What a training location!

Last night, I went to meet Ben at his hostel and it was great to catch up with him. We began the night with some beers and a few games of Uno with some other guys at his hostel, 'The Happy Dragon'. After being taught a drinking game that didn't involve any drinking (Germans, go figure!), we head off to find some Beijing Duck. After thinking we were being scammed, we finally sat down and enjoyed some great duck. It was fun to hang out with another Aussie and I'm looking forward to seeing Ben again tomorrow night when we venture out to see a Kung Fu show.

Terrible photo .... but the waitress had never used a camera, so I felt bad asking her for a second shot!

I was up early this morning ready to head off on a training session on the Great Wall. After umming and ahhing over whether or not to catch the bus or splurge on a taxi, I opted for the second choice. There were several reasons for this - my anxiety issues for a start plus the fact that I could set my own schedule and I was very keen to have a day to myself. I really didn't feel like going through the whole 'Where are you from? Where have you been? Etc' routine today. So, armed with the instructions for the taxi driver, I set off to find a driver who was willing to drive for 2 1/2 hours, drop me off, drive to another place, wait for me and then drive me back to Beijing. The search didn't take very long, and soon I was on my way. When I arrived at Jinshaling, I realised I had made the right decision when I saw the original group I was meant to be with because they were a huge group, and they were following a flag! Oh no! So, the $120 I spent on a driver for the whole day was well worth it!

Ben puts a new spin on Beijing Duck - with bokchoy.

I quickly set off on the 10km hike to Simitai, determined to shake off the hordes of Chinese tourists who feel the need to travel with their small portable stereos and enough snacks to last a week. The further I walked, the less tourists there were, although there were heaps more than I had thought there would be. The day was magnificent though, so I guess everyone had the same idea to escape the smog of the capital and head outdoors. It was so warm that I even got quite sunburnt! Spending the day breathing in (relatively) clean air and seeing the blue sky was such a treat, I felt really sad to get back into the taxi on the way home. My steps training is obviously paying off because I negotiated the 10km of ups and downs with no problems at all. It has made me realise how tough the half marathon will be - I will have to do pretty much the same as what I did today then run another 12 km!

Mmmmmmm, Beijing Duck!

The blue skies did wonders to relieve my recent stress levels and I found myself feeling very contented and peaceful as I power walked my way along the wall, deep in my own thoughts (and concentrating on where to put my feet next). As always, I saw some interesting characters along the way. I overheard an American man telling his two small sons that they should 'take a bit of the wall home as a souvenir' - how disgusting! My immediate (internal!) response was very teacher like - 'If everyone took a bit of the wall home, there would be none left!'. I was amazed at the hawkers on the wall, they are often old ladies and they spend their day tramping along the wall, trying to sell water at over inflated prices (still only $2 though), beer (I can't imagine anything worse when you are hiking) and 'I've climbed the Great Wall' t-shirts for $4. I made it to Simitai in record time - 2 1/2 hours, as opposed to the recommended 4 hours. I felt invigorated when I arrived - I felt fit and strong climbing the steps (despite sweating like a pig in the warm weather) and very much inspired by the wall and the history behind it. The pictures don't really do it justice, it is just so hard to imagine building such a structure all those years ago in such harsh terrain. Anyway, enjoy the view!

View from my lunch spot.