The deep humming sound emitted by the engine of the 1930’s style sidecar motorbike was almost hypnotic and was I not snaking through the Beijing traffic I would’ve easily been lulled to sleep. But I was too excited to think of sleep in any shape or form at that stage. From the sidecar I glanced over at Ah Beng, who skillfully steered the motorbike through the manic traffic. It wasn’t long before we were on the freeway heading to the Great Wall. Experiencing the marvel of the Great Wall had been on my bucket list for eons but never in a million years did I envision making my way to the only visible man-made structure from the Moon in a sidecar motorbike.
I remember learning about the great wall as a little girl and my total amazement after unwrapping a Chappie (South African brand chewing gum) and reading the “fun fact” printed on the wrapper: “The Great Wall is the only man-made structure visible from the outer space”. I was thoroughly impressed. After all, even at that stage I could appreciate that outer space was quite a big place. And who could forget David Copperfield's walk through the Great Wall – maybe I was just very impressionable at that tender age.
For the record, the Chappies fun fact turned out to be the figment of some very imaginative soul’s imagination. According to NASA the Wall is not visible to the unaided eye from outer space since the wall is of similar colour and texture as the surrounding landscape. NASA did not mention anything about Copperfield’s stunt though so I’ll allow myself that one childhood memory to remain “true”.
As we headed further North the road winded through the mountains and I couldn’t help but scan the landscape for signs of the Wall. It was only later, much later (my eyes burning from exhaustion and/or exhaust fumes by then) that Ah Beng pointed it out to me, adequately proving NASA’s point on just how well it blends in with the surrounding landscape. Once one had it in view it was really hard to miss it for it was clearly visible how it attempted to tame the landscape. It certainly was both imposing and impressive at the same time. I could actually imagine it taming the hordes of Mongols who I’m sure at the mere sight must’ve turned their horses around to return to Mongolia at a frisky pace.
Upon reaching Huang Hua Shang we exchanged the sidecars for trekking shoes as we tied our shoe laces to start our trek on the Wall. Yip, it certainly was wide enough for six horses to stand side by side as the Emperor intended it to be. Suffice to say, the view from up there was absolutely fabulous and the air crisp and fresh on our sweaty cheeks and foreheads. A rather strenuous hour later we reached a guard outpost to enjoy our picnic lunch of fresh baguette stuffed with rare roast beef (apologies to the Vegetarian readers). A cork popped and a more than palatable French red wine did the rounds as well – if I’m not mistaken a second cork popped not too long after the first one. We were on holiday after all.
Fed and happy I dangled my legs over the edge of the wall, and with the sun on my back the famous Chinese proverb “the journey is the reward” came to mind. However, in this case the destination was just as great as the journey itself. For a while I pondered “journey” and “destination”. Just long enough for the potent combination of wine and sun to work its magic on my foggy memory bank. Nah…too much thinking. I picked up my glass of red and sighed. Thrilled about being able to bask in the present.
Fully Content.
