Before embarking on the final day of our trek, I was looking forward to a hearty breakfast, and the row of silver chafing dishes on the breakfast bar looked promising. Imagine my disappointment after each one revealed indescribable Chinese dishes! Then Phil told me that there was a fresh noodle station! The chef was making the dough from scratch and skilfully drawing it out into therads of noodles, which were then poached briefly by another chef.
The resulting noodle soup (with a generous spoonful of chilli paste) was gorgeaous - probably the best noodles I've ever tasted!
Ron seemed to find the chilli paste a bit of a challenge though!
So off we set up the Mutianyu section. This part is well reconstructed, but still very steep! Ron & Jason tried racing up the hill, but I think the chilli won!
I was feeling great after my breakfast, and did manage a few sprints of my own (much to the disgust of the Fun Bussers)!
Robbie decided to wear his kilt for the climb - but modesty prevented him from being a true Scot! (Thank goodness)
Although it was misty, you couldn't get away from the view of what was to come - the Stairway to Heaven beckoned in the distance.
The Fun Bus took their time as usual, and Jason did the honours with each of the 9 cameras - at which point, a friendly American who was waiting to pass said 'have you guys never heard of email?'. This prompted another round of photos. The Fun Bus doesn't like to be hurried!!!
The final leg (legs?) took us up the 500 steps of the Heavenly Staircase - nice way to finish!!
The Fun Bus finished as we had started - together, laughing, singing and making the most of every moment of this experience of a lifetime
The medals handed out at the top were a token, but the friendships will last forever
Rachel is the other person who suffers from vertigo - I don't think anyone else will ever know what we went through.
All 23 of us completed the whole trek - a first, apparently. Together we raised £160,000 for Springboard and I think we earned every penny! Thanks to everyone who supported us!!!
The Fun Bus have already arranged their first reunion, and who knows, we may tackle another challenge some time...
All that was left was to get back through the assault course of the market traders who lined the path back to the bus.
Jay bought a nice little silk number ......
....and Ron bought just about everything else!
I wonder how often they'll wear these back in the UK (if they get them through customs!!)???
That's the end of the trek folks - just a good night out to come. More on that in the final Blog!!!
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