万里长城

万里长城, originally uploaded by Jerry Tok.

"He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man" - Mao Zedong

I don't buy that, my manhood is not dependent on a mortal man's quote.

In any case, I still went ahead to visit the Great Wall at 司马台. The tourist bus finally arrived at 0830hrs. it took 2.5 hrs to get to the starting point at JingShanLing. I fell in and out of sleep on the bus. I had my Texas friend with me. we made small talks about Singapore and Japan.

Fog is almost all i can remember about the wall. Besides that, some locals selling postcards, t-shirt and other tourist souvenirs. I chatted with one woman. She is a farmer from Hebei. Everyday, she'll walk 1-3hours from her village to the wall, making a living by selling souvenirs. She asked me to help but i declines. I was not interested in souvenirs except for postcards. Then I increase my footsteps, soon she's out of my sight.

Many told me that the Great Wall is like walking along Orchard Road with thousands of Chinese and foreigners rubbing shoulders.I was walking on my own most of the time. There is a guy 500m ahead, 500m trailing behind me is another couple. I suppose this compensate for the fog. I was not in the mood to take pictures. Spend time singing to myself.

The walls from jingshanling to 司马台 stretch from Hebei to Beijing. Jingshanling's walls are restored (about 25 years ago). 司马台 walls are built during the Ming dynasty. Some parts of the walls and towers are in ruins which adds characters to the the wall.

In my opinion, the Great Wall is not spectacular, nothing like that of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Angkor Wat preserved the Kingly presence.