Real travellers like to go off the beaten path to actually discover things that still remain undiscovered by ordinary people. But I’m not a real traveler ; I like to travel in comfort and do the tried and tested. So The Great Wall of China was definitely a must see on my list of things to do during my visit to China.

We walked the section that is accessible from Badaling a small town around 70 km north of Beijing. We started off early enough but the sun was really high by the time we reached so we had to buy the hats being sold at “Chaxi” stand. Vendors were also hawking bottles of cold water, some of them actually frozen!

Hundreds of people climbing the Great Wall

 We got into the free bus which took us to the foot of the wall from which we could begin our lazy ascent. According to Chinese legend, a man can only call himself a man after he has climbed the Great Wall. We had planned to go up to three watchtowers but had to abandon our plans as a water bottle later and a steep gradient that left me breathless made us realise that the wall looked deceptively simple, just lazily snaking up the hillside .

Seemingly easy, the wall has steep gradients in parts

But the Great Wall was a great experience : with a festive atmosphere prevailing with the Chinese national flags fluttering in the wind, the sun beating down strongly and hordes of people puffing their way up, this is truly a must do activity. Of course the more adventurous can climb other steeper parts but not me.

As usual, the arrangements at this tourist spot are faultless – clean restrooms, attentive salespersons in the museum shops and neat orderly crowds. Truly this spectacular construction built over hundreds of years deserves a place in the Wonders of the World.

I just returned after a wonderful 9 days in China and couldn’t help sharing this beautiful photo I managed to capture during a warm, sunny day on the Bund.

China was an incredible surprise that made my eyes grow bigger and bigger with every moment. First off, the International airport at Beijing was a marvel. Its sheer size made me gasp and the efficiency with which things worked there puts every developed country to shame.

Despite the fact that hardly anyone speaks English and even the knowledge of those who did was limited, we managed our way around. Visiting the standard tourist destinations we climbed the Great Wall, visited the Temple of Heaven and walked around Tia’Anamen Square and abandoned the Forbidden City half way, so tired were we with all that walking!

In Beijing we stayed at the old fashioned and modest Jianguo Hotel which is renowned for its rock pools with koi fish and fountains running through the entire hotel. The Staff was attentive and the hotel had a great homey feel to it. Best of all it is conveniently located right next to the Subway station and that Mecca of Indian Tourists: the Silk Market.