One of my biggest dreams is to climb the Great Wall of China. It’s included of one my to-do list before I die.hehe.

Months ago, Xty and I searched for the best possible great wall tour, and found a USD20 or RMB140/pax tour. We’ve booked it since commuting to the Great Wall is a big hassle. Besides, Changling, the tomb of Ming dynasty’s powerful emperor Yongle is included in this package.

Our tour bus picked us up at Wahaha Hotel. We were 11 on the coaster. 2 Britons, a family of 4 Indonesians, 2 Asians, I don’t know what their nationality were, and us, 3 Filipinos. We’re still tired and thought of sleeping during the journey. Unfortunately, our tour guide was teaching and talking about jades, the five elements, fengshui, etc etc. We never got to sleep in the 40 minute journey to Changling Ming tomb. When we arrive at the entrance, we immediately took pictures. We were so used to having our own pace during tours, that we had difficulty keeping up with the fast-paced tour guide. We also thought we were the only people in the group who took so many pictures. At the museum, Xty saw a young bird which probably dropped off from the roof of the museum. I was about to put it back in the tree-lined areas, but being on a fast-paced tour, I was unable to do so.

We tour the museum; I was unable to remember a thing our tour guide told us. I remember that he told us that the real tomb was hidden in the hill. Since we were relying on this tour, we never argued, thinking that everything he said was correct. We never get to see the real tomb. Maybe our tour guide was hurrying us up too much for the tourist traps. L Our Ming tombs trip was a disappointment.

Our next stop was the jade factory. We never bought anything. We already know that this is a tourist trap, so we just enjoyed looking at the marvellous carved jades at the store. Next stop, lunch at the Badaling Great Wall.

Badaling Great Wall (Wàn Li Cháng Chéng)

After  30 mins or so of travelling, we finally arrived  at the Badaling Great Wall. While on the road, we saw some sections of the wall that’s totally ruined. Before climbing, we were treated to a buffet lunch. Our guide told us that we need all that food as energy for the hike. He informed us that we have approximately 2 hours to explore the great wall. He added that he’ll just be waiting for us in a café. Maybe he had climbed the great wall so many times because of his tours.

In our research, we found out that Badaling Great Wall is the easiest to traverse. It has been restored, so it’s pretty safe for tourists. It is approximately 3.7km in length. It literally means “reach eight directions”.

I guess we’re the most eager tourists in our group, so we immediately set up for the hike. Our goal was to reach the top, the 8^th wall. If Badaling was the easiest to climb, then we’re happy that we have chosen this GW. There were steep parts that my shoes couldn’t keep up. I was sliding down a bit at some point. A local even tried to help me and offered her hand. After that, I make it a point to be near the hand rail especially in steep parts.

The trek up the wall was hot but windy. Umbrellas would definitely break with these conditions, so we didn’t bother to use it. I actually left my umbrella at the hotel. We make it a point to enjoy the view, take up pictures during break times, and hurry up since we only have a 2 hour window for this tour. The view’s really stunning. Besides, it was also fascinating looking at elders trekking the wall much faster than we were. It was actually an inspiration for us. After about 1.5 hours of trekking up and down, we finally made it to the eight wall. We didn’t find any of our tour group members anywhere. Perhaps, we were the only ones eager enough to reach the top. We were also glad that Anton was able to keep up. For sure, given the chance, he wouldn’t climb the entire GW.hehe

We didn’t spend much time up the GW since we had approximately 30 mins left to traverse down. Climbing down was a lot easier; Anton and I would even ran down the steep parts (thanks to gravity). In short, we were able to go down the GW in 30 mins. The downside, I have a big corn/callous in both of my two toe thumbs. But what the heck, the trek to the GW + the calluses on my feet were worth it.J I think we’re the only ones in our tour group who have climbed the great wall.

Our tour doesn’t end there. We went to a silk museum (another tourist trap) before finally heading back to our hotel.

Of course, being the addict travelers, our day didn’t end there. With band-aids on my toes, we decided to check the main CCTV building.

CCTV Headquarters

I forgot what metro station we got off. CCTV headquarters is another architectural marvel. Adjacent to it was another building (TVCC), which was burnt. We didn’t spend much time here, and off we went to Starbucks to buy Beijing mugs and then went to some mall for dinner. Funny thing we’ve noticed, there were only a few people inside the mall. Maybe they were at the subway and not the malls. After our meal, we headed to the tourist shops at Wangfujing.

Wangfujing

Wangfujing is a street lined with souvenir shops. Some merchants know a bit of different language. We even heard a merchant says “mulang mula” (very cheap). Beware, some merchants would grab you until you buy something from there. Xty, being our interpreter was pulled by the vendor. We eventually bought some chopsticks in that store, which we somehow regret. Wangfujing is also home to street foods. You can find exotic Chinese delicacies here like scorpions, starfishes and something that looks like larvae. We didn’t try any of these. There are also local street foods like juices, candies, etc.

Entrance Fees:

Changling Tomb: 45

Badaling Great Wall: 40