The Great Wall of China

One of the most iconic structures in the world is the great wall of China. Lindsay and I were lucky enough to experience this during our 2010 trip. If I had more time I would have taken a few weeks to trek along the areas of the wall that are more historical and primitive (some of the wall has been restored). However, we were tight on time and decided to book a guide through our guesthouse in Beijing. The guides name was Lisa and she was incredibly nice. We loaded up in her little van (along with a very nice family from France) and took off to the wall. My only complaint about the great wall is that it can be incredibly touristy. We were lucky enough to go to a less touristy section that has not lost all of its charm due to the thousands of rides, shops, tourists, etc. we arrived at the wall and took a cool little chairlift to the top (touristy I know). We then walked along the wall for hours taking in the incredible beauty of the Chinese countryside. I was amazed with how step the wall is. We only walked it for a few miles (if that) and it was exhausting. There are thousands of steps with an unbelievable incline. Every time we came to one of the “look out towers” we would stop, catch our breath and admire the scenery. It is an incredible feeling to see the Great Wall of China in person as it is so iconic and such a recognizable landmark. After hours of exploring we made our way back down away from the wall via a fun little alpine slide type ride (touristy I know). This was a especially memorable as it was the first time anybody had openly recognized that Lindsay was pregnant. Right as she was getting ready to get on the slide the Chinese man pointed to her stomach and said "baby?....no." She had to ride the chairlift down while I cruised down the slide until I was stoped by some incredibly slow Asian tourists in front of me. :) The experience at the wall was fantastic and was only jaded by the scam “Jade market” and “Chinese health massage center” visits that that our guide insisted we take working our way back to Beijing. Another high point of the tour was visiting the Ming Dynasty Tombs located nearby. Here you travel deep into the mountain to see where the Ming Dynasty buried their emperors. All in all it was an amazing experience to see the Great Wall of China!