a little coffee

Finally! We made it to the Great Wall! Eschewing the overcrowded Wall outside Beijing, we opted for the quieter, less overrun section a short drive outside Dandong right on the North Korean border. We encountered only handfuls of people as the sun beat down on us as we climbed and climbed. Most of the murderously steep hike up the big hill the ancient Doodles cleverly built their wall on (really, only a deranged fool would consider attacking a fortified wall on a hill named Tiger Mountain) was gawking at North Korea, the lush scenery, and looking for border guards. That is besides the ritual Oozing of Sweat and Panting.

Per the Lonely Planet, there’s a section of path around the Wall that narrows to a point where you can poke a toe actually on to North Korean soil… if you dare! Chris was hell bent on finding this little spot so after descending the big hill loftily named Tiger Mountain on shaky legs, we followed the path back round the Wall instead of hiking up and down the damned thing again. Wall on one side, cornfields, North Korea and an 8 foot barbed wire fence on the other. A big creak appeared where a couple small boats waited to ferry passengers further upstream to the start of the Wall. Fears of recent kidnappings on the brain, we opted to follow the path that took us up and over the river by a metal stairs and walkway that clung to the side of a cliff that eventually deposited us safely on the Doodle riverbank at the start of the wall. 

Resting near the water edge, we finally saw the spot we think, maybe a hundred feet away where the line between China and North Korea shrunk to a tiny step. A few Doodles milled around the area, a couple playing in the shallow river and weeds. We looked for the border guards that were supposedly in the area but, disappointingly, now armed North Koreans. When the Doodle tour groups boisterously amassed behind us, each guffawing old man and lady with a camera snapping a picture of his or her friend by a rock scribbled with Doodles, we took that as our cue to haul our wet, stinky carcasses back to the hotel for a shower and nap.