Beijing, China: The Great Wall of China

Prepare yourself for the cliché of all clichés; but I can’t help it. Today I saw one of the wonders of the world: The Great Wall and (drum roll) it was pretty. dang. great. However, if it were up to me I would’ve named it “The Great Stairs” over anything else.

Peter and I took a cable car to get up to the wall. Once up there, it was uphill from there. Whether we were trying to a scale vertical ramps or going up multiple flights of never ending stairs. Stairs. Ramp. Stairs. Ramp. More stairs. And maybe the occasional flat plateau.

We hiked to the end of the tourist section of the wall & proceeded to explore the un-restored sections! It was WAY cool. The wall was overgrown with trees, grass and shrubs. In certain areas, the wall and towers were collapsed to the point you couldn’t recognize it. It was neat to see how the unrestored sections were so different.

In total we must’ve climbed over 6,000 steps. Peter being the size of my pinky and the “show-off” he is–yells at me from the top of 15 flights of the stairs “Cmon’ Meg! Hurry up! Go two steps at a time!” And I’m just standing at the bottom, leaned against the wall, and praying God Help Me. And oh while you’re at it God, please push Peter off this wall. For anyone planning to hike the Great Wall, I honestly recommend a good pair of sneakers and probably not partying the night before.

During my frequent rest breaks, I could look out and see the expansive wall snaking in front of me and behind me. It was awesome to be so high up above the trees and among the pollution, I mean clouds. Be sure to check out the video to see actual footage of the wall, scenery and my crazy workout. I put background music to cover my heavy breathing.

The great thing about us exploring this far down was that we had to walk all the way back. Wait, that’s not the good thing. I guess the good thing was that it was all downhill. However, our legs and knees were shaking; especially on the extremely slanted areas where you have to try and slow your momentum down!

What a day! Seeing the Great Wall was unbelievable and I’m happy to check that off the bucket list. I was also just as happy to check into bed for a much needed nap.

Xia xia! (That's thank you because I still don’t know goodbye)