The great stairs of china

I was lucky enough to get onto a crew tour to the great wall. As we were docked a good distance from Beijing and still further from the main entrances of the wall, the Shore Excursion Dept. Organized a tour to the wall for the crew that was a bit closer. Still, a three hour bus ride each way was not my idea of close. We had an overnight in Xingang (Beijing) so enough time for a long day tour. The day was perfect. We left Xingang and it was smoggy so I couldn’t be sure if the weather was good or not. It seemed overcast because of the smog. Upon arrival at the Great Wall, the weather/smog had cleared up and it was now a perfectly gorgeous and no longer humid day! I took the crew tour even though I could have done a free tour with the guests, I find I need time to myself for the “big” tours. I did not want people fighting on the bus and complaining to taint my experience. (Argentina was the last time I will escort a tour after a fight broke out between an unrelated man and woman).

As it turned out, I had thought a few of my friends would be on the bus with me but they had all landed guest tours and a few were on the overnight tours. I thought it might be not as much fun since I wasn’t close to anyone on the tour, but I met some of the Indonesian guys from the Pinnacle Grill on the way up and we fell into step. We had a great time and I also enjoyed having a peaceful day to myself to do whatever I pleased!
Seeing something so vast, something that still stands the test of time (parts of it are rebuilt, but we saw some original parts too) and has been the subject of so much history, war and wonderment was miraculous. I had a cold, but was inspired to climb as far as I could go and further than most (well, except for the springy cast members who dance for a living). We came back down the steps of the wall and had a typical Vancouver lunch, er Chinese lunch. There were some fried things on a turntable, mystery meat and mystery goo. I certainly enjoyed the broccoli and some sort of vegetable stew.

Usually on an overnight, the crew does anything to get off the ship and go out. I was so tired from the tour and being an hour or more out of Beijing and close to nothing in Xingang meant that we drank in the OB (Officers' Bar) and went to bed. That was our big night in Xingang!