Hin's 1st C.O.U.N.T. 1,000,000 steps (Sep 7th – 29th, 2009)

4. Huang He cleansing.

Thean Hin Ooi <ooithin@gmail.com>   Sep 30, 2009 at 12:10 PM

Dear folks,
   

Sorry for the typos - it's difficult to see and make out the worn out keyboard in a dark, smoky internet room.
   
My wife and daughter say I'm a "crazy walking" man and there is not much to argue about it, - it's the Duracell....it keeps on and on and on...
   

29/09/09 ("yee kou, teng kou, teng kou") - enough is enough. Yes, I did complete my trip after 20 days of walking (with 3 days rest in between), covering 593.2KM in 1,071,254 (total 1,137,982) steps. Averaging about 29.6KM/day with a stride of 55.4cm/step - not bad for an old guy huh?
   
The last day turned out to be the toughest, up and down the mountains, with the wall falling up to 100 ft into canyons. Did the customary "cleansing" of the feet/hands/head at the Yellow River.
   
The Zhongwei track was a bit of a bother. Had planned to walk till 7:30pm but by 7:00pm it became obvious that darkness was to befall. Had to stop (short of 2.5KM to the end of Zhongwei track) and quickly scramble to find a main road. It was total darkness by 7:20pm and was still on the GWC, could only make out shadows of trees. Had to put on my emergency headlight and tried to find a way thru. Went over a fence, and suddenly heard voices of children and started heading towards that direction. Went round the trees, which were blocked by twigs and thorns and eventually found a path. Had to scramble thru a few more hedges and eventually ended up in the tomatoes field and made my way to the nearest house.
   

The young girl tried to tell me the name of the place but couldn't make out exactly where it was, neither could my guide over the phone. Pointed towards the main highway and started to walk in the dark and took another 45 minutes or so before I found the toll gate where the guide was waiting. My good fortune that I didn't have to sleep on the GWC. What a harrowing experience.
   
The Wuwei track was very interesting with the wall, like the back of the great dragon twisting thru the mountains and valleys for miles into the horizon, and just like Shandan running up to elevation of 7,819ft. On the 5th day of the Wuwei track, I was left stranded on the wall up in the mountains - my guide's jeep was stuck in a ditch and the poor guy had to spend the night in his car. My good fortune was that a young man from the nearby village was kind enough to offer me dinner and bed for the night. What great luck.
   

At the start, some friends had predicted impending dangers which I can now dispel:-
1. robbery - none, only happy villagers, herdsmen, farmers, camels, donkeys, sheep, etc.
2. tigers - nowhere to be seen, even the "white" ones. I guess both varieties only make their appearance at night?
3. H1N1 - not many from the outside had the opportunity to bring it to this remote area
4. ghost - plenty of graves along the wall, probably happily RIP, and like the tigers would prefer the cover of darkness.
   
On the contrary, I have only met "angels" along the way, like:-
 - the ever smiling and helpful shepherds
 - the grinning shop keeper who offered a free apple
 - the concerned farmer who advised against continuing my walk in the late evening and pointed me towards the nearest village (so I'm not left stranded on the wall)
- the concerned villager who put me on a bus to Wuwei city instead of walking another 10KM to the highway
- the concerned city girl who ensured that I got down at the right stop and waited with me until picked up by the guide.

- the orchard family who offered tea and the juiciest apple from their farm
- the playing children whose laughter guided me out of the darkness
- the young man who offered his humble dwellings with dinner for the night and of course, the biggest angles must be:-

- my new found Great Wall Forum friend from Germany, who created the tracks, bought a Garmin GPS tracker, loaded it and DHL'ed to me.
- my Chinese guide/author who is dependable, resourceful, knowledgeable and professional
- my traveling companion for 15 days (he only walked the 1st 7.5KM with me on the 1st day but stayed on to sight see).
   

My trip would not have been successful but for the "angles" above. Look around you, they are everywhere if only we are open and accepting.
   

I thought I knew enough "pu tong hua" to get along and was surprised that I could not understand many villagers, as each area speaks variants of their dialects. But you know, a toothless grin, a sweet smile, was all it takes to restore my faith in humanity.
   

The smile at one time, put me in a quandary. While waiting for my guide's pickup, struck up a conversation with a shopkeeper and before long, many curious villagers gathered. One lady invited me for dinner and suggested that I have a "ku niang" to accompany me on my walk. I had to gracefully turn down the offer, retorting that I already have 2 at home - one gold and one jade.
   
Well, the trip has ended but the journey begins. 2 days ago, I met a 60-year old Welsh lady riding her horses from Beijing to London for the next 4 years. I also met a sprightly 71-year old who could walk faster than me - that must offer us all hope that it's never too late to do what you want to do - just do it.
   

It's with great pleasure to note that some good friends have make pledges to donate, and to those yet to respond, my humble apology for the "enforced" audience.
   
I shall sign off for this mission, and please join me:
   
C.O.U.N.T our blessings

C.O.U.N.T one million steps.
   

Take care, all the very best, God blessed.
   
See ya.
Hin.

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