Beijing, China
February, 2012
It was so cold and windy when I woke up that I momentarily reconsidered going to see the Great Wall of China. But this was my last day in Beijing and my third trip to China without seeing the Wall. I had to go. It was now or never. So I bundled up and waddled over to the train station. Arriving half an hour early, I walked up to the ticket counter and showed the clerk a hand written note from my hotel clerk, indicating that I wanted to go to the wall. I was the only non-Chinese at the station which seemed to work in my favor. I was sitting on a bench, waiting for the appropriate time when I would begin to worry about finding my train amidst all this chaos. Suddenly, a sweet, old man came up to me and extended his hand. He led me to a train and gestured that I step in. I showed him my note but he didn't read it. He just gestured again and I took him on blind faith.
I got to the Wall and it was even colder and windier than in Beijing. I was chilled to the bone and again contemplated the idea of just turning around and going back to my reasonable warm hotel room. But I didn't. I found a little tea house and had a cup of tea and spent a few minutes talking myself into believing that I would be angry with me for a lifetime if I didn't climb that damn, rickety, treacherous, old wall. I was climbing this wall today.
Signs at the entrance of The Wall warn everyone of the difficulty of the climb. That is all I needed to read right now. But I paid my fee and took off to an area that seemed a little flatter than others. But that was just an optical illusion because the entire wall is steep, slippery and a challenge. I struggled with every step, either I was going up or down the wall. There were no railings. The brick was worn so every step was inconsistent. And some people walked with a pace and intolerance towards those of us who couldn't keep up. I wanted off, RIGHT NOW. But I plugged away a little longer. I decided I had to be on the Wall for at least half an hour. And when that time period was up, I quickly made my way to an exit, found a little kiosk that sold dreadful instant coffee, sat on an overturned bucket and enjoyed every sip of this awful beverage while I visited with a family who spoke to me in broken English. They loved America and Obama and "many American peoples". And I loved being off that damn GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
February, 2012
It was so cold and windy when I woke up that I momentarily reconsidered going to see the Great Wall of China. But this was my last day in Beijing and my third trip to China without seeing the Wall. I had to go. It was now or never. So I bundled up and waddled over to the train station. Arriving half an hour early, I walked up to the ticket counter and showed the clerk a hand written note from my hotel clerk, indicating that I wanted to go to the wall. I was the only non-Chinese at the station which seemed to work in my favor. I was sitting on a bench, waiting for the appropriate time when I would begin to worry about finding my train amidst all this chaos. Suddenly, a sweet, old man came up to me and extended his hand. He led me to a train and gestured that I step in. I showed him my note but he didn't read it. He just gestured again and I took him on blind faith.
I got to the Wall and it was even colder and windier than in Beijing. I was chilled to the bone and again contemplated the idea of just turning around and going back to my reasonable warm hotel room. But I didn't. I found a little tea house and had a cup of tea and spent a few minutes talking myself into believing that I would be angry with me for a lifetime if I didn't climb that damn, rickety, treacherous, old wall. I was climbing this wall today.
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