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www.groovekorea.com / December 2014 78 DESTINATIONS Edited by Shelley DeWees (shelley@groovekorea.com) R eflecting upon my experience, I may have been less prepared to climb the Great Wall of China than I’d been for any hike ever: I had no jacket in the event of rain or chills, no map or GPS to show where I was or where I intended to go, no phone to request assistance if I needed it and absolutely zero ability to communicate with the local Chinese. I didn’t even know how to correctly pronounce my destination, so whenever I shouted “Mutiniyo,” as opposed to “Mutianyu,” while pointing along the Wall stretching off to the (assumed) east, I was met only with Chinese stares of bewil- derment. But on the bright side, I had a single cucumber and a tomato kindly given to me by my driver, so I would at least be free from hunger. Great Wall gaffe Misspoken words lead to an unexpectedly perfect day Story by George Kalli / Photos by Kevin Poh and Matt Barber