minivan to get to Jinshanling and your minivan can pick you up in Simatai to take you back to Beijing. Avoid tours that feature detours to "jade factories" or any other scheme to get you to purchase overpriced souvenirs, and avoid the massive "friendship stores" and roadside restaurants that cater to huge tour groups. Choosing your own adventure is much more fun.

Tips: Start at Jinshanling and end at Simatai. The hike is better that way and it's easier to pick up transport back to Beijing from Simatai.

There is an old guy who runs one of the few shops in Jinshanling who will happily rent you tents, sleeping bags and gear to camp on the wall for a reasonable price.

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The Great Wall

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:35:40 PST

Great Wall, China>, Apr 29, 2008

All I can say about the Great wall is WOW!!! I can't even imagine working on it when it was first being built talking about an architect’s feat!!! The manpower it took to build and place each stone. The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).

After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States, the emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack.

The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.

The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.

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Visiting the Great Wall of China!

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:29:16 PST

Great Wall, China>, Feb 28, 2008

Well, this is it. Finally we are visiting the Great Wall of China today, and we are both set for one of the most exciting experiences of our lifes!

Approximately at 8 o' clock CET+7 (lokal chinese time) we depart our hotel for a busride to north west of China: destination Badaling. Badaling is the closest checkpoint to start a tour of 4 miles on the Great Wall. Since Badaling is the most touristical place to enter the Great Wall, it is filled and surrounded with facilities for tourists (such as restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, etc.). Anyway, once we arrive we directly notice the "hollywood" style OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 BEIJING boards in the mountains... awesome. Our government guide explains that there are 2 type of routes at Badaling: easy and extremely hard. The easy route section is not very steep and has good facilities for the elder and young kids. The hard route is extremely steep and and the stairs are large and difficult to walk (read: CLIMB) on.

Of coarse we are the only ones in our group who decides to take the hard route, and surely it paid off! I will not even try to describe the incredible feeling when you are walking on the great wall (just check out our pictures), since it will always feel like an understatement.

For anyone who is interested some historical facts and information about the great wall:

The chinese have started to built the Great Wall approximately 200 years beyond before christ and is about 6.200 km long. Main purpose was to hold invasions from the North (during wars against the mongols and hunns in various dynasties). It appears that during the centauries of wars more than one milion soldiers have defended china from the almost 1.000 towers that were built on this constructions. Even though the wall has been heavily damaged during the past years, it has remained it's characteristics (which might sounds strange for a wall).

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Giggling Day with Friend

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:09:59 PST

Great Wall, China>, Apr 22, 2007

Me and my best friend, Ervina went to Beijing to attend a course. We set our flight one day earlier so we have one full day to go around and enjoy the sightseeing. We went straight away to a tourist center in Novotel Lido, because we don't really have time to look around for information and go by bus here and there.

This tour actually very good, because when we arrived in one of the part of great wall, we were driven up to the gate in front of the ticket counter. We thanked God that we didn't take bus on our own, otherwise we have to stop in the entrance gate, and walk for about 2 km more (because bus cannot go up to high up to the ticket counter and also there is no parking space available).

There were 6 peoples in the car, and we are given like 2 hours to go around. The tour guide suggest us to go to the easiest path, but we were going to the difficult part with more curves and bit hilly, because there are less people there. In one of the corner of the hill, just outside the wall, government already put a sign of "Beijing 2008" for upcoming olympic games similar to the one of "Hollywood" sign in California, so we can see it from far away.

The great wall was amazing. We couldn't imagine how people made this. I mean...carrying all the big stones with certain shape up to this height....and it was soooooooo long, we cannot see where it end and where it starts ("of course idiot...it should made a circle..that's why no start and no end"...that was my friend comment to me...uhhhh).

When we came back, we were completely tired for running around here and there. Some people might force themselves to goooo and goooo, but of course at some point they have to come back, otherwise it will take them several years to walk around the whole wall.

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Great Wall of China - December 2007

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 02:27:54 PST

Great Wall, China>, Dec 02, 2007

As none of me and colleges speak Chinese, we just decided to take one day tour from the Hotel to go to Great Wall & Ming Thomb…easier!

The tour basically was just 5 of us in the small bus. We went to the closest great wall section – not sure what is the exact name, but the big area called Bedaling. It was still early around 8AM we were already there, after 40 minutes bus ride. Which is good not many people yet! This section was like a square castle, with houses for the soldiers in the middle. Once we arrive, we thought we would do the square..hehehe

We took the right side of the square. The challenge started during climbing to the first tower. The inclination was quiet high! Probably 40 deg or something like that. I was almost stop breathing. I suggest you guys exercise more before coming here. No wonder, our tour guide didn’t want to go with us…she had been there many times! And it was so cold! For Indonesian like us, who have warm shiny weather all the year..having this 0 degC was hell..

Well, we survived to climb up to the forth towerJ..

I really enjoyed the scene here. Fresh air, nice view, took pictures, then continue climbing again..This wall are massive! Imagine the Chinese dynasties build it. How did they carry all this stone? Some of the part are still original, but some section are reconstruction. Maybe because it was winter, the hills are grey, but it was still beautiful.

In the forth tower, there is a souvenir shop selling the “certificate to climb the great wall”..Well, I don’t need that but something funny to find this..

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Great wall - December 2007

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:52:10 PST

Great Wall, China>, Dec 26, 2007

As none of me and colleges speak Chinese, we just decided to take one day tour from the Hotel to go to Great Wall & Ming Thomb…easier!

Well, we survived to climb up to the forth tower..

In the forth tower, there is a souvenir shop selling the “certificate to climb the great wall”..Well, I don’t need that but something funny to find this..

As the run getting higher, people started to climb. Good time for us to went down..but never think that went down is easier:D

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Walk from JinShanling to Simatai

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:01:47 PST

Great Wall, China>, Sep 03, 2007

We left Beijing at 8:30 in the morning and about four hours later began our 4h30 - 5h walk to Simatai. The wall was beautiful and several sections were run-down, which made for much more interesting walking. Of the group I finished first, but only because I desperately needed the toilet (I didnt go before we started!) and had a somewhat painful experiance towards the end. Took a zip-line then boat to the guesthouse rather than walk for 30 minutes. Gareth had a fear of heights but eventually decided to go for it. I think he enjoyed it!

Had an interesting meal followed by a late-ish night, staying up to talk to people about lots of random things. Saw the moon rise, quite fast actually! Was amazing to watch.

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Great Wall of China - Mutianyu

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:05:20 PST

Great Wall, China>, Apr 22, 2007

Sunday, April 22- Today was the day we had set aside for a trip to the Great Wall, another must-see when in China. The closest section to the city (and most popular, touristy and overcrowded) Is the Great Wall at Badaling...but we didn't really want to see it there. Tours there are usually blended in with a trip to the Ming Tombs, and this section is typically crawling with tourists. Several reviews I had read about Ming Tombs (on TravBuddy and elsewhere) suggested that the Ming Tombs were no big deal, and we weren't missing much if we skipped them. Many folks said they wished they had spent more time on the Great Wall instead. So, we investigated our options a little further away! TravBuddy founder Eric had suggested the Great Wall at Simatai, being farther away it was more scenic and less crowded...although some sections were very steep. After all the walking around we had done over the past few days, we were not really up for any strenuous, steep hikes. plus, Simatai was about 3 hours away by bus. In the end, we opted to take a bus tour from the hotel to the Mutianyu Great Wall. About an hour and a half to get there by bus, it would be less crowded then Badaling, and less strenuous (and less time on the bus) than Simatai, so we felt it was a good compromise. The bus would get us at the hotel at 10 am, which left us plenty of time to fill up at another great buffet breakfast!

We packed everything we would need for the day in our backpacks, and headed off to the buffet...after seconds, then thirds, and we knew this would be another day where lunch was not necessary! (More waffles with chocolate sauce and peanut butter...thank you, Dave, for that discovery!) We hauled our overstuffed selves to the lobby, where the bus arrived promptly at 10. They stopped at two other hotels nearby to pick up other passengers, and there were about 20 of us all together once we were on our way. Our tour guide narrated for us stories about the Great Walls construction and history, and stories about China in general....notably the rules against overpopulation, since Chinese couples are only allowed to have one baby. Since boys are coveted to carry on the family name, many female babies are placed for adoption. He told us that thousands of Chinese babies are adopted every year by Westerners, but that 100% of them are girls! He also talked about Chinese history in general, the Cultural Revolution, Mao, and how the Chinese version of Communism is a lot closer to American Capitalism than other former Communist countries. He talked quite a bit, and although I was interested in all he had to say, others on the bus seemed happy when he finally shut up!

Before we got to the Great Wall, we made a scheduled stop at a pottery factory and store. Not many on the bus were very happy about it, as we were all anxious to see and get up on the Wall. They gave us a brief tour of the rooms where the vases are made, showed people decorating them, putting them in kilns, etc. and of course, gave us a half hour to browse the shop and hopefully make a purchase. Very few did. I'm sure the tour group has some sort of arrangement with the factory, and they all need to make their money, but this is cutting into our Wall time! The vases are very nice, but I don't need one, and this isn't what we signed up for! (I refused to even buy a soda there, on general principle) I don't remember the name of the place, and only took one picture... the guys made fun of me for doing so, but I knew I would be mentioning the place in my blog later! After a wasted hour, we were finally back on the bus and on our way.

Finally, we arrived at the Great Wall. The bus pulled into a parking area, and we got off and walked up some steps to an uphill walkway, surrounded on both sides by shopping stalls. Everyone was trying to gain our attention and peddle their wares....but were not buying anything NOW...that would mean carrying it on the Wall! Check us when we get back, guys, I promise we'll buy something then! We ignored their pleas and moved on. Our guide handed out our tickets, which we gave to the attendant as we entered the building that housed the cable cars. Although there is a path to hike up to the wall, it takes hours and is very steep to get up. Most people take the cable car up and down, this way all your hiking is done on the Wall itself. It was around 12:30 at that point. The guide then told us we could go either right or left at the top, but we had to be back down here to the bus by 2:00. WHAT?? That only gives us an hour and a half on the Wall! After wasting an hour at the stupid pottery barn! No Fair! Well, nothing we could do about it now! The 4 of us climbed into our own car, and we were rapidly whisked to the top.

Once the cable car dropped us off, there were restrooms and a kind of "patio" area, for us to take our first pictures on the Wall. There were also some vendors there, selling sodas and water...but we had been smart enough to pack our own! We had been told that we could go right or left once entering the Wall itself, but we were told the left had better views, so that's the way we went. There were many other tourists there, but not so many that we couldn't get many good shots without a bunch of strangers in them. We followed the Wall up and down, over and through turrets, all the way until we couldn't go any further. The end was a very steep section, and the very last part was so steep, you actually had to grab the steps with your hands and almost crawl up. On top, the rest of the Wall was blocked off, as it was crumbling and dangerous to proceed any further. We weren't there very long, before we had to turn and start heading back. The bus was waiting, and we didn't have as much time to spend as we wanted, thanks to the pottery stop. We headed back the way we came, but the guys soon got way ahead of me, as I kept stopping to take pictures!

By the time I made it back to the entrance area, I was the last one to return from our bus group. As I walked down the hill by the shopping stalls, I was immediately pounced upon by the street vendors, hawking their wares. T-shirts, books, knick knacks, anything they could push on the tourists was on display. Of course, I had to get an "I climbed the Great Wall" T-shirt....(I'm in the habit of collecting cheesey souvenir shirts from places I visit...even if I never wear them!) Lee had seen the shirts and said "That's a Walt shirt, for sure!" We began the haggle-dance, with the vendor starting at some ridiculous price.. I wound up settling for the US equivalent of about $8 ... which I thought was fair for an extra large T-shirt. I found vendors a little farther down, though, that were offering the same shirt for 1/4 that price! Oh, well! I also saw a nice artistic cloth wall hanging that I thought Dawn would like, so I started bargaining for that as well. She started at 285 RMB, I offered 20RMB (for some reason, the initial offer has to be crazy at both ends!) I offered 40RMB, she said no, then I started to walk away....by now Lee was yelling for me, as I was the last one waiting to board the bus! The lady GRABBED me by the arm and pulled me back....not letting me get away that easy! "OK, OK, 40 OK she said!" I only had 100RMB note on me, and she didn't want to make change. "How about Two?" she asked. No! Give me change or I leave! "Ok,Ok," she said and gave me the wall hanging and 60 RMB change. By now, Lee was screaming at me. "COME ON, MR. POKEY!" he yelled from the parking lot. I stuffed my souvenirs in my bag and ran to catch the bus. Bye bye, Great Wall! I wish we had more time to spend here!

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Great Wall and Lake Area

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:05:20 PST

Great Wall, China>, Jul 03, 2006

We woke up today, packed up our stuff including the damp clothes from yesterday's laundry, and went to a new hotel that we saw while walking around last night. This hotel was significantly cheaper and up the road some from where we were the night before. We had some steamed buns (32 cents for 10) and some spicy pancake type of thing sold on the side of the street, which filled both of us up. We took the metro to the other side of Beijing and then looked for a bus to the Great Wall. We took the cheap, city-run bus that was more local Chinese than foreign tourists. It took some walking around since we got off the subway at the wrong stop but we managed to find the 919 bus after having a couple 12.5 cent ice creams on the way there.

The bus was air conditioned and cost $1.50 for the direct approximately one hour ride. Once there, we had to walk from the bus stop down past a ton of souvenir stands and people yelling "Hello, sir, hello!" After paying to enter the Great Wall, we hiked up it. There were a ton of tourists and vendors that harrassed everyone that walked by. It was a little annoying having to deal with all of that while trying to enjoy the Great Wall. After walking for awhile we got away from most of that though.

So we went to the main spot for tourists at the Great Wall where it had been reconstructed and opened to visitors. You could see the wall continue goind up and down the hills and see it trail off into the distance, which was really neat. Unfortunately, it was too hazy to really see it clearly and it is probably too hard to really see in the pictures. Parts of the wall were really steep and the wall turned more into a big stair case on top. We walked to the end of where you can go and saw how the wall used to look before the reconstruction. It was interesting to see how run-down and crumbling it was in comparison to the rebuilt tourist part.

We walked back from the end of the wall, out the entrance, and back to the bus. At the bus stop, there was a crowd of Chinese people. Every time a bus came up, everyone would push and try to get on the bus and get a seat. After a couple buses came, we managed to get on one and get the last seats in the back. This bus was not air-conditioned and made stops on the way back to Beijing but it wasn't too bad.

When we were back in Beijing, we were right next to the start of the Back Lakes Walking Tour suggested by the Frommer's guidebook. Although we didn't actually go to any of the historical buildings listed on the walking tour, we walked around the lake area. It was a nice region with a bunch of bars and restaurants. There were a lot of locals fishing and swimming in the lake despite its green color and some trash floating in it. Steve thought he might jump in for a swim but it was a little too disgusting to stand. After making a big loop around the scenic lake and having some ice cream and cold drinks, we made it back to the metro and went to a mall near our hotel the night before.

We walked through a big indoor market type of thing and got a meat on a stick. Arum bought some lychee fruits. Steve was interested in sampling all of the little snacks being sold but they were only sold by the kilo so it would have been too hard. Next we went to a grocery store and bought some Chinese snacks and water. We saw a fight at the grocery store, who knows why but it was a stressful experience with so many people shoved in that store. Next, we walked around looking for a restaurant we liked for dinner. Eventually we settled on a Japanese restaurant and had some sushi. The most interesting part was that after ordering using the picture menu, we got some 'sushi' which had Snickers wrapped in rice and seaweed, it was ok but kinda weird.

When we got back to our hotel, we had to have someone repair our toilet since it was broken when we got there. When that was finally done, we played a game of hunt and kill the mosquitos. Arum slept in the sleeping bag but didn't really sleep much. Steve slept like a rock though.

Arum and Steve

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