That morning, Jenni and I had an early 5am wake up call in order to have a decent breakfast before heading out towards the great wall. We ended up ordering the Chinese breakfast, which consisted of poridge, light rolls, kiwi juice, and a few vegetable (mostly radishes) dishes. It was quite unique.... and I hate to say it, but more on the tasteless side! I did enjoy it's crunchiness though! Regardless, we enjoyed the mysterious breakfast and it gave us a great quick-start to our adventurous day!
I love breakfast!
Too early for poor Jenni!
Our tea lady friend, Alice, gave Laura, Linsey, Jenni, and me a great hook-up with a bus and Great Wall tour, which consisted of a 10km hike (6 miles) on the wall and a traditional Chinese meal at the end (which was so delicious). We were ecstatic and couldn't hardly wait! Unfortunately, the morning events could have gone a lot smoother after breakfast. Outside our hostel, the streets were dark and dead due to the early hour and the only person around was a man telling us to follow him to the tour bus parked down the street in broken English. We followed and then were caught off guard when we didn't recognize the individuals at the van that were telling us that they were our tour guides. After getting into the dinky van we realized that they could have easily lied about who they were. Movies like "Taken" came into our heads and we about lost it. Good thing, we kept Alice's number and were able to call and confirm the identity of our tour guides. Twas a learning experience and I hope I act a lot more wisely next time.
All was beyond worth the earlier anxiety after our experience on the Great Wall and after we spent a whole hour ride together with our tour guides. Jackie was especially our favorite, mainly because he often called us "ladies" in a quirky voice and he talked about himself in the third person, "You come back again and visit Jackie anytime!" By the end of our trip we were singing songs together and he was providing interesting information about Chinese language and culture.
The first sight of the Great Wall was glorious. It is still hard to put into words how spectacular and unbelievable it felt to be up there. A childhood dream come true, I suppose. The hike was the best decision I made in China. Hiking around six miles along the wall gave us several hours to allow the euphoric feelings to sink in. The Wintertime is off season for touring China due to the freezing temperature so there were hardly any people. It was cold, but the excitement of where we were warmed us up quickly along with the strenuous hike. As we proceeded on the wall, we stopped seeing other hikers and felt alone up there. Even our tour guide, Jackie, left us to travel at his own pace. What a peak experience! The views were outstanding with all the mountain ranges surrounding us. The wall stretched on forever off into the distance. Parts of the wall were really well kept, but others had a lot of wear to them. There were several towers we were able to climb around in and catch gorgeous views on the tops.
It was a bit difficult when farmers from Malaysia followed us for quite a distance trying to sell us products. They were such nice people, but it made me sad to think about how difficult the winter must be for them when crops are unproductive, its FREEZING cold, and they get up to hike daily with people like us, people on vacation. Yet again, this was another wake-up call to how fortunate and luxurious our lives truly are.
The Great Wall experience was priceless. I totally don't do it justice by trying to explain the glory of such a beautiful, yet tragic, man-made creation. The pictures bring me back to the reality of being there, otherwise, the memory becomes more dream-like.
Jenni and I taking it all in (most likely singing Mulan songs)
Making friends with the Great Wall guards!
A guard on post
Few Malaysian people waiting for us at a tower.
The corroded path was very noticeable, which made a challenging hike.
It's a ROLLER COASTER RIDE!
Why not pop a cold one up on the great wall!? Enjoying a Chinese beer was a priceless addition to a rest stop.
What a Beautiful day!
There were several dramatic signs along the way that made us smile!
Soooo Cool!
That's Jenni for you! Making friends with everyone, even a Great Wall of China Check point Guard!
I wonder how many people have looked out this window!
Parts of a collapsed tower
Sooo steep! The next morning, we were all so sore!
Yay! Jenni, Lauren, Linsey, me, Laura. Lauren is from Australia on a trans Siberian trip and the other three gals and I are teachers in Gwangju on Winter vacation.
Laura!
Crops in between the ranges. The Malaysian people said they farmed these crops.
It never seemed to end.
A peak hole to shoot arrows from during invasions.
Malaysian hiking companions
Just to be sure it wasn't a dream!
Chinese Beer. It tasted so good.
Great Wall split. Beautiful river at the end.
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