Wake-up calls at 5:30am. Bus departing at 6am. First milk tea of the day 6:01am (followed not so long after by caffeine). Its a fairly routine way to start the morning when heading out to walk the daunting 10km stretch of the Great Wall of China from Jinshintushun to the scenic Simanti. We had been warned that it wasn't the run of the mill scenic strip truckloads of tourists visit each day, but a hilly traverse for the truely determined. We gave our converse and sketchers a motivational pep-talk, promised them love and affection and with bag loads of water and food started on our way.
The cloudy day brought mixed blessings. While the photos wouldnt be quite as spectacular, the mist and fog/smog would provide protection against the sun's rays, even as the humidity meant that we had already worked up a sweat in the first 5 minutes. An early indication of the day ahead was provided by the first steep bank of stairs that needed to be conquered before reaching the Wall itself, along with the swarm of vendors who attached themselves to the group wanting us to buy their 'icy water, coke,beer and tea'.
We were out of breathe before even starting but managed to advance towards half-way after 2 hours of stopping at every turn, slope and tower for yet another photo. We ticked off 15 towers and were content to stop for lunch in one of the most amazing locations in the world. It was at this time that the awe inspiring wall and flawless scenary were left for dead by the sight of 3 very sweaty Irish guys. Like the scene of a car crash we just couldn't tear our eyes away from the absolute soaked-through shirts and fantastic sweat patches on trouseurs of the guys in our group. The cameras came out and we vowed promises to tag them on the world-wide community known as facebook.
Inspired by the fact that we only had 15 towers to go, as well as by the efforts of Teri, a 60 year old vegan hippy in our group who was still going strong, we rallied ourselves to finish the steady climb to the end. Traversing the rocky surfaces and steep descents took our minds off the final few kilometres. We were equally entertained by the vendors who were concerned that they might have to cart the bodies of 3 irishmen down the hill and the construction workers taking their afternoon siesta in the shade of one of the wonders of the world.
4 hours from the beginning of the walk we were given a choice. Climb another 10 towers to the peak of the hill or catch the flying fox back down. The first vote came back to climb to the top (not either of us I assure you). The more sane of the group decided we had finished the 10km trek past the 30 towers we had set out to defeat and we instead had a great time on the flying fox down to the river that ran at the bottom of the valley to catch a boat back to the bus. All in all it was an amazing feat for us to have accomplished after 2months of travelling in motor vechicles and eating dessert ice cream and snacks 3 times a day so we got a medal each to commemerate the occasion.
Both of us were ready to collapse, however on the way back into the city our guide mentioned 2 words that made us perk up: the silk markets. The prospect of doing some serious bargining was enough to bring a glint back to our eyes, as we matched our wits with our new best friends trying to sell us a range of genuinely fake goods. We walked out of the chaos laden down with bags of clothes, trashy Wii games such as Redneck Jamboree, chopsticks, alarm clocks and other crap we just couldnt do without.
Unable to avoid the desperate need for a shower we headed back to the hostel to freshen up for a traditional chinese dinner that consisted of more dishes than people. Our eyes were bigger than our stomach and among some of the more familiar dishes we decided to order cuttlefish (success), pork and eggplant (interesting) and a whole chicken including head (no one was brave enough to try the head).
Our guide then lead us past seemingly hundreds of locals in small groups playing with their feathered hackysacks and badminton by the canal and numerous bars to find the one he thought was just right. At the time it was - outdoors, beautiful view, great atmosphere but enough that we could still talk freely - but it soon started to drizzle and we were lead indoors to listen to the "live music". Unfortunately it was not at all to our taste and we hastingly moved on to a rooftop venue with the wonderful background noise of no music at all. After one too many beers and long island ice teas we all went back to the hostel for a final nightcap at the bar and a chance to rest our weary feet and try to pep talk them into helping us to ride bikes around the city in the morning.
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