Day 16: Battling on in Beijing

Cloudy sunrise on the Great Wall. It was fully light by 5am, and the mist made the distant mountains fade from luscious green, to distant grey silhouettes.
Despite our thermal ground cover and sleeping mats Emma was colder than expected through the night; Gill was quite snug though this might be due to still being poorly.

Emma loved spending the early morning taking photos on the wall, and particularly the guard tower. It was so peaceful, the only sounds being the squawking and singing of the birds, the buzzing of insects and distant aeroplane rumbles...bliss!
After catching another hour in bed we were woken with rain at 7.20 so quickly packed away the tents and made our decent.

Gill thought the Great Wall was phenomenal and really appreciated seeing both unrestored and restored sections away from the tourists. Took a walk on Juyong Pass, but Gill was beaten by the stairs so instead opted for a more leisurely stroll around one of the pavilions.

Stopped off at the Olympic park, built to host the 2008 games. Pretty cool, the birds nest stadium was very unique. Emma very proud of Gill...despite feeling like death and a more appropriate pass time would be being curled up in bed with a hot lemon, she battled on along the Great Wall and through the park without a peep. Emma hoped snuggles in the minibus back to the hostel would help.

Delicious roast Peking duck for dinner followed by a farewell drink for Jordan, who leaves us tomorrow. Will miss his northern banter!

Gill & Em xRead more