Up early today as headed off to the great wall of china, got a good nights sleep in preparation so feeling fresh and get breakfast in the hostel before leaving. It's a 2 hour bus to the wall and typically I end up sitting on a broken chair, the back falls completely flat every time I try to lean back which is lovely And all of a sudden the nice relaxing early morning drive through china with my iPod that I had planned, was turned into an awkward drive spent sitting up right with aching stomach muscles from leaning forward.
We arrive at the great wall and find you can take a chair lift to the top but opt for the walk and crack on wth the 40 minute hike up the steps an hills through woodland with the wall in sight. It's such an amazing feeling standing on the wall looking at it snaking away over 2000 miles in the distance, nearly 1 million people died building it and were buried on the spot inside the wall. Over a fifth of the population of china at the time helped to build it and the majority of young men were sent to work on it. Me, smera and az walked about 6 km along the wall which was surprisingly tiring, just hundreds of steps and hills but the most incredible views all around and got some great photos. we decided to take the toboggan back down, like a metal slide they have built which takes plastic sled like things and it was one of the best things ever! A 5 minute high speed slide through the mountains with the wall in view and over bridges Over gorges - amazing,. Had a walk around the markets at the base of the mountain then back on the bus and home absolutely exhausted.
Me smera and az decided we deserve a massage and get a 1 and a half hour full body and foot massage for under 6 pound, had a right laugh in there with the Chinese girls doing it and between ourselves, not helped when the Chinese girl decides to announce that I'm 'wery wery beautifool' haha such a good Massage though, and finished nicely with a beer and card game outside the hostel. What started as a quiet 1 soon changed when u started talking with Francis and a big group of girls from Britain, teaching in hong kong, the mad Swiss girl Debbie who is cycling the length if china on her own, our female Italian room mates and some girls from America. All head out to a club called Vix outside the workers stadium in the city, swap tops with the manc girl, get very drunk, meet the Serbian girls then stumble home...