The Illusive Great Wall...

The cable car station to the Wall.

The Great Wall of China... One of the most famous architectural feats in the world. It spans some 6,000 km across China and was built to keep the Mongols out of China. Allegedly the only man made structure visible from space, even though in my scooby dubious opinion I sincerely doubt it, as the day we (finally) got there, we could barely see it with all the fog! Nevertheless, it was top of the list of things Sharon, Rob and I wanted to see on our two week break in China.

In the cable car on
the way to the top!
Misty!

There are a few options of travelling to the Great Wall including private tour groups, trains or by private car. We decided to get the subway as far as Xizhimen and link up with the train service there to Badaling. The train from Xizhimen to Badaling costs a tiny fee of 6 Chinese Yuan (about 73 cent) and runs every hour or two.  The journey takes about one and half hours. However, by the time we got there, all the train tickets were sold out and we were told we could not purchase any for the next day. You can only buy the tickets on the day of departure. It was ok though, we agreed that we would come back the next day at 8am to buy tickets and go see the wall then. So the day before we were due to fly home, we got up early, got the subway to  Xizhemen and arrived at the ticket office at 8am only to be told that all the tickets had sold out for the trains up until 1pm. Completely crestfallen and in no mood to wait on a train until 1pm that would more than likely be full, we sat down and weighed up our options. There were a number of ticket touts outside the train station selling trips to the Great Wall and we were considering going with them. It was our last day and last chance to go to the illusive Great Wall and we were desperate so we decided to take a chance and go bargain a price for the trip up.

Sharon on the Great Wall with
the cable cars in the background.

Through a combination of some wonderful signing, walking away apparently appalled and unscrupulous playing off of the touts, we finally negotiated a price extortionate to many natives. We jumped in a very well kept car with a driver, to begin our journey to the wall. We were very excited to be finally on our way singing "Ba da ling, ba da da.." (Incidentally, does anyone know the proper words to that dance song?) However, to cut a very long story short, the driver had other intentions. He tried to get us to pay more than we'd previously agreed as his car was 'a lovely car'. This highly subjective view did not entice us to pay the extra money so what ensued was a ridiculous argument (translated by a friend on his phone! I felt like Bam Ki Moon!) and him threatening to throw us out on the side of the motorway! After about twenty minutes of arguing, the guys and I decided we would just give in and pay the money (He wanted the whole sum upfront before we went any further). We told him, through the translator, that we wanted all of his ID if we were going to pay the full fare. He agreed to this and we were on our way again. The rest of the journey was in silence apart from a sporadic whispered debate as to whether or not we should throw the ID off the Great Wall. Don't worry we didn't!

Descending the Wall.. Steep enough like!

After that less than pleasant experience in the car, we finally arrived at the Badaling section of the Wall. We paid about €14 for our entrance fee to the Wall along with a return cable car ride to the top. There are number of sections of the Great Wall you can visit including Mutianyu, Jiankou and Badaling. We chose to go to Badaling, the part of the wall that is best preserved. Unfortunately, this meant that it was full of tourists, long lines and crass gift shops. It was a very misty day as we got the cable car to the top of the wall. I would imagine that on a clear day the views would be spectacular! 

Check out the crowd behind me!

The cable car glided through the mist at an impressive speed over the valley and before long we could see the outline of the Great Wall. The Great Wall itself was a very steep climb! There were hundreds of people walking up to the top where there was a watch tower. If you're claustrophobic or afraid of heights, this definitely would not be the place for you! There were mad crowds of people and even stopping to take a photo was difficult with the sheer volume of tourists everywhere. The view from the top was disappointing due to the mist but at least we could say that we finally made it to The Great Wall of China. 

Selfie of Rob, Sharon and I
 coming down off the Wall.

When we got back to the car our friend was waiting, thankfully so we returned his ID and began our way back to Beijing. So if there is one thing that I learned from the whole Great Wall experience it is this... Sometimes, it is best to go on an organised tour or else you could regrettably end up out of pocket and disappointed like the three of us. But in fairness, it isn't a backpacking tale unless you've been done out of a few euro at least once!

Agoda versus Booking

So on my recent trek around China with Rob and Sharon, we met with a number of challenges when organising accommodation in the different areas we visited.  I have both booking.com and agoda.com downloaded to my Iphone for hotel/hostel booking on the go. So here is my opinion on the pros and cons of using these websites.

Agoda

• Agoda has a great app for smartphones and the website is very user friendly.
• Agoda offers travellers pictures, descriptions and reviews of hotels which gives a frank and honest account of each place.
• You pay for the accommodation straight away.
• They have a good refund policy if the accommodation is not what the website described. We stayed in a place in Beijing that said it had three beds per room. On arriving we discovered the room was tiny and with three beds in the room there would not have been enough room for even one suitcase!!! On calling Agoda, the lady on the helpline was bilingual and could speak both English to me and Chinese to the hotel receptionist.
• Writing reviews for Agoda accommodation allows you to build up points to use to avail of offers for hotels/ hostels.
• An email is sent to you with confirmation of your booking. 
• You can print this or present your phone to the accommodation as proof of booking.

Booking.com

• Booking.com also have a very accessible website and a great smartphone app.
• Booking.com also gives an account of the various accomodation options. 
• Your credit card merely reserves the booking. If you cancel less than two days before the price of the first night is charged to your card.
• You pay for the accommodation on arrival. This is a great option as if you don't like the accommodation then you don't have to stay and part with your money. Agoda on the oth1er hand you need to go through the rigmarole of getting a refund and at that the total amount is not refunded to you.
• The thing I liked most about Booking.com is that when they email you confirmation of your booking, they give you the hotel's address and phone number in English and in the local language. This was particularly handy in China where most people do not have English (and we certainly didn't have Chinese!).

Verdict?

I've used both websites for a number of different trips in different countries and both have their merits. With all the pros and cons weighed up, however, I would highly recommend booking.com for the simple fact that you don't pay until you get to your destination and that they provide the best details in their confirmation email. This, in a country like China, proved an invaluable asset!