Introducing....The Great Wall and me
Yesterday we went to the Great Wall of China at Badaling. You can believe all of the pictures you see of the Great Wall. It really is that impressive and amazing. It was a misty morning and so as we climbed (and you really do climb) what was behind us disappeared and an ever lengthening stretch of wall appeared before us. It was a very magical feeling. I took a lot of pictures.
But I think it is safe to say that for as many pictures as I took of the wall, an equal number of pictures were taken of me. We caught a person sneaking a picture of us, and we thought that was kind of cute, but then we stopped to rest at one point and we were nearly mobbed by probably ten to fifteen different requests for photos. It was the most bazaar thing. We kept on trying to move forward and there would be another smiling couple of people who would ask us ever so nicely if we could take a picture with them and each person in the group would have to have their own separate picture with us. We would say "okay, one more" and then after that a new face would appear and ask ever so sweetly. There isn't exactly enough English in the world to explain why you really don't want to stand still for another portrait with a sweetly smiling person.
All I have to say about that is I am glad I was not with the baby. They were stopped even more frequently than we were.
The only other less than magical aspect of our visit to the Great Wall was the crowd of people towards the end of our stay. They say that you could drive a chariot on the wall, but for about ten minutes I could not even move a foot one inch forward. Think of the worst gridlock traffic you have ever experienced, then imagine that there is not even space for your bumber in between your car and the next and then switch people for cars, and that is the approximate density of people. At one point I reached up to wipe the sweat off of my forhead and when I was done, I didn't have enough room to put my hand back down next to me.
You would think with my obvious fan base I would have gotten a personal escort through, but it was not to be. Maybe if I stick around for a few more thousand years my chances will be higher.
But I think it is safe to say that for as many pictures as I took of the wall, an equal number of pictures were taken of me. We caught a person sneaking a picture of us, and we thought that was kind of cute, but then we stopped to rest at one point and we were nearly mobbed by probably ten to fifteen different requests for photos. It was the most bazaar thing. We kept on trying to move forward and there would be another smiling couple of people who would ask us ever so nicely if we could take a picture with them and each person in the group would have to have their own separate picture with us. We would say "okay, one more" and then after that a new face would appear and ask ever so sweetly. There isn't exactly enough English in the world to explain why you really don't want to stand still for another portrait with a sweetly smiling person.
All I have to say about that is I am glad I was not with the baby. They were stopped even more frequently than we were.
The only other less than magical aspect of our visit to the Great Wall was the crowd of people towards the end of our stay. They say that you could drive a chariot on the wall, but for about ten minutes I could not even move a foot one inch forward. Think of the worst gridlock traffic you have ever experienced, then imagine that there is not even space for your bumber in between your car and the next and then switch people for cars, and that is the approximate density of people. At one point I reached up to wipe the sweat off of my forhead and when I was done, I didn't have enough room to put my hand back down next to me.
You would think with my obvious fan base I would have gotten a personal escort through, but it was not to be. Maybe if I stick around for a few more thousand years my chances will be higher.
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