Pensive

I was in Beijing attending an office Meeting from 11th to 15th July. On the last day we had a social event, and the challenge was to climb the Great wall. I was there 3 years ago during my company review meeting & knew what to expect. I was mentally prepared but not physically for the climb, as I had missed many of the walks I usually do in the evenings. last time I was here time was limited & could go past 3 stages, but this time I had more time to go further As we (a group of 24 people) left in the Bus from the hotel at 7 am, it was cloudy and drizzling intermittently. Soon we were out of the city limits and took the expressway G45 towards the Great Wall at  Jinshan . This we were informed by the tour guide , would not be crowded by international tourists as its far from the city & would take us close to 2 hours. This part of the great wall was built during the Ming dynasty.  The bus passed through fields for 45 min and, soon entered the hills. I was in awe of the e