The Weather and The Wall

Nothing like starting your day at seven in the morning with a hearty breakfast of pork and onion and also maybe cabbage boiled dumplings! But that’s what ya get when you point at a picture to order your meal sometimes. The next customer to come in after us was a kid and got this fried bread/donut thing, and after a few dumplings, that donut thing started to call to me – so I got one of those, too! But it was soggy and greasy. Needless to say, my stomach was very disappointed in my lack of communication skills this morning.

As previously arranged (and then hastily rearranged after the unfortunate incident), our driver for the day, Victor, picked us up in the rain and we began our journey to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. Exciting!

Less exciting was the rain and subsequent minor flash flooding that hindered our trip – we had to turn around a couple of times and re-route. We weren’t the only ones, tour buses and city workers were also navigating the flooding roadways. All the dogs in the street (and there were quite a few) didn’t seem too phased. It was a mess and we (separately, but then later realized both of us were feeling this way) began to get a little discouraged.

We finally started seeing a few tour buses and people as we got to the base of the pass. There were empty stalls lining the road but very few vendors braving the heavy rain. The ones who were there were making a killing off of ponchos and umbrellas, I imagine. We opted for the gondola ride opposed to the hike (can’t afford any injuries on day one of a six week trip!).

We get to the top, and it is indescribable, y’all – but I’ll try! Aside from about six or seven other people, we had the whole thing to ourselves. It was raining and there was a heavy fog, but we were walking on the tops of mountains.

Not just walking – we were casually strolling, taking pics when we wanted to. No tourists to rub up against, randoms in the background of a picture, or group guides to hover around and glean a few bits of info before moving on. Nobody but the birds, my mom and me up there.

Amazing.

At one point, the wall goes straight up – into the fog and clouds. It was equal parts awesome and eerie.

We headed then to another part of the wall, Moushiko pass, that promises less tourists on sunny days and to be deserted on a rainy day. We stopped at an unused dam that was built to connect two parts of the wall. It was basically an almost empty river bed in a very tall, narrow valley. It had finally stopped raining, and a froggy chorus and some bird songs were the only signs of life other than us. It was surreal.

We headed up the rock steps, past the linked pools and little waterfalls and over two 2x4s that served as a bridge over one of the falls when somebody started yelling. A red-arm-banded official was flagging us down, trying to yell in Chinese over the sound of the waterfalls – slightly distressing for two Americans. Luckily, Victor was with us and translated that the passage was closed because of the danger of rock slides due to the recent heavy rains. Bummer!

We headed back into Bankok and stopped for a stroll at the Olympic Stadium, Bird’s Nest. It literally looked like a bird’s nest, and sits empty most of the time. There were a lot of people just milling around the outside, though. My favorite was the building that looks like bubble wrap that was used for swimming events.

TMI ALERT: Outside of the Bird’s Nest, I got the chance to use my first Chinese public toilet. It’s just a hole in the floor, with the outline of feet next to it, directing you which way to go (he he). It was….no big deal to use. Luckily I was mentally prepared as my mom had warned me ahead of time. Who knows what might have happened if I had been surprised! And now I’ve been wondering (in a too lazy to google kind of way): who invented commodes, anyway?

Regardless, I conquered this one.

After being driven by some places that we were hoping to find our way back to later, we said goodbye to Victor. It was so nice to have such a knowledgeable and personable driver and guide. We very much appreciated and enjoyed the time we spent with him. You can find his information here.

Being up on that wall like that was a moment for me.