This past weekend a group of us took the bullet train to Beijing on Friday after our internships. It’s important to note that the bullet train was only 4.5 hours and is the 2nd fastest train in the world. Without the train, it would have been a 12.5-hour drive, I think the US should seriously consider adopting bullet trains. Think about it, the drive from New York to Savannah, Georgia is a little over 12 hours, but with a bullet train, it would only be four.

Upon arrival, we stayed in a super cute AirB’n’B that was in a Beijing apartment building, but still had the very traditional attributes of a traditional Chinese home with woven bamboo floors and a strict no shoe policy. We spent the following day traveling to the Great Wall of China, which was the experience of a lifetime for sure.

We booked a tour through Groupon, which included a bus ride to and from the great wall and a tour guide. They promised other things such as visiting the Olympic birds nest, but unfortunately, China has no tipping and no Yelp so there’s nobody to complain to besides each other.

After two hours on the bus, we arrived at the Great Wall and purchased Gondola tickets to bring us up to the wall. We also were greeted with predictable rain, in which the locals very happily sold us ponchos, mine turned out to be a children’s poncho, which is what I get for requesting the one purple one.

After riding the Goldala up in the rain, the wall was great. It soon stopped raining and we climbed and climbed up the stairs while being stopped every 2 minutes for a picture request by other Chinese tourists. Below are some pictures. They don’t tell you that the Wall is a workout, I think I’m still sore. It’s definitely not handicap accessible and lacks some necessary railing, but that’s part of the experience.