Now this one will make you extremely grateful the that I went into jewelry design instead of videography! I took this film clip after we had arrived at the 3rd or 4th tower on the wall…I lost track of how many we actually went to but it was over 25. This is quite the hike and not the “ramp” on top of the wall like so many of the documentaries seem to show.
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Of course our driver takes us to the “remote” location so we could avoid the tours. We had 7 people with us and saw only a handful of others the entire day.
By the time I did this clip my shins and knees were burning from all the uneven stairs but we were all determined to do this entire stretch of wall. Boy am I glad I did it. This was the highlight of the entire China trip…next to the panda visit of course.
The video is about 2 minutes with a few pauses in it so just rely on the moving bar at the bottom to tell you when it’s done. Be patient as it may take some computers a short while to load. On mine it takes 30 seconds.
The Chinese couple you see sideways in the video (new camera and bad photographer) are locals who were following us and helped me through a number of very hairy passes like this crazy catwalk over crumbling bricks only 6″ wide in places…and a drop off that makes me cringe to look at now.
Little did we know that at the end of the trip they would literally have our “backs against the wall” trying to seLL us local handcrafts and goods. In order to find the way out of the labryinth to where our driver was waiting we definately needed to buy enough “stuff” and glady did so.
Without the Chinese girl helping me I would never have been able to do the wall walk. It was amazing how those locals are able to do these wall walks on a regular basis. They got winded too but not nearly as bad as I did. Thanks Gawd for the Total Gym and power walks we had been doing before the trip
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
So here is the video clip.
CLICK HERE FOR GREAT WALL VIDEO
I have added many more albums to the China website plus a map of our journey. I’m done with Hong Kong and now working on Beijing and the Wall. #1 and #4 links are active…the others are not ready yet. #4 is the beginning of the Panda base albums.
Have a super weekend!!!
Sandra
It has been quit a few years since we were there. We were unable to go to a more “remote” location, so had to walk the gauntlet of merchandising stuff. I would not have missed seeing the kentucky fried chicken sign with the prayer flags fluttering over it for all the world though… What Sandra does not say, is that each of the “steps” is about a foot and a half high…. no sissy little steps here… so by the time you have lifted your legs for a few of those… well, a thighmaster looks like a child’s toy!!! Thanks for sharing Sandra…. wish I could have been with you there, but only until I need the toilet! susanne/drsuze
HI DR. SUZE!! Oh yes…the KFC was a hoot and on some signs the Cnl Sanders had Asian eyes…others were like the logo we see here!
Those steps!!! OHHHHH my shins hurt thinking about them!! LOL. Wouldn’t trade the experience for the world but if I had known ahead of time..I would have been at the gym 4 hours a day before hand! LOL
And the toilets…well that’s another story altogether!! My whole day was planned around being able to use toilets at a museum,or the hotel . Even some of the nice restruants had just a dirt hole in the floor! What an adventure just to pee!
Sandra