BootsnAll Travel Network



The Great WOW

“He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.” – Mao Zedong 

Ni hao from China! The past two days have been rugged to say the least. I never felt so helpless. My constant attempt at communicating in Chinese and English didn’t really help me nor the person I was trying to communicate with. The books I’ve read and stories I’ve heard couldn’t be any truer – English is rarely spoken if any in China. Not even the staff at my hostel who is supposedly aiming at wooing international travelers. But I’m definitely making the best of it and putting a bit more effort in learning Chinese. I booked a single room for two nights at Y128 ($16).  A bit over my budget but my burned out body was in dying need for a nice, long uninterrupted nap. And my chances of getting this nap would have been slim in the dormitories.

I spent the whole day site seeing. I purchased a bus ticket to take me to The Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. Little did I know, the ticket I bought placed me on a Chinese tour bus. So the tour guide only spoke Chinese. Dang! I totally screwed myself. But it turned out to be an awesome exprience nonetheless. A family of six pretty much watched over me the entire time. Trekked up The Great Wall with me, held my hand, bought me food, walked me to the toilet, chased off the hawkers, kept me on time check just so I don’t miss the bus, etc…. It brought me back to my similar experience on the bus in Cambodia.

All the distress I had this morning was washed away by the site of The Great Wall. Of course, a must see when visiting China. It’s massive, it’s beautiful and damn right amazing! This wonder stretches at approx 4,000 miles and dates back 2,000 years during the Qin Dynasty.

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Can you tell I’m excited? Happy V-Day everyone!

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5 responses to “The Great WOW”

  1. SAMMY says:

    Damnnn that’s always been something I’ve always wanted to do. It looks like you need to get your chinese learning on. Start studying. Well keep in touch now and make sure you always carry that Chinese dictionary around.

  2. Anna says:

    Hey Sophia! Wow that looks amazing and, yes, you do look very excited. I’m gonna tell the girls you visit The Great Wall, they’ll be amazed….hehaha…anyways, love to hear your future endevours

  3. virsale says:

    Interesting blog, i have bookmarked it for future referrence

  4. Sheila says:

    WHAT? ur camera is that quick to catch u in the air? lol…or did u finally read the manuel….LOL!

  5. Cool site, i will come back here, regards

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