Great Wall

I went to the Great Wall this morning. Decided to skip doing the city tour by myself because they had a group tour going to the wall this morning. Went with a Canadian daughter and mom, plus an Aussie. Pretty cool bunch.

Anyway, about the wall, all I can say is it really is 'great.' Its pretty mindboggling that humans built it. Certain sections of the wall are so steep you need to climb with your hands and knees. It was extremely hot, must have been in the upper 90s. After taking a cable tram up to the wall, we were allowed 4 hours to explore the wall by ourselves. This was plenty of time, in fact too much time because after 30 mins of hiking along the wall, combined with the heat, everyone was scampering for some shade. Every few sections there are these twoers which used to be inhabited by guards but now are guarded by people selling Coke, beer, and cookies. They ask you "Wheeeree areee u frem?" And then say "You want buy coluh , beer?" You could walk by them ignoring their catcalls, turn around literally right past them and they would still ask you to buy 'coluh'.
After a few hours of doing the equivalent of a month of stairmaster, I went back down the mountain via a tobagon. What I love about countries in the East is that they don't have any concept of liabilities, and waivers, or just plain safety. You go down the mountain in a Chinese made plastic sled with a lever that if you push forward makes you go faster, and if you pull back slows you down. You slide down in this metal slide that goes down a 2000 ft mtn. It's insanity. In the US, they would have you wear football gear, and ask you to sign a death waiver, while selling you life insurance at the same time.
After that, I was exposed to more hawking my street vendors selling all kinds of trinkets. I played hacky sack with this one guy who goes by 'Bruce Lee.' We then had lunch which consisted of rice, chicken , and 'Grind Pork in fish taste sauce.' Surprisingly, I was the only one who was brave enough to try everything right away. I thought that the Aussie and Canadiens would have no fear, but they were really hesitant. Tasted good BTW.
I'm back at the hostel now , and feeling jet lagged. Going to sleep now.