A traveller’s guide to China

January 31st, 2010 | admin | Travel, Vacation

They assert the world is shrinking and it is, in respect of the ease of world travel. Visitors wish to travel to the more remote outposts of the Earth and journey travel is increasingly popular. When I used to be a child, I dreamt of visiting the Far East and the Great Wall China, in particular. China held an obsession for me but I never dreamt that I’d essentially get there one day.

My husband and i decided to save up and go on the vacation of a life-time. We have a pal who lives and works in Japan who speaks Chinese Mandarin fluently, having studied the language at Beijing University and in addition has worked in Taiwan. The plan was to visit our friend in Tokyo and see a bit of Japan. Then we flew to hong kong to spend a while then and there onto China. Our chum went with us, which made the trip a load more fun and much easier, having someone to translate for us.

Beijing is an interesting place and we did the common sightseeing, including exploring the forbidden Palace and Tinnamen Square. One of the striking things is the quantity of autos in the city and the background noise of tooting automobile horns. Then came the time to ski the coach to take us to the Great Wall China. We had read as much about it as we could but nothing truly prepares you for it.

I was determined to walk the wall, some of it anyhow, as it stretches over four thousand miles! When we arrived, it was extremely busy, usually with Chinese folks and some foreigners sprinkled here and there. We walked one of the most well liked stages of the Great Wall China. It is divided into watchtowers, gateways and old barracks, some sections all the way back to the 5th century. The longest human made construction in the world transcended all expectations.

Remarkably our chum, who has one leg, had walked the wall before and this was his second visit. He leapt ahead of me, on his crutches and vanished into the distance! It was actually the toughest thing I’ve ever done and I was nearly at quitting point infrequently but I persisted and finished my section. The Great Wall China steps are very steep in places and it takes every ounce of energy to climb them. There are several sellers there, selling clothing, post cards and other souvenirs. I proudly bought my I Climbed the Great Wall T-shirt, which I still wear today. Experiencing the Great Wall China was truly remarkable and I would recommend it to everyone. Go to the gymnasium first and get fit first, which is what I should have done but didn’t!

Enjoy traveling around the world? If you love to travel, check out famouswonders.com to see the most famous places around the world and also have a look at all about the Great Wall of China.