beijing ding ding

there have been a few things that i've seen since i started this job, that have made me feel so insignificantly small and inconsequential -- most of those things i've posted photos of or have talked about already on this blog; other things like flying over the gigantic Swiss alps in the cockpit of the plane cannot be truly represented by any photo i take, or any words i put together in a sentence.

but the most recent experience that has made me feel like this, was standing The Great Wall of China


the sheer size of this monument/construction/fortification just cannot be conveyed in a snapshot -- surely there are photographers out there who can do justice to the huge size of it, but i am not one of these people; the wall can be seen from SPACE, for crying out loud!
the wall is said to have a length of approximately 4,000miles, but in many places it is in a state of disrepair, with many parts of it having been removed as it was in the way of construction of other buildings/developments -- ya can't stop progress, people! (even if it means removing parts of this incredible structure!)


my adventures in beijing:
grab a few friends and hire a mini-van-and-driver to take us on the 90-minute drive to The Great Wall of China at Mutianyu . near the ticket booth for The Great Wall, be harassed by several stall merchants -- kindly explain to them that i'm about to climb The Great Wall and perhaps that wooden chess set might be a bit of a hindrance, and they're satisfied to take my name and see me on the way down . when faced with the choice of either climbing the stairs to the top, or riding in a chairlift, positively SCOFF at the idea of sitting on your ass all the way to the top, and choose the stairs option -- if you're gonna do this, let's do it properly! . after fifty stairs, gaze in envy at the people sitting on their asses all the way to the top -- whose idea was it to take the stairs, anyhow?! . after huffing and puffing and struggling up what seems to have been forty million steps, speak to the guy sweeping the steps and ask him how far to go til we reach the top -- his response: "you halfway" . when you finally reach the top, find a donkey tied to a tree -- well if i'd know i could ride a donkey up those steps i'd have done that in a SECOND! (turns out the donkey belonged to the old guy who owns the cola stall up on The Wall, and wasn't for public transport at all -- luckily) . scrawl your name on one of the bricks -- i swear i'm gonna get knocked down by one of The Wall's higher guardians or something, it can't be OK to go around defacing monuments like that . when you're done being blown away by the size of this monster, jump on the toboggan to take the fast way back down . halfway down the toboggan slide, turn a sharp corner and slam into the back of a lady who had previously planned on taking a nice slow ride down, which of course didn't go hand-in-hand with my plan to scream down the hill as fast as humanly possible . upon reaching the bottom, be bombarded by a bunch of stall merchants all screaming "MR. MITCH! MR. MITCH! CHESS, YOU WANT CHESS! FRIDGE MAGNET! MR. MITCH!" (make a note to self never to tell my name to any stall merchants ever again . jump back in our minivan and head over to the Forbidden City -- i never did learn what made it Forbidden, cos i just bought a ticket and walked straight in, and no one even questioned it -- not so forbidden, if you ask me . on the way to The City, watch an old chinese man struggling with his jogging, and for one frightening second, fear that you may actually have to put your CPR training to good use . despite your ignorance, still be impressed by the Forbidden City, and manage to spend hours walking around in there without getting bored -- (what is the postcode of the Forbidden City, anyhow?) . head over to the markets (cos if Mitch Fong goes to Beijing but doesn't visit the markets, has he even been to Beijing?)


here are the photos:


stay tuned, next week: HOUSTON, TEXAS!!!


let the good times roll!!