So groggily we woke up and made our way down for Breakfast and then on to the bus to be driven somewhere. Yes, talk about an adventure not knowing where you were going! ha! Poor Ji-Eun had to put up with my snoring all night and slept most of the ride to our destination. Which she told me was to the Great Wall before she covered her eyes and slept.
Now that it was in the daylight, I got to see the non-touristy locations of Beijing from our bus window.
Now, I don't want you all to get the wrong impression. Based on all the places we drove around in Beijing, I would say this is not a typical area of Beijing. I guess if anything this would be the equivalent of taking a picture of a slum in the US. Although, I'm pretty sure our slums are paved, but I guess they have other things to worry about than paving parking lots and shoulders.
After a long, long drive, I managed to get a glimpse of our destination through the front bus window.
It was REALLY COLD, but we were prepared! I had long underwear under my jeans and tons of layers. My China cousin had warned us before hand so I made sure I was wrapped up!
We cheated and rode a Gondola up to the top, instead of walking the 2 hours to get to the top. Maybe next time...maybe...maybe not.
Ji-Eun was really scared the entire time, just freaked that the gondola would break and we'd plummet down into the valley below. So I distracted her by having her read the various graffiti inside the capsule and trying to figure out what countries the writers were from.
She was fine once we got onto solid land.
The thing about the Wall is how STEEP the wall is in a lot of areas.
Yes, those handrails do have a purpose! And no, I'm not shooting this from a strange angle either. It IS that steep. I can't imagine riding horses up this, especially in the winter! Based on what the tour guide told us, the wall is supposedly wide enough for 5 horses to run side by side along this corridor. I don't know how that is possible especially with some areas narrowing in for staircases. Plus the horses must be really small. I could see 4 WELL TRAINED horses, maybe.
The view was amazing though.
The construction of this amazing landmark born out of necessity is absolutely amazing. Especially when you think about the obstacles they had to overcome, with the weather, terrain, and just getting supplies up there, WITH the additional threat of the invaders this wall is designed to keep them out!
We, humans, can accomplish amazing things if we put our minds and resources to the task. :o)
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