27 October 2013

Getting High - China, Part 3


October 13, 2013

To reach the gondolas that would take us up the mountain to the Great Wall, first we had to trudge one-half mile uphill from the parking lot on a cobblestone path. It was lined with vendors in booths hawking all kinds of souvenirs. You want? I give you special price. How about a revolutionary cap with a big red star? Giant panda paw gloves? Or a t-shirt with a picture of President Obamao? D picked up an item to look at more closely and the lady selling it was on him like white on rice. She offered him a few good prices, but he refused to buy it. When he placed it back on the table and started to walk away, the lady was so frustrated she swatted him on the butt. If only we had a WiFi connection, her Yelp rating would've tanked that day. Only one guy gave me a sales pitch, and it was in Mandarin. But he was walking behind me and there was so much chatter around us I didn't know he was talking to me until I heard D say, "America." I turned around to see D pointing at me, and the vendor looked confused. Then the vendor waved me off dismissively and turned away with what sounded like the Mandarin version of "Pffft."

Before the spanking
Obamao



Pandaganda
The gondola ride above the trees to the top of the Great Wall was scenic and brief, which is perfect for people like me who are acutely aware that safety regulations are painfully lacking here. This is why I'm not so good at living in the moment, because I'm often absorbed in imagining all the different ways things could go terribly wrong. But once we stepped out onto the Great Wall, wow. The sky was unusually clear and blue and we could see the wall snaking for miles, following the contour of the mountains all the way to the horizon. It was breathtaking. We spent two hours up there on top of the world, hiking up and down impossibly steep steps, peering out from stone turrets, and trying to grasp the incredible engineering and hardship that went into creating this wonder of the world.


 



No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.