We built a wall!

Climbed the Great Wall today! And it really was a climb - some sections were nicely paved with even slabs and level steps - other parts were literally like climbing a ladder. It was so hard going, I walked about a 12km section and took just under three hours. Bits of the wall were away beneath me, I really had to hold on! Except quite often there wasnèt anything to hold on to! (There is no apostrophe key on this keyboard, itès not my bad grammer!) It was great being up there, the view was amazing! All browns and greys, no greenery yet, but there were lots of almond trees in bloom. I was with a group of about 40 people, but as we were all walking at our own pace I soon lost them. It wasnèt very busy at all, which made a nice change! In fact, there were a few sections when I couldnèt see anyone up in front of me or anyone behind me - not a good time to fall and break my ankle! To get back down you could either walk or take the zip line..so of course I took the zip line! It went pretty slowly, but I hadnt seen anyone do it before me so I hadnt seen how fast it went, or more importantly I hadnt seen anyone NOT fall off on the way down! But it was brilliant, a great way to end my long hard walk!

Zip Line!!

Yesterday I went to the Capital Musuem which was a good way to spend a few hours out of the freezing wind. It was free, which was a nice surprise because my guide book said it would be 40 Yuan (only 4 quid, but still...when youre on a budget...). It only opened about 2 years ago, and the building is huge and very modern, with a great big cone going from the inside of the foyer out to the outside. It was also pretty quiet, even though they were holding the opening ceremony of one of their temporary exhibits. Even though itès been very cold here, its also been very sunny, and when the winds not blowing you over its quite pleasant, so Ive been spending a lot of time in parks. Some of them are free, and full of old ladies and gents walking their dogs and birds and grandchildren. The park I was in yesterday had people doing Taiji, Kongfu, having a trumpet lesson and playing badminton with no net. Theyre great to walk around and watch people in.
I fly to Cambodia on saturday afternoon, Ièll write again as soon as I can once Im there!
Next stop: Phnomn Penh!

Beijing, China