Tuesday 23rd October 2012 - Day 20 - Beijing

We have been promised a twin room tonight so we had to pack our bags and leave them in the room to be moved while we are out all day visiting the Muitanyu part of the Great Wall of China! We dumped off some stinking laundry that was long overdue then met Yan at 9am in our private taxi. We opted for this as we could determine that we wanted 4 hours to explore the wall whereas the £13 cheaper minibus tour only had 1 and half hours at the wall. We got dropped off and took a cable car but it was more like an open air ski lift up to the wall. We started hiking from tower 6 where the cable car dropped us off in search of the end at tower 23.

The wall has been restored on this section and it was still quite busy being so close to the start. However, as we climbed and climbed through tower after tower there were less people until after 2 hours of hiking there were a handful of us. There was one section in particular that was very steep and very long. This certainly separated the more eager explorers. We both tried a quick sprint but soon realised this was a bad idea! We made it to the top where there was an almost vertical section that required both hand s and feet to steady yourself. You had to be careful where putting your hands as there were plenty of wasps that were hovering about. We thought we were there, a flag was flying and everything and there was a sign that said no visitors past this point but still a few people kept going so we followed.

From here the wall was not restored and we could get some cracking photos with me attempting to recreate one of the poses we had seen in the kung fu show last night. Sure its not technically correct but it was fun trying! Jon created his own pose which he perfected for a good 10 minutes! It was a beautiful clear and sunny day and just to sit at the top and take in the stunning scenery was amazing, but of course what goes up must come down and with our legs feeling like jelly it was easier said then done. We had to walk back to the same point which we did manage but it was a long slow slog doing a few steps at a time before resting. We made it and finally got to sit, but it was on a toboggan to slide our way down the side of the mountain! I let Jon go first as he was massively faster than me. It was great fun and I did not stop smiling from top to bottom.

We grabbed some lunch and the must have purchase of a ’ I have climbed the great wall’ t shirt! They were only £2.50 and I will probably only wear it walking Cody but its got to be done! We drove back to the city while attempting to edit the 200 photos I had just snapped in 4 hours! On arrival we were told that there was no twin room available but we were given an entire 6 bed dorm room to ourselves so we went from one bed to 6! We sat in the courtyard bar with Ikea chairs, disco ball and snooker on the TV. We enjoyed a few beers, dinner and just soaked up the atmosphere all evening. Very peaceful and relaxing, just what the doctor ordered especially with Jon now having man flu.