The Great Wall @ Badaling

We got up at the crack of dawn this morning to visit the Wall. We were going to go to the Simitai section as it is less crowded because it's so steep - u have to climb it on all fours so we thought we were up for that but decided we couldn't handle the 4 hour bus journey to get there so decided on the touristy spot at Badaling.

We are so glad we went for the easier option as the Wall at this point was still pretty damn steep - lots of steps and hills.

Wall was fantastic though - an amazing place, no wonder it is one of the "7 wonders of the world"! It's so different from being in the hussle and bussle of the city centre to being around grassy mountains and this huge wall is just sticking out of them!

At ever watch tower u had to dodge the hawkers who were trying to sell everything from old money to Beijing Olympics 2008 Tshirts!!! The Olympic stadium isn't even built yet!

We also found out that at times it is great not to speak Chinese - on the bus back we got to the bus early so that we could sit together and were the 1st people on the bus only to be told to move seats by a Chinese couple coz the y wanted "their" seats that they sat in on the way out. They even got a semi-english speaking guide to explain this but we stuck our ground as the bus was packed by this point - our bums were firmly staying on those seats!!

Checking into the Sheraton tomorrow for 2 nights, if we can find it - maps and roads don't seem to really match up!