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I was woken up by the loud cries of my fellow companions in the carriage: there was apparently something extraordinary to see, they were filming and staring out of the windows. I looked out with my bleary eyes to see a lanscape of sand and small hills, barely higher than sand dunes, clearly the end of the Gobi. However exciting this may be, I saw little to justify such excitement and thought the British a tad too prone to bursts of unexplained activity and ought to keep out of the sun in the future. But then I saw it myself, the great wall of China. At this stage, little more then a long wall of sand coloured bricks, lazily stretching itself at the foot of the hills but nevertheless an exciting sight. I imagine this is what the weary Mongols must have been faced with after their ardous journey through the Gobi desert, the sign that they have made it to China and the start of plundering and pillaging.
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The Great Wall by train

Degrubenc
2005-12-09 13:35:01

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I was woken up by the loud cries of my fellow companions in the carriage: there was apparently something extraordinary to see, they were filming and staring out of the windows. I looked out with my bleary eyes to see a lanscape of sand and small hills, barely higher than sand dunes, clearly the end of the Gobi. However exciting this may be, I saw little to justify such excitement and thought the British a tad too prone to bursts of unexplained activity and ought to keep out of the sun in the future. But then I saw it myself, the great wall of China. At this stage, little more then a long wall of sand coloured bricks, lazily stretching itself at the foot of the hills but nevertheless an exciting sight. I imagine this is what the weary Mongols must have been faced with after their ardous journey through the Gobi desert, the sign that they have made it to China and the start of plundering and pillaging.

Excitement inevitably makes me hungry, so after a quick wash and a careful shave (dangerous activity in a train), I headed to our new Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was, by its decoration, a considerable disappointment: it all looked terribly common. Where was the heavy bad taste of the mongols or the fake, vodka impregnated, wood panneling of the Russians? The decoration was non existent, plastic on the walls and plastic on the tables, a world of plastic. The food, on the other hand, was far from being plastic ! What a pleasure, after a week of mutton: sauteed beef and vegetables in a large bowl of flied lice.. what a delightful pleasure indeed.

The next few hours were spent playing chess with Jack, a pleasant activity only broken up by mild discussions and frenzied rushes to the windows in the hope to catch a glimpse of the wall.

Chinese time is one hour back to the time in UB. It is the first time during this journey that I move my watch back and not forward. The Chinese, in their infinite wisdom, ...

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