Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Not the good, but the GREAT Wall



We pulled up to the Badaling section of the Great Wall and our tour guide says "If you go right, and make it to the top, it makes you a stronger person. Go left, if you want to take the easy way out." Well, Shawn and I always like a challenge, so we chose to go right. As soon as we got to the first flight of steps, we realized just how much of a challenge this was going to be. This would never pass in the States! The steps were all uneven, falling apart and different heights. At first, they were practically going straight up, but they mellowed out some toward the top. We decided to wait for Rabya, because John gets Vertigo and thought maybe she would like the company going up. We did one flight and she decided she was going to go at her own pace and we could go ahead. It took about an hour and 45 mins to get to the top and we were pretty happy when we got up there. We could see all the way around the mountain and the full Badaling section was in in view. There was a lookout with a secret staircase (photo), well it was hidden around the corner and the only way we knew about it was because we saw some of the locals make their way up it. The steps were a little steeper than what we took to get up.

The only thing now was going back down the way we just came. It took a little over an hour to get back down. We were pros at the steps by that time. Plus, it was the off-season, so there were few people there. Our guide said that it is believed that for every step, one person died during the construction of the Great Wall. That is a lot of sacrifice for protection. But not having any equipment and the difficult terrain makes you appreciated this wonder of the world.

1 comment:

Dottie said...

This is Great! What a wonderful job with the pictures and the blog. I can feel the adventure and I'm enjoying my new knowledge. Thank you.