Went up to Michelle's dorm at 9.30 where Michelle had cooked up some noodles and egg for brekky. We then chatted for a while before heading off for our hike to The Great Wall. Michelle had heard about a different way to the unrestored part and we would then walk back to the restored part. There was snow everywhere and our walk over a hill and across to the neighbouring village was interesting in itself. Michelle checked with a local that we were on the right track because at this point the wall looked very high up and he said it would take us around 40 minutes. After passing a sign which said that this section of the wall is closed to the public, we walked on and it actually took us about 60 minutes. As we rested at the wall one of the guys who worked with Michelle on the Olympics job walked by and said hello. It was the first time Michelle had bumped into someone from that time so it was quite a coincidence. His name was Allan and he use to be an English teacher before becoming a guide.
Michelle thought we would end up at the unrestored section but we actually ended up at the end of the restored section, but as we walked we came to the section which was marked "No admittance" and Michelle said that the last time she came to this point the wall was pretty much in ruins but now it looked like it was restored so even it seemed this section was now fixed but not opened yet to the public, so of course we decided to keep going. We walked a fair way up until we did hit a section that was impassable. The wall had actually fallen away completley except for one side and was overgrown with dirt and trees. We then decided to have something to eat and it was quite special to be sitting on a section that not too many had seen yet and with absolutely no other tourists around. As we wandered back we started to meet more people but the whole walk was very quiet and nothing like my visit to Badaling last year.
It was about 5 pm by the time we walked back to the village and Michelle decided to order some take away as her roomates had phoned her and told her that they had no power. In China you aren't billed for electricity but have to buy credit like for a pre-paid mobile phone. So I had a lovely candle light dinner with Michelle and her room-mates that night before showing some of the photos from my cycling challenge and having a really interesting chat with everyone. Some of it was quite amusing as they told a story they had heard about Australia that we had a rabbit plague and then I told them about the Aussie TV commercial where the dad tells the son that the Great Wall was built to ward off rabbits.
Michelle thought we would end up at the unrestored section but we actually ended up at the end of the restored section, but as we walked we came to the section which was marked "No admittance" and Michelle said that the last time she came to this point the wall was pretty much in ruins but now it looked like it was restored so even it seemed this section was now fixed but not opened yet to the public, so of course we decided to keep going. We walked a fair way up until we did hit a section that was impassable. The wall had actually fallen away completley except for one side and was overgrown with dirt and trees. We then decided to have something to eat and it was quite special to be sitting on a section that not too many had seen yet and with absolutely no other tourists around. As we wandered back we started to meet more people but the whole walk was very quiet and nothing like my visit to Badaling last year.
It was about 5 pm by the time we walked back to the village and Michelle decided to order some take away as her roomates had phoned her and told her that they had no power. In China you aren't billed for electricity but have to buy credit like for a pre-paid mobile phone. So I had a lovely candle light dinner with Michelle and her room-mates that night before showing some of the photos from my cycling challenge and having a really interesting chat with everyone. Some of it was quite amusing as they told a story they had heard about Australia that we had a rabbit plague and then I told them about the Aussie TV commercial where the dad tells the son that the Great Wall was built to ward off rabbits.
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