Step 14: The Mountains and the misanthrope (12/10/08)

Hello again. I not still sitting in Shouzhou waiting for Luke as many of you might think, he eventually turned up and a stern telling off and much cake followed.

I recovered for a couple of days relishing the warmth and set out again for the last 8/9 days before my two week break. This section involved relatively intact adobe mud wall from Datong heading of Zhanjiakou, the way way pretty mountainous again, but I was now equipped with mountain gear and cold weather gear so although exhausted from climbing all dag I was snug as a bug on a mountain.

I walked alongside the wall for the majority of the way only diverting

to find slightly less challenging routes up vertical rock faces and to avoid deep gullies that kept managing to sneak up on my even though the land appeared flat.

The highest point of this section was about 1,400 Metres, which provided a rather scenic (if a little chilly) lunching spot. The temperatures has been steadily decreasing during the day and is still around -30 at night, but my nights aren't too sleepless and the air feels refreshing.

The last stretch before Zhanjiakou was took me through the coal towns.Every time I find myself in a mining town, my mood plummets. Perhaps it is the coal dust which coats everything and everyone, and blows around in thick clouds with the slightest breeze, however I cant help but feel for the tragic situation of the towns inhabitants, who spend there lives filthy and dirty, working in hazardous environments mining this essential resource, the profits from which they see very little.

Any way I eventually made it to Zhanjiakou and my misanthropy was bred out of the wanton  xenophobia of the inhabitants, none of the hotels of guesthouse would let me stay because I was 'wai gwor' (foreign). I have encountered this before on Zhongwei and a few other places but not as rife as here in Zhanjikou, even the internet cafe wouldn't let me in. I ended up crashing at a korean bath house (narrowly avoiding making eye contact with any of the ladies of the evening who graced its halls) and then heading out to Beijing first thing the next morning.

As I said before I am now on my two week break Vaude has sent me out some replacement tent poles, Leng has arrived with 18kg of food from the U.K (most importantly marmite, lemon curd, pesto and lemon juice), and I am happily ensconced in a tiny village in the north of china.

Until we speak again

Step 13: Walking on the whims of a mad emperor (and more snow) (27/10/08)

We left off with a smiling Hugo leaving Wanjiazi with a spring in his step, this continued for the rest of the day I am happy to add, shanxi is the land or wild cherry trees and I gorged myself as I followed the winding route of the yellow river. As I entered Pinguan my smile broadened still more as the people of this region are so friendly, with everybody having a Ni hao for me as I stroll by. I ended the night at a picturesque stop on a cliff edge over looking the yellow river, I was camped at a derelict bar as a mater of fact, one which must have been put there for tourist coming down the river, but had been long since abandoned. This may perhaps have been the last moment I smiled from then until now.

I slept badly that night as the cold slowly crept into my bones, my feet were the worst with the cold getting to them through three layers of sock (inc one pair of ski socks). At 5am I couldn't lie there anymore and decided to move around, pain. Trying to re-dress oneself when your fingers have gone a lovely shade of purple with a good smattering of pain is not advisable, the worst part was when they began to warm up then it really begins to hurt. When I finally managed to get dressed into walking gear and get out then my toes joined in the race for pain supremacy, however the winner was Mr right hand thumb, taking an early lead and keeping it. Leaving Laonuiwan things didn't get better, the terrain again foothills and mountainous but this time with no paths or roads to follow just open terrain. I couldn't see any habitation on the horizon, definitely not Beibao, I resolved thus to climb the ridge of the nearest hill and continue along that to allow me to survey the route ahead, anywhere the shadows still fell the snow was still thick, thus climbing up from the valley to the top with 3 stone hanging off my back made the going a little precarious. I continued like this for most of the day, and replenished my drinking water with snow collected in a jar. I was no past the point of no return so had to continue toward beibao.

I was still following the evermore hard to reach wall, its watch towers offering some respite form the wind which was pretty strong at 5300ft. When ever I did reach habitation it was not more than a goat herders hut and the possibility of finding shelter there was pretty nill. The terrain got steadily more difficult with me at one point free climbing a rock face to get out of a gully to reach a large section of wall on the other side (3 stone 'fat boy' still in tow).

Night came again, and this time I put on everything I had, including my knee and ankle braces. The next morning after another restless night all 20 digits were purple and the pain upon getting moving was immense. I had to get out of here and find away back to civilization. None was to be found that day, I made it to Beibao only to find another minor farm town with no main roadway. The most deceptive thing was that day time temperatures would get pretty high leaving me having to dress and re-dress myself continuously to stop myself from overheating. I went on again, having changed course now and heading out toward pinglu and the main road, again no roads to follow only a compass heading and a lot of hilly terrain, night came and I began to dread having to camp in these conditions. This time I stopped in a field and utilising some neatly stacked straw bails I covered my tent with straw and put a straw bed underneath in an effort tot keep the heat in, all to no avail. The sort of pain when your digits thaw is like being burnt, the worst feeling is that somehow you can stop the pain but are choosing not too.

I got myself to the main road and spent most of my last remaining cash on getting a lift to shouzhou (the nearest big town where i could contact luke). The phone is always on between 5-7p.m every single day out here in case of emergencies and outside contact, and this most definitely was an emergency, I had not appropriate gear to spend another night outside and no money to pay for somewhere to stay. I spent my last yuan on phone luke and the phone was off. I borrowed peoples phones and tried for the next two hours but it stayed off. I was up poo creek without a paddle, this was a major logistics blunder, not only was I not prepared for snow but not the emergency line was dead.

Here in appears the darkest chapter of my trip so far, I had to resort to the kindness and charity of strangers to raise the 10yuan (80p) needed for a bed in a dorm.

I am currently sitting in an internet cafe with my last 10yuan hoping that luke will come online and check his emails and I can get out of here.

P.s The emporer reference is to Chin Shi Huang who believed demons traveled only in straight lines so built the wall to wind all over the place, making my job more difficult.

Photos: Sunny days before icy nights, Clambering around, Snow people, me

Step 12: Ain’t no mountain high enough (or foothill) (27/10/08)

Set out lunch time of the 18th heading for Gushan! Logistically minded luke accidentally took the phone with him on his trip back to hong kong for a new visa, but at the time it seemed no bother as he had given me the weather for the next week and would sent me an email with the next weather update (I would soon regret this). Without a phone I was very much alone, more alone than I have been for a while, also the cheap headphones I keep buying in china keep breaking, so I was without ipod as well, but no matter as my mind is full of all sorts of exciting places and ideas to  explore.

Between Gushan , Hequ and Fugu the wall was way up on the crest of a mountain ridge on my left so I simply followed along side at the foothills below, its a shame but I expected sections like this. I was delighted to find that Hequ has the finest cakes in  all of china, somehow the cake wizards of hequ have devised a suitable substitute to cocoa! Hurrah fat I shall become. The joy of chocolate cake was the last good thing I would experience for the next 6 days. From Hequ I headed to Pinaguan at the foothills of the mountain range that occupies most of shanxi province it appears, about 15  iles out of pianguan climbing higher toward the town of wanjiazi on the other side,  now happened. Not the sort of snow full of smiling children and red breasted robins,  nope, the sort of snow about 5-10cm deep and full of biting cold and a distinct lack

of anywhere to camp. Snow was most definitely not in the logistics info and now would be great time to have a phone. I was completely unprepared for snowy  ondition, I had my usual clothes, waterproofs and thermals as well as my trusty woolly hat, but my proper snow gear was in Beijing as it was not expected for another month or so. To top it off as I climbed up toward wanjiazi a thick fug descended around me reducing visibility to bugger all. All in all this left me in a sticky situation, could not camp because I did not have the equipment to stay warm enough at night, also turning back was not an option as I did not have enough funds with me to wait it out until lukes return (he would be spending the next 9 days moving gear around

in beijing and going to hong kong and back). I resolved therefore to keep walking, I would walk through the night taking breaks every 1.5 hours and that way stay warm and try and clear the snow and get down to the other side. I did this for a while making pretty appauling distance as the road was pretty winding and continuously climbing, it was getting a little stickier as the fancy Merrel shoes I was wearing were developing a tear in the toe of the right foot (leaving my tootsies a little moist and thus practically frozen). Luck would have it that I spied a light on in a distant building which turned out to be a power station, after a brief explanation of my situation and a shivering apology for disturbing him so late I convinced the occupier to let me in and

allowed me to sleep on the floor of the office. Mr Wan (64) was happy to oblige and after filling me full of lentil soup and warm sugary tea, constructed me a cushion bed on the floor of his office and even proffered me a razor to sort out my face fuzz, I declined however as I believe it is the only thing keeping my face warm up here. I left Mr Wans' early (full of yet more lentil soup and tea) and with the morning sun taking the edge off the cold made it to wanjiazi before Lunch. I had descended now to about 3000ft and the snow had abated, the air was still pretty crisp but no longer chilly me to the bone. With the sun smiling on my back I set out again for Lainuiwan and Beibao feeling that all was not lost (again a feeling I would soon regret).

I have been musing this trip about being alone and the concept of Id, Ego and Superego (Me, Myself and I). I have concluded that without social constraints and the influence of others the superego diminishes somewhat leaving room for the id to grow  exponentially. My thoughts begin to focus and revolved around basic survival needs of food water and shelter, and appearance, social interaction and appropriate behaviour loose their importance (this could be due to the fact that I spend my lunch times sitting in caves to stay warm and poo in bushes, but hey what do I know). Photos: Snowy morning, a toilet cave

Step 11: The Mighty Khan! (18/10/08)

Currently in Shenmu having jollied here from Yulin over the last 6 days or so. To  make a change from the usual message the going has been incredibly hard. The terrain is monstrous, some sections of the wall are completely isolated on islands or earth surrounded by deep gullies. I have had the jump crevices and climb more sand banks  more times than I care to mention all with a 3 stone baby hanging off my back. Anyhow I made it here alive so all is well, my left foot however died somewhere along the way and I dragged it into town on the last day, it appears to have been transformed into one giant blister where all the smaller blisters have conjoined to form the ultra mega mega blister, not fun at all.

However I have been kept going by the continually contradictory musings of Freud in his book about the interpretation of dreams and also by my new found interest in the life and times of Genghis Khan and mongol empire. Whilst in yulin I visited Khans mausoleum just inside inner Mongolia, although his body is not there (as on his request the location was never revealed and all that had known about it were killed and then the people that killed them were also put to death) his tomb is there as well as a number of his belongings. The place was fascinating, you weren't allowed to take photos but I did sneak a few. Upon walking in you are met by a huge statue of the mighty khan sitting in front of a bronze map of his empire stretching far into eastern Europe (the largest ever empire). Contained within the mausoleum are a number of yurts each containing different artifacts to which people can pray and give blessings and offerings. In addition to his tomb and that of his brother and brothers wife, are  also yurts containing his spear head, his bow, his saddle, his horse and his milk bucket all considered holy and worthy of religious preservation.

As well as paying my respects to the Khan I also went to check out a so called  artificial beach resort (as described in bradts guide to northern china) which houses a number of caves and rocks carvings paying homage to the prowess of the great wall left by visiting poets. Although the resort had been derelict for quite some time the area was still beautiful and the caves and carvings on the cliff faces fascinating.

However by far my most valuable experience on this section has been viewing the mausoleum of Genghis Khan and reading more about his rule, a terribly misunderstood ruler painted as a tyrant by the west and even by the Chinese who were not particularly fond of him. He once claimed that a naked virgin could walk from one end of his empire to the other with a bag of gold around her neck unharmed.

Photos: Beach resort, Tomb of the Khan, Mighty spear head, Great big walli, Drink powder for the kids.

Step 10: I will walk 2000 miles and I will walk 2000 more! (18/10/08)

Over half way! (in fact I was over half way a while ago but this update is a bit late).  After leaving Jingbian it was off into the mountains with me. The wall was quite close to the road so the going wasn't too tough. However on the second day it began to rain and to my dismay I discovered that my water proof coat and trousers only remain

waterproof for about 30 minutes of down poor then they simply give up. The rain didn't seem to be letting up and there was no cover to speak of so I had to trudge on getting wetter and wetter until I happened upon a disused barn. Nipping in I found a few bits of wood and bricks lying about and built a fireplace and small fire, then with the help of some logs (liberated from the overhead rafters) I built a clothes horse and set about drying all my gear. My bag had not fared too well either and most of my spare clothes were soaked too. However with the fire going I enjoyed one of the warmest lunchtimes I have spent out here.

The scenery up there was fantastic and the towns between Jingbian and my next target of Yulin were equally spectacular. Many buildings are built right into the cliff faces, particularly temples and every morning I would up to a veil of mist over everything.  Generally fantastic.

My loneliness has abated somewhat as mountain folk are a lot friendlier than city dwellers and happier to simply idle along beside me in their cow drawn carts and chat away even though we only occasionally understand each other. This feeling is exemplified in the town of Hengshan, one of the friendliest I have visited, where after

beating a chinese man at chess he bought me supper.

Plenty of rambling later and a few chilly nights (the night time temp was down to about -12 out there) I was nearing Yulin just outside the town of Bolou (sounding like the chinese word for pineapple). It was upon approaching pineapple that the most curious but entertaining part of this journey occurred. When rounding a corner I heard some Chinese music playing and spied a large stage with a band. I stood and listened for a while and then when they finished waved a hello and offered a solo round of applause (the chinese dont seem to much for clapping). They beckoned me over and as it was time for my afternoon break I obliged. When I reached them I discovered that the band was part of a large wedding celebration that was in full swing. I didn't wish to intrude but soon enough I had been surrounded and was shaking hands with everyone camera's all over the shop. I congratulated the groom and the band, and even had some banter with the standard drunk uncle who was lurching about all over the place with a bottle of baijou in his hand. Soon though I was ushered over to sit at none

other than the grooms fathers table and presented with a mountain of food. Compared with my usual fodder it was a veritable feast. I ate until I could eat no more and drank perhaps a little too much bai jou and after offering a hearty thank you to the mother of the bride (and head chef it appeared) I suddenly found myself being pushed onto the stage and be told I was going to sing. Sing!? sing what? panicking I tried to think of a popular song that a chinese band might know (that I knew at least a few of the words too), I hummed the first few lines of ‘hotel california’ and was in luck! Anyway it all went down well, and I even got a meager round of applause from the onlookers.

From here it was a mere hop skip and a jump to Yulin for a days rest. I think however during this trip that I have earned the title of the worlds best wedding crasher.

Photos: Fire, Misty mornings, Drunk uncle barry

Step 9: I’m sorry we thought you were a terrorist (04/10/06)

This was the apology offered to me once the policemen had finally found and interpreter. Having first pulled me of a dusty road leaving Dingbian, they then proceeded to pour over my passport and fire barrages of questions (in Chinese) at me. I tried my best to explain I was no terrorist but simply a hapless ex-student a few sandwiches short of a picnic but it wasn't really helping my case. When the young lady uttered those words is had an un-expected effect of nullifying the annoyance that had been steadily building in me. I think it was the abrupt honesty, never on the countless times I have been stopped in london under the anti-terrorist act, has a policeman said, "I have stopped you because you have a great big beard and are carrying a backpack, therefore I have deduced that you are Osama's right hand man".

Anyway after that was cleared up (im not a terrorist as it turns out) I informed a surprised policeman that I wished him to drive me back to the dusty patch of road from which he had picked me up. The next major stop after dingbian was Anbianbu; I was planning to meet logistics Luke there (as I am slightly ahead of schedule) and grab some lunch and a hostel for the night. After shambling in and finding Luke and a fan dyen (restaurant), whom should walk in but none other than Li Shengcheng. His name may not mean much to most but he is the author of about 4 books on the great wall and has himself over the years traversed its entire length (albeit with a couple of jeeps and a team of 6). He invited us back to his house for some tea and his English speaking niece translated for us. I left this happy encounter with not only a belly full of tea, interesting tales of a certain William Lindsey (O.B.E) but also some exact GPS coordinates of the rest of the wall. This is particularly useful as the maps of the wall that are available to the public are not exact, and the Chinese government does not want people to know its exact location. I am now in Jingbian and will roost here one more day before heading out again. Having finished polishing skully the skull I have now move on to making rings and bracelets out of animal bones I find along the way, a delightful hobby I know.

Photos: Le Shengcheng and his niece, One mans life in a bag and Toilet at dawn

Step 8: Hong Kong Phooey (No1 Super Guy) (26/09/08)

Aloha!

Greetings again from the wayward traveler. Much has transpired in the last week or so. Set out from Yinchuan continuing east to Dingbian, the vast majority of this trip was off road again (my favourite) following the Ming wall. The wall cut through a number of villages on the way, sliced right5 through the middle with people building around it. Its nice to see this rather than the industries simply demolishing the wall to build factories. I’m glad that so much restoration work is currently going on to preserve the wall that is left but it is sad to see it destroyed with disregard for its historical importance. Going was tough but enjoyable, it threatened rain most of the way but thankfully it never happened. On the third night however I managed to camp in the middle of a mosquito holiday hot spot and was eaten alive, the mossies appear to have figured out how to get me through my clothes! I struggle to see the ecological purpose of the mosquito, if anyone could explain their purpose to me then perhaps it might swathe my growing hatred of them.

Anyhow as I mentioned before, this week I was determining if I could get my brand spanking new visa, this involved a trip to Hong Kong! Officially a part of china, but not really, it is an amazing city. It costs about the same as the U.K (bit of a blow as the rest china is pretty cheap) but it has so much to offer. I only stayed for a couple of days to renew my double entry visa but Hong Kong is small enough to have allowed me to see most of it. I even had time to check out the new Shia LeBouf movie at the cinema. The most shocking thing though was the amount of westerners and western shops in Hong Kong, I haven’t seen another foreigner (except logistical Luke) for so long, it was odd, and I had trouble remembering how to interact with English speaking people (granted most people in Hong Kong speak English). I also bought a huge bar of dairy milk (heaven).

However I am back in Guangzhou now and will head off to dingbian again today (27 hour train, followed by 12 hour bus) to get back on the wall. Next week is Chinese national week so the trains are all booked up and very expensive, the best seat I could get was a standing ticket. That’s right standing for 27 hours! Haven't decided whether to drink myself into a stupor or take some sleeping pills. Will probably sit/stand it out though as the scenery is fantastic.

Photos: Hong Kong island, Hong Kong streets, best cafe ever!.

Step 7: Life and Death and lashings of rain (11/09/08)

Hello all and sundry,

I am currently in Yinchuan and very lovely town. Separated by about 15km into 'old town' and 'new town' (pretty much two different towns entirely if you ask me). Logistical Luke managed to find an international youth hostel for us to stay in  (the only one in this province) which is just fantastic. It has English books, DVDs and kitchen facilities that I can mess up.

Although I arrived here to all this, the journey was a little less appealing. I arrived here yesterday and before that it had been raining non stop for about 3 days, now walking in the rain is not as fun as some might have you believe. The worst effect of my moist meanderings was that it leaves one with a sodden feeling of despair, this wasn't aided but the boosting of my body count to two. I have now been witness to the aftermath of two particularly gruesome road traffic accidents, something I do not wish on anyone. To top of this ever darkening stroll I neglected to check my GPS often enough and ended up in Wuzhong (about 4 miles of course, doesn't sound like much but that is about 2 hours walking). I believe this was where I hit my lowest and decided to simply walk through the night and not sleep (with the aid of Chinese red bull). However another unexpected act of Charity saved me from this fate when a Milkman on his way home invited to come to his house for something to eat. I accepted and he took me to his humble about where upon I sat and ate with his family.

He offered me a bed for the night and a lift back to the road in the morning (not before taking me to the dairy farm where he collects his fresh milk).

In addition to this spot of good luck the next day brought was equally rewarding as I met an English speaking Chinese student also on his way to Yinchuan, who cycled up to me whilst I was strolling along the road side. After a few moments I commented on the gear attached to the back of his bike and why he was in such a remote area, he then responded that he was cycling 3000km across china on this bike having just quit his job in Shenzhen. When I asked him why he had decided to do this he simply replied 'because I could'. Fantastic! said 'super cyclist' also happened to be staying in the same hostel when I reached yinchuan, needless to say a night of Pee jou (cheep 1 pint bottles of beer) and Bai jou (Chinese locally made spirit) ensued leaving me in a slightly less that fit state writing this email. Tomorrow I set out to discover whether we will be granted the appropriate visa extensions to make the remainder of the trip run a little smoother.

Photos:  Super cyclist, Great big bushy beard, milk Delivery, Giant amongst men (or tiny Chinese girls)

Step 6: Invisible Towns, Cheesy cheese and chocolate dreams (02/09/08)

Have been making very good time again and reach the town of Qinyanshan (the town after Dajing) on the 27, however this town appeared to be
invisible. I dutifully followed the GPS to the point where it said the town was and there was no town, just a broad expanse of wasteland, thank you Garmin!. Luckily I happened across a friendly goat breeder (I guess this as he seemed to have every breed of goat imaginable) who filled my 2 empty water bladders with 4L of green tea. The next town of Huang-Shui-Pu again appear to be another invisible town and again I was rescued by the kindness of a stranger who let me stay in his house instead of camping outside, the kindness of some of the people I have met out here has been astounding, I hope that Brits would be as
generous in the same situation?
The major bonus of being invited into this chaps home was that it allowed me to wash the filth tan that had been accumulating over the last week of so, the feeling of being clean is a beautiful one indeed. The next few towns were nothing more than glorified service stations, but I suppose that is all I need really, big towns only offer tantalizing glimpses of civilisation and comfort only to take them away again. As I mentioned the going has been good on this leg with me traveling at 3.5 mph at one stage! (average speed is about 2.5mph), however I have been experiencing a lot of trouble sleeping which has left me exhausted during the day. It is not only the hard ground that affects my slumber but the fact that I can’t stop thinking about chocolate and cakes. Strange I know but I spend hours before I catch a little shut eye musing about what kind of chocolates I could eat when I get back home "Matchsticks, Picnic bars, etc" and what kind of fantastic cakes I could bake "Double layered cheesecake!", and even when I do get some sleep I dream about chocolate!.
Anyway despite this chocolate induced exhaustion I made it Zhongwei 4 days ahead of schedule on the 31st to rendezvous with Luke and prepare for visa extension attempt number one and of course for Luke’s birthday which is today! Little does he know but I went to a cake shop yesterday and have commissioned a  chocolate cake with a happy birthday message on for his birthday lunch today (a double edged gesture perhaps as I hope it will satiate my cake cravings).
Zhongwei is a nice little town despite the anti-tourist vibe which seems to resound throughout (foreigners are not allowed in the majority of the hotels), however Luke has found a nice place to stay which appears to be run but a girl of about 16 who doesn't seem that phased by our pasty faces, so long until I type again.

Photos: 'Cooking in the field with borrowed ingredients' and 'Desert sunset'.
P.s 'Cheesy cheese' refers to the type of pringles I managed to find in a fancy supermarket in town, it appears the Chinese have mastered the art of taking cheese and making it even cheesier!.

Step 5: Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired (21/08/08)

Ni Hao, it has been a little while since my last email update, I didn't expect to send another update until Zhongwei but have managed to find an internet cafe in Tumen. In my last blog I had just finished getting lost in China's giant sandy pudding.
Minqin was very nice, it was good to relax and terrifying to see my face, having not laid eyes on my mug for a few days. The two days spent in Minqin were pleasant, as it appeared to be the town of cakes and confectionery a nice change from noodles and rice. I went for tea at the house of a young lady I met at the post office, saw a funeral procession, a very colourful affair with music and food.
Leaving Minqin I followed the river to Tumen (avoiding the desert). This worked out well for most of the trip until the river dried up leaving me to return to filtering irrigation water. However I soon came upon a direct road to Tumen, and roads bring civilisation and food and most of all ice cream!
Although I arrived in Tumen yesterday I have decided to stay 2 nights in order to re-coup. During the last stretch I attempted to make up for lost time by increasing walking time to 9 hours a day instead of 7 and walking into the night as well. This however left me pretty much dead on my feet after 3 days with a limp in my left leg (owing to foot pain) and the runs. Needless to say after collapsing in my hotel room in Tumen I slept for the rest of the day and have been eating tentatively and soaking my feet.
As well as general exhaustion my mood has not been helped by the frequent stops by local police asking to see my passport, I get the feeling that it is mostly small town police throwing their weight around, I oblige of course but do not enjoy the delays. Tumen has offered a good respite, although the town is quite  basic it has everything I need (except a good Italian restaurant). I am feeling much better now though and look forward to setting off tomorrow towards Zhongwei. For now Hugo out.

Step 4: Get Lost in the Desert (14/08/08)

Greetings again from the weary explorer. Last time I posted I was finally leaving wuwei. I have now arrived in Minqin, the journey however was one of the most terrifying and exciting journeys so far. The last three days I have spent traversing the tegger desert which litters the path between the two towns. I have never experienced desert travel before but it is incredible. The going was slow but I moved at night and in the cool of the morning and evening to minimize
water loss. Despite this I ran out of water twice, both times lucking being saved by sporadic oasis's and nomad sheep herders.
I have never felt as alone as when I was out there, the silence of the place feels thick, and bellows sound meager. All you can see on the horizon is towering sand dunes and the occasional scrub, and when a sand storm hits (or which there were a few) that becomes simply a grey blur. One of the most harrowing situations was the first time the water began to run out. All there was on the horizon was sand and derelict mud huts. The situation was quickly getting desperate so I decided to empty my bag stash it and head out with all the containers in search of water, reckoning I stood a better chance of finding some that way. After a good couple of hours wandering in the midday heat with only 0.5 litres of water I found a dessert sunflower farm (there are a lot of these) and filled my 12L containers, how ever as I began to make my way back the biggest of the sand storms hit, visibility disintegrated to zero and I was being sand blasted as I walked. My tracks were instantly erased, I started heading on a compass bearing for the position of my gear, all the while wondering if I would be able to spend a night outdoors (all I had in the way of equipment was a survival blanket). After another 2.5 hours of wandering by pure chance I spotted the  blue cloth of my travel towel erected as a flag. An exhausted reunion ensued followed swiftly by a bowel of custard (yet another essential item I had packed).
Despite that excitement and peril the day of so before was pretty uneventful, lots of farms growing various cash crops the priciest of which I assumed was the vast fields of cannabis cultivated to a good 7 foot high in places.

I am now holding up in Minqin to restock on powdered milk, rest and do some essential equipment maintenance (sand is everywhere). The next leg is a 6/7 day overland stretch to Tumen, this time however hopefully accompanied by a river, solving the water issue. The Chinese locals have been great, supplying  both water and shelter from the sun at midday in surprisingly cool mud huts. Additionally there was very little wall in the desert so I followed the GPS
heading, I hope to pick up solid wall again just outside tumenzi. Well onwards and upwards, I leave Minqin tomorrow. I hope to update some photos later today as my camera needs to be de-sanded. Ciao for now.

Step 3: Still in Wuwei (05/08/08)

Hello, still here in Wuwei, still un-massaged, who would have thought it would prove so difficult to find a Chinese maiden to walk all over my back. Logistics; Luke has gone ahead to Beijing to drop off my excess equipment and pick up some dried food supplies I left at a hotel for storage. Last night as I had the room to myself and nothing to do I decided to take up a previous offer from a couple of Chinese student’s two doors down from me. They had asked me the night before, with the aid of a chinese-english dictionary whether I would like to go out for a drink. Thus with an uproarious cry of 'pi jou!' (beer) we headed out to the main Wuwei strip. We purchased a case of '1 pint bottle' beers (9 in total) for 25 yuan (just under 2 pounds) and with the help of both of our phrase books and some 2 card stud a jolly good night was had by all.

Despite the frivolity, relaxing here in Wuwei doesn't agree with me, I would much prefer to be walking and continuing my journey, at least that gave me a set task to complete each day, here I just wait and rest and desperately search for a chung gwor ne hai zir (Chinese girl) to smear me with massage oil and rub me down.

I have added a contact number for china to the contact page as it was decided that we needed to have one. If you wish to fritter away your money calling me please do, however please appreciate the 7 hour time difference. Ta ta. xhx

Step 2: Get Back on The Wall (03/08/08)

Nee Hao! I have been making pretty good time so far, however have had to move ahead to wuwei to meet up with logistics Luke and receive a spot of medical attention for some back issues I have been experiencing. As a result I have also come here to reduce my bag weight by a further stone to around 2/2.5 stone which to should help my back and my waling. I will remain here for a few days until my back is better before returning to jinchang to continue my journey to Minqin. As you will see I have updated to trip map to include the names of all the towns and villages I plan to walk through on my journey so you will be better able to follow my progress.

The first few nights on the wall have been good. The landscape out here is so desolate at times I feel truly alone. There was very little remaining wall between Jiayuguan and Shandan so much of my journey was over land, which I sacrificed a lot of sleep to power through. I eventually picked up some very ruined Ming wall just outside shandan and have been following that so far. This wall is about 600 years old and comprised of compressed earth, as you can see from the photos people have built their homes directly into the wall itself (these have often provided much needed shelter from the sun). When I do happen across locals they are always very friendly and helpful especially when it comes to water, which is often quite scarce. My most interesting encounter so far was outside shandan where I happened across an English speaking chap and his family. We chatted for a while (which was nice as I had had little or no English conversation until then) after which he told me to turn around as there would be a total eclipse of the sun in about 3 minutes, it just so happened he was right, which was nice.Now I wait for my spine to feel better then head off again, speak soon,  Hugo 'big calves' Metcalfe

Step 1: Walk the Great Wall of China  (29/07/08)

I have made it to Jiayuguan, the start of my trek along the wall. The flight here was tedious as they are, in addition sadly my smoke flare was confiscated at Dusseldorf. The only exciting thing was that we saw the Netherlands Olympic kayak team and an Olympic pole volter! Needless to say I was very excited.

Beijing appears to have increased in smoggyness since I was last here, didn't see the sky once, people were flying kites which couldn't be seen after about 30 feet up. Logistics Luke and I dumped our cold weather gear for storage and headed off to Jiayuguan and 36 hours later here we are!

Tomorrow we set off for our first day on the wall. We are feeling good if not a little apprehensive, the temperature here is much cooler than in Beijing but his section of the wall is a little mountainous. However the GPS seems to know where we are so at least we can't wander off into the Gobi.

Hugo Metcalfe and Logistics Luke