As soon as we set off, about 8 locals aged between 7 and 70, started walking with us and followed us for hours trying to sell us water, coke, postcards, books and t-shirts. We huffed and puffed our way up the steps to each tower and scrambled down the other side and by the 10th tower we had finally shaken most of them off.
The skies were clear and views were magnificent, but hiking for 5 hours in 33ºC heat was pretty tough.
We stopped at the 15th tower and sat in the shade to eat our packed lunch and drink our 3rd litre of water. The second half was much easier, with less steep climbs and far longer descents.
When we reached the Simatai end, there were two options for getting down to the valley floor – a 1.5 K walk or the ‘Flying Fox’ a death-slide over the reservoir. Unable to face any more walking we all opted for the death-slide and paid our 35 yuan (and tried not to look at the rusty pulley contraption above us). We were strapped into climbing harnesses by an ancient Chinese lady (who assured us that she had done the Flying Fox herself several times) and then pushed off the platform!
At the bottom, we piled onto a tiny boat that took us back to the shore – complete with smoking captain – right over the gas tank!
The journey back was pretty hairy since the driver seemed to ignore the fact that he was in a 15-seater van and take corners and ditches at 80kph. We were so knackered, nobody really minded – that is, until all his wheels left the ground and we landed with a crash that woke us all up! Got back to Beijing and gave him a big tip for not killing us despite repeated attempts.
