Got up at half past five this morning and got on the train at 7 am – fifteen minutes before it was supposed to depart. It departed on the minute 7.15 which leaves me wondering why I was told it was too late to catch the train at 7.05 yesterday. Never mind…

I got a bad cold yesterday, so my nose has been either running or clogged up the whole day.

After six and a half hours on the train, I hitched a taxi for half an hour to Shenmu. From there I made a deal with a taxi driver to drive me to where I am now, only a few kilometres from the Great Wall. He laughed to his friends about the good price he had got from the way guo ren – foreigner. By the time we got here though the smile was not as wide. It took quite a long time, and the road was bumpy and curvy. And he still had the return trip to do in the dark.

I decided it was better to stay the night at a simple guesthouse and eat a good meal than to walk only half an hour before setting up the tent.

These daily reports are going to get shorter soon. It is so cold that my fingers may start dropping off while writing them in the tent…