The ride out to the Great Wall is a slow and steady one. The urban sprawl of Beijing seems to be never-ending. High rises become low rises which gradually turn into split levels before melting away into the green pastures of the city's outskirts. We are 120 kilometers from the Forbidden City and there is still traffic!
After a toilet stop where we stock up on local street food, it's back on Teh bus for a light trek around the Qing Tombs and another delectable lunch before shooting onward to the Great Wall!
True to form, the sun turned to cloud turned to rain right as we were stepping off the bus! But hey, this is a charity challenge so we donned our wet weather gear and hit the Wall for Heart Research Centre. It was winding, it was steep, it was slippery, and it was incredible. The first steps almost always take your breath away. No amount of pictures or national geographic specials can prepare you for the shear size and scope of it all.
As it was our first day, we spent about two hours on the wall before winding down to our guesthouse, where we proceeded to ring out our clothes ana grab yet another delectable dinner. I cannot reiterate how delicious the food is.
Everyone is doing very well picking up the most important Chinese phrases: hello, thank you, napkin, beer, and toilet. Francis in particular has become a roving Ambassador while Claudia has won the award for multiple-continent multi-tasking as she walks, sips water, and commiserates with her 14-year old daughter in Australia on Skype.
Looking forward to some sunshine tomorrow so we can keep taking steps for Hear Rearch Centre!
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Kyle Taylor
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Read more at kyletaylor.com
Location:Jinxing Line,Chengde,China
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