The Great Wall at Simatai 司马台长城!!!

Ni Hao, everyone! I finally made it to the Great Wall of China! I'm going to post another slideshow here because the pictures will go way beyond my words, but I do have one word for you: GO! I'm serious--if you ever have the opportunity, don't miss out. There are several portions of the great wall that you can visit and each has its own distinct personality. The closest to Beijing is Badaling. It's the most well-restored portion, and it is also packed with tourists generally. I chose to do a little bit more of a trek and head over to Simatai, which is about 3 hours from Beijing. It's generally more popular among locals because its less touristy and more isolated. I enjoyed it because we were some of the only people on the wall that I could see for long stretches, so it was much more personal. That said, Simatai is also not as heavily restored (which I think is cooler anyways--more ancient looking), and it is known for extremely steep stairs, of which there are sometimes stretches of 400 in a row. If you are up for the workout though, Simatai is the best. So go. Here's the link to the pictures: The Great Wall of China at Simatai and here's the slideshow: 

So again I'll highlight a few key pictures:

First of all, I feel the need to introduce you to the local farmer lady in the orange hat, of whose name I'm not entirely sure. She followed us all the way up and back, and on the way she and I became best friends--gabbing endlessly about, oh I don't know, all the important details that make up the basis of any real friendship, like for instance which number tower we were on and just how hot it was outside. I was later deeply hurt when I came to terms with the fact that she was only using our friendship to gradually sell me her various wares. She wasn't shy to use the struggling peasant farmer story to soften me up--but I didn't buy it. Wait, just kidding, I totally bought her story, and also everything she tried to sell me. I did, however, benefit from the fact that she was eager to take photos of me with the great wall. So here's the woman herself, among other people.

If you are planning on venturing out to the Simatai portion of the Great Wall at some point, just something to take note of: the stairs are extremely steep and lengthy at certain points, as the next picture clearly shows. 

I actually had a can of spray paint in hand ready to write various and sundry chinese characters all over the wall, but then I saw this sign and immediately came to my senses. PHEW. Just something to keep in mind: if you are looking for a good place to practice some graffiti, The Great Wall just might not be it. 

This is the Great Wall by the way, maybe you've heard about it, or something.

O, HAI MOM! There's a huge dropoff behind me! But dont worry, this is just my latest endorsement deal with Coca Cola