Day Two

Huangyaguan today, and I am pleased to report an excellent night’s rest. Caroline said that she got up during the night, but I was as far from consciousness as a living person can be. So much for the infinite energy of youth! I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, and completed breakfast – orange juice and two plates of food, none of which I could identify. I think I am really getting into Chinese food, though the abundance of green peppers and garlic I find less to my taste.


Last night we walked to a restaurant a block or two away, and had a buffet dinner, featuring a stew riddle with whole garlic cloves. I do feel sorry for Mr Luo, our driver, because after a day sweating on the wall we are going to be awful company!


I was a little concerned yesterday that my stomach was beginning to disagree with the sudden change of diet, but the supposed delicacy of the English constitution has been bested. My queasiness has abated, and having managed a full portion of dumplings, sweat breads and noodles (which looked rather like pale worms), I am ready for the first trek.


We are on the coach now, kitted up and ready to go. I am confident that today will present minimal strain, but let’s hope that doesn't tempt fate!

***

En route to Huangyaguan we have made easy progress as far as six miles from the wall, passing by and through seas of cars, farms and street sellers. The main thing available by the roadside is fruit, both fresh and pickled in large jars. The road is climbing now, winding up through dusty villages and shanty towns. Even here the smog is thick, and the air is dry. The sides of the road are vast hillsides covered in trees and red vines.


I have seen little wildlife save a bird with a coral-red beak and a long black tail cut with white (a type of blue magpie, I later discovered). In Beijing there were many dogs, and on the road I saw an open lorry brimming with live pigs, but there are few visible animals here.


The roads seem to be a wild west, lined with ‘buckle up’ signs. There are more motorbikes than I have ever seen – most with attached carts for carrying wares and passengers. I think this has something to do with the challenge of acquiring a car. Michael says the Beijing city government operates a lottery every two months, in which 20,000 people win a number plate. In a city with such a large population, it is easy to see how one may need to find an alternative.


I think we must be close to the wall now, but the traffic is moving at no great speed. Out of the window I can see the stone the road has been cut out of. It is white and streaked with purplish rose. On my other side I can see an enormous lake, and the trees we just passed had orange fruit growing on them.


We must be nearly there. Poor Emma keeps nodding off in front, but one last thing! I have used a ‘hole in the ground’ toilet. Like a bizarre christening, I feel it is a step on the road to becoming a seasoned traveller, and really, it’s not so bad!

***

I take back what I said about the toilets. A clean hole in the ground is quite acceptable. A dirty one is a sight to turn the stomach, and the task of holding wipes between your teeth, a nappy sack on your arm, your bag off the floor, and the door closed is like the worst type of yoga.


I stunk when I finished today. My clothes were sticking to me in the most unflattering fashion, and having completed our first trek, all I wanted was a shower, which I got!


It is evening now, and we are at the Impression Inn, in Miyun district. I fell asleep on the coach after the walk, but before that I managed to stay awake long enough to watch most of our descent down the mountain. The sun was beginning to set, the rivers were green, and the light was the kind of light that is too subtle and spectacular to ever be caught on camera. I saw scattered high rises, but I think I also saw a little more of ‘real’ China.


Only 30% of the people here live in the cities, the rest being farmers. I saw a family washing their clothes in the river, a flock of geese paddling, and more fruit being sold by the wayside than it seems any country could ever consume. I saw the sun through the turning leaves, and I thought, in the most cliché self-discovery travel narrative fashion, ‘this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ When the aches kick in tomorrow perhaps I will change my mind, or, memory being fickle, I will forget how beautiful it was, but at the moment I want nothing more than to do this for as long as I am able.


As I was saying to Rosemary, a lady I bonded with in mutual fear of the perilous sections of the wall traversed today, this does all seem like a dream. I think when I get home I will wake up and think ‘I actually went. Why did I spend the whole thing in such a daze?’


Of course I must write about the wall. When I get back and flick through the photos of myself standing there, I still don’t think I’ll quite believe that I was there today.


After our long drive we pulled up before a large gate, and bundled out into the hazy sunshine. We passed the statue of Qi Jiguang, a famous Chinese general who defended China from pirates during the 16th century, and climbed up to the wall. This section we walked on today has been partially reconstructed, but has stood for six hundred years, originally bordering Mongolia.


I was wrong about the first day being easy. We walked for a few hours today, but because of the national holiday it was busy from start to finish. The Chinese tourists were there too with their entire families, from crying babies to tiny dogs that had to be carried up most of the steps. It was an utter crush of people. Today it was about 23°C, and also windless, which needless to say did little to encourage progress through the masses. Teri, the other English leader, said it is the busiest she has ever seen it, and this is her 37th venture to the wall!


Tomorrow we will be going to a different section, so hopefully there will be less people, though the temperature is going to climb up to 27°C, which does not bear contemplation.


I found today harder than I was expecting to, and though my body made it without too much suffering to show the challenge (taping up my knees as a preventative measure was a wise decision), I found the day’s walk a psychological struggle. Not so much on the steps, but on the sections without any steps at all. Whilst the steps were steep, and in places greatly uneven, I suffered most of the slopes. With few footholds, and plummet down the mountainside looming beyond the rusting handrail, my knees trembled.


It’s funny, because I have never thought of myself as height-phobic, but today I really was scared. Not crying, where-is-my-mum scared, but I’ve-got-no-choice-but-to-face-death kind of scared. By the end of it I felt really quite battered in spirit, which is perhaps why I fell asleep on the coach so easily. Words fail to express how glad I am I took my walking poles and tape – without these cushions for my fraying confidence I am not sure I would have made it without some kind of outburst.


Stephanie struggled too, but we made it, and tomorrow the terrain is going to be different, so fingers crossed the challenge will become more physical than mental.


Wandering through the tourist market at the base, I was tempted by souvenirs, but I have decided to save the bulk on my cash for the last day.


Sad news: I broke the teapot I bought at the bead market. A moment’s silence please. To my great embarrassment, when I was unpacking it slipped out and smashed on the floor, but at least I have a whole week to find another one.


We had a snack before lunch, and I think it was the fabled papple. It had the taste of a pear, but the crisp texture of a Gala apple. Lunch itself was hosted in a restaurant across the carpark, and I sat with the five ladies who I think are mostly from India, with one possibly from Kuwait (how awful is it that I can't remember!). They were very friendly, and talkative, and we had an enjoyable feast of fish and stir-fried vegetables. I do think that most of the vegetables this week are going to be much the same because of the season’s availability, but it is pleasant to feel that one is partaking in an authentic native diet.


Aside from my protein snacks, I have vowed not to touch English food whilst I am here. We are being well fed in any case. I will be going home with more of a bloated stomach than a six pack at this rate!


After the coach we went straight to shower, and have since had dinner – another buffet, featuring tomato soup and honeyed aubergine, both of which I would like to take home. I tried more Chinese beer, and have concluded that it is marginally better than Fosters, but still quite grim.


One last thing before I turn in, which I have been meaning to write all day. There are four colours of taxi in Beijing: white, green, blue and maroon, each with a wide yellow stripe. This is not a price indicator, but a colour scheme to match the four seasons – how cute is that?


I am going to turn in now as tomorrow will be long. Teri says this place is one for mosquitoes. Let’s hope my dubious bug repellent moisturiser does what it claims!


Day two conclusion: I wonder if I can apply for a student visa.