Mutianyu-Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (Mutianyu), finally we meet face to face.  I had been talking about coming to the Great Wall for nearly 15 years of my life, and now I can say after today another check mark off the “bucket list”.  It is apparent that one would need months perhaps even years to truly see The Great Wall in its entirety.  The section I went to was called Mutianyu, it is nearly 2 hours outside of Beijing.  This only makes sense if you do not want to see the KFC at the bottom of the wall, like you will at Badaling section.

The Mutianyu section of The Great Wall was built along the crest of the rolling mountains and hills.  The wall appears easier to climb  than anyone realizes.  The big catch is the stairs (in some places) are nearly vertical, and were built for small Asian feet.  Well, my size 10 1/2 shoe is not the typical size for the Chinese, unless you are Yao Ming! I found myself side stepping when going vertical stairwells.

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall has 22 watch towers & is 2,250 meters in length.  This is no casual walking trail.  I was simply blown away at the sheer length and detailed construction work.  It’s rumored that the thousands of men that gave their lives during the erection of this structure and their remains buried inside.

The wall was a sanctuary of sorts for the young and old.  People having spiritual moments and just looking out over the sides, others hiking as far as they could.  This is no question a magical and amazing place for all!

Now with The Great Wall off the bucket list, it was time to eat!  How convenient I spied a local pancake lady!  What a great fill up after a 4 hour journey up and down the narrow stairways and paths.  I made it through 5 watch towers in 4 hours, what does that tell you?

Correct, 2 pancakes please

The typical Chinese pancake is made with a thick crepe like batter poured over a hot cast iron circle.  The chef/vendor then slowly smooths it over with a dough scrapper (come on it’s some borderline primitive shit here).  Depending on the ingredients ordered, they are typically tossed inside and folded up and over similar to a burrito.  The only accompaniment is spicy chili sauce, yes please!

Perfect each and every time! Don’t miss out!  Be prepared for a little shaking in the legs after a trek up The Great Wall of China, each step and view is another layer of history that unfolds right in front of you!

Yangshuo, Guilin, China Biking, Hiking, Eating Day Trip

After an hour car ride by our driver we arrived at Yanghshou, to the Dragon Villa Hotel where I booked a room based on a friend’s recommendation.  Let me say that it could not have been more perfect!  The views were outstanding; it was set back about 10 minutes from the main town (West Street) and had everything I was looking for.  The Li River ran right past the hotel, bike rentals, rafting, hiking, all right there!

After unpacking for 20 minutes we quickly took the  “pirate” map of Yangshou and headed off!  The air was clean and delightful, I felt like I was able to actually breathe again in peace!  Moon Hill-first stop, 2pm at this point so we wanted to make the most out of the sun light. The plan was ride to Moon Hill, hike up (little did Rachel know I  had read about a back area that would allow you to summit the mountain!) and then to grab some Guilin noodles. (Chinese noodles have become my new obsession!) Perhaps that is why I have gained some weight, nothing a few weeks of yoga won’t fix, I hope!

Intense Climb-At some points we were almost vertical, but we kept up the pace and ended up on top of Moon Hill.  A few photos and a well deserved H2O break, I found the secret back trail (Thanks for posting whoever you are!)  Rachel was not to keen to wonder into the brush, especially since the sign made it clear not to do so… uh huh!   After another intense 20 minute hike up the side of the crest (with no stairs or railings) we made it to the top!  The views were breath-taking, and all in flip-flops! (I thought she was going to kill me!)

The hike back down was actually more intense, just imagine walking backwards on a  stair master with narrow steps, all those muscles we never use were put to the test!  Even as much as I work out my legs were shaking after half way down, I will never know how these vendor ladies walk up and down all day long! “I envy you ladies”

4;30pm- what else is left to do but go eat noodles and carb it up!  We found a local shop that focused on Guilin noodles, perfect, I am always one to find the small shops, so Rachel helped get things sorted with the noodles while I ordered us some fruit shakes with tapioca.

The noodles were outstanding, they had a perfect texture, with all kinds of chili’s and spices inside.  One thing that stood out the most was the fried/roasted peanuts that were placed on the top as garnish.  The broth was of this velvety texture that slid down my throat and warmed my body perfectly!  After this intense hike and bike ride the bowl of noodles hit the spot… and I suppose so did the two cold Tsinghas we had on the roof top terrace at the hotel.  All which led to me being in the carb coma for the better part of 2 hours.  Not exactly sure how I pulled it together looking back but bounced back strong and ready to eat!

8:30pm- we head into town with our new found friend and food guide Sarah.

see the gallery below for amazing photos!

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Travel Information and Things to do in Etosha National Park.

Etosha is the largest national park in Namibia and covers over 22,000 square kilometers.  Filled with vast herds of Elephant, Oryx, Kudu, Zebra, Dik-Dik and just about every other type of antelope, Etosha is a veritable “buffet” of prey for Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Hyena and the caravan loads of camera-snapping touristas.

We entered the park at Fort Namuntoni, an old white-washed German colonial outpost that is now used as a visitor’s center, restaurant and gift shop.  “Uncle” Larry, my host at Tambuti, tells me that in 1904 a group of seven musicians went into a corner room at the fort to practice and drank themselves into a deep sleep.  Upon awaking they realized that the fort had been evacuated and they had been left behind with 3,000 screaming Herrero warriors outside the gates.  Talk about a hangover!  They somehow managed to hold the fort and prevented an African Alamo.

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Fish River Canyon. Fish River Canyon, Namibia, Africa

We crossed the border with great success which is always a crap shoot in a 3rd world country!  we started the two hour trek to the canyon.  We headed down a gravel road for about 20 Km, bumping around in the “flying toaster” (the name we gave the Toyota Yaris) we rented.

Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope South Africa

Our last night in Cape Town we met up with Hanns-Louis sister (who lives in Cape Town) and mother (who flew in from Namibia) . It was great having good laughs and visiting with everyone for a few hours… then the plan was to head home, pack up, get some sleep and head out in the morning…. Well-things never go as planned, especially on an African adventure   We did however managed to get packed, and while we were mapping the  2^nd leg of the trip we received a pleasant  call that Hanns and his friends were heading back for an after party!  ….Thanks Hanns, you’re a good man….

Mission: Cape of Good Hope

We drove all the way from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope (a national protected park) approximately 1 hour. We were there hanging around before they officially opened the gates- not a bad time to munch on those organic almonds my mom gave me right before I got on the plane! (her traditional parting gift to me)

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