It’s finally here!

Just over a year since I made the commitment to go to the Great Wall of China to raise funds for Strathcarron Hospice and the day has finally arrived! It’s a long day though….in typical style, I woke at 5am and didn’t go back to sleep so that’s me until I get on the plane for Beijing at 10.40pm.

Drive through to Edinburgh was uneventful fortunately, with a quick stop at the shop en route to record the answer machine message I forgot to do yesterday, and to collect the rest of the money donated from my lovely customers, so that Gordon can pay it in next week.

Feeling a bit nervous about what I may have forgotten, although I’ve been adding to the case pretty much every day so I’d like to think everything is there. Managed to squeeze an extra few pieces in the fab Kipling bag I picked up in Florida earlier in the year, so Pandora the monkey is now keeping me company😂

A quick flight to London Heathrow but nearly had just as long to wait for luggage to come😱 Lifts were crazy busy so decided that I may as well carry my case up the escalators instead…..that will be the very long escalator which wasn’t working. Used the underground to get from terminals 5 to 2 and caught up with the other Strathcarron members for a little drink before checking in with the guys from Global Adventure Challenges.

Four hours later and we were on our way. It was a relatively smooth flight but chaos ensued at the other end when we were met with a gigantic queue in the sweltering immigration hall. I think it may have been as much as 2 1/2 hours before all 38 of us were through and had collected our luggage.

You can imagine the state of us by the time we arrived at our hotel, after another 1 1/2 hours on a bus! Thankfully, food was on hand and it was an absolutely fabulous spread of chicken, beef, pork and vegetarian dishes….we hadn’t needed to be nervous about what we would be eating after all🤭