*DAY ONE*
Well... This…Is…It. I am embarking on a life changing journey that involves Cancer - but this is the first I one that I have chosen! I have had family and many friends who have survived this disease, and three dear friends that I have lost. Cancer seems to be more and more a part of everyone's life. Why? - I want to scream as loud as I can.
Everyone taking part in the Great Walk to Beijing is on a personal mission - survivors, medics and others like me who have seen in close quarters this devastating illness.
Two flights from Melbourne I end up at the beautiful Ritz Carlton in Beijing.
After checking in and meeting a few of the team, we hear a famous Jamaican called AJ singing in the lobby...he is singing opera! It wasn't exactly what I was expecting to hear on my first visit to China....but it was "a yes from me" - this guy moves us with his vocal ability. I ask him if he will join us on the walk, come meet Olivia and sing for her too. Apparently the wheels are in motion for AJ to meet us on the wall - so before I have even made my first sponsored steps, I have recruited a random.
A welcome nights sleep in a bed that is like a cloud, then we are up early to depart Beijing - a city of 16 million people with smog thick enough it cuts the view of the sun.
Our first flight lands in Xian. We touch down briefly and re-board a flight to Jiayuguan. We are now in Western China in a desert city that seems positively deserted.
After two days of non-stop travel, I am over air transport and can't wait to get my walking boots on and
‘Get physical’!
Fact of the day: 'Eggplant' is what they say in Chinese when they take happy snaps - like we say "cheese"
Tip of the day: carry toilet paper - you will never find that in the public toilets
Weigh In: 48.5kilos
*DAY TWO*
First day of walking and I am faced with a vertiginous climb. Wow! Have I done my training for this – sure!!!! I wore in my trekking boots by putting them on while I typed some emails at home the night before I left Melbourne, and pre trekking boot purchase, I did a few climbs 2 weeks ago in Los Angeles – yup…..I’m nervous!
This is the mountainous part of the Great Wall, where it sits between the Black Mountains and the Qilian snow capped mountains. It is a few kilometers up to the highest Northern viewing point then a 9km descent to the Jiayuguan Pass.
As you can see we are amazed to be here and stop to capture it on loads of ‘happy snaps’ – or breathing stops! The air is very thin and the altitude is making my heart best like a caged Tyrannosaurus.
Trust me…..walking down does just as much damage on your muscles as going up. I had calf muscles that felt like rocks by the end of this descent.
Ajay (host of The Biggest Loser in Australia) and I are comparing our ‘weigh ins’ for the day – everyone is expecting to lose weight on this trip, but as a late comer to the event, I’m told that none of the others have so far; even with the long days of climbing, and unusual meals that are sometimes not at all appetizing.
I meet Adam Sutton who is the most charming guy, and described to me as our
‘Real Gay Cowboy’. I tell him, it doesn’t get any gayer than taking a stroll with Olivia and me… singing Xanadu!
Walking through the fortress we stop for some arrow shooting – I split when I saw Johanna Griggs giving Kieren Perkins advice, as she was laughing out the side of her mouth, as I was standing right behind them!
I am amazed at the amount of time Olivia manages to spend with all of sponsored walkers – she absolutely loves to see we are all okay and loves to catch up on giggles and heart felt moments. She is always there with the biggest hug.
As we are in the desert, any form of vanity has gone out the window – dust masks are needed for long treks across the desert plains – on returning to the hotel, I can report that we are covered in it, and I confess to finding dust in places you don’t want it! The water that we shower in has a brown colour, and so getting clean is done as quickly as possible.
Roadside shopping!
Aside from the stuffed Camel dolls, your guess is as good as mine on the other stuff!
A bunch of us hire some Ghengis Khan costumes and have a play around – it’s amazing how silly we were getting – I will blame it on the heat and exhaustion!
Just as we are leaving the fortress I find some Camels for hire and figure it would be rude not to take one for a spin!
This is our on-the-road toilet being set up. We nickname it, “The Throne”. It is by far the cleanest and nicest toilet we come across outside our hotels!
Fact of the day: 8 is a lucky number
Tip of the day: do not drink any tap water and shut your mouth when you shower!
Weigh in: 47.2 kilos
Pedometer says we have done 16.05 kms today!!!!!
Having dodged Donkey, Lamb and something that looked like Chicken-ish, at our Mongolian Feast last night – I take my vegetarian taste buds to the buffet in the hotel and knock back some red wines with the gang. My feet are now in my Ugg boots and I’m feeling fine!
*DAY THREE*
Weigh In: 46.5 (I know! How does one lose weight that quickly!)
Today we trek through the Gobi Desert. The sun is hot and a cold wind whips at us from one side. Sunscreen is a must, as the rays sneak on to our skin without us feeling them; the wind has a way of gently numbing any exposed areas.
Report of the Day: The Great Wall is not so great! Well at least not this stretch, which had fallen down in many sections, and in others looked like a sand dune.
I manage to climb to the top and walk like I used to as a kid along the top of a wall. I could see for miles. I felt happy and on top of the world.
There is no other way to describe today, but a long trek through the desert. The sand is as fine as dust so most walkers wear surgical masks to stop inhaling and swallowing it. We looked like a trek group that is in fancy dress. Theme: Nurses!
Half way through the 12kms, a train track runs over the wall. It looks strong and shiny new. We check the line is free of oncoming trains and a few of us proceed to do a photo shoot lying on the track. It is just so tempting to lie across the tracks - like a kind of Vertigo. So stupid, but you just can't help yourself!
I show Olivia my Aussie Flag and we take it for a run. The surroundings are so barren and without colour, that the flag is a feast to our eyes.
Even though Olivia is sick with the flu, she takes every step with us. This wonderful lady has the strongest will power and I see her fight on, even when she is struggling. We see just three signs of native life the whole way. A small lizard that we play with as we are so amused that anything is able to survive out here; a small animal skull, and a dead snake! This place is tough!
I have a long chat with Scott, one of our Cancer survivors. He is always at the front of the pack, so we walk and talk. A firefighter who had two brushes with Cancer. One so strong he was administered 'fatal doses' of Chemo. He recounts his story of telling the doctors to do whatever they had to, as he had a wife and kids to look after - and he wasn't ready to go just yet! I ask if he misses his family. This big strong man made of muscle and a steel determination bursts in to tears. All I can do is hug him. "This is my first trip outside of Australia", he says, "I miss my family. My wife has been my rock and my kids gave me a reason to survive". I find out later that day when I speak to his lovely wife on the phone that she had lost her father and brother to Cancer prior to Scott's Cancer. My heart sinks.
With sore legs, I hobble to bed, as another big day lies ahead of us ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz Good Night .
‘Life is not how you survive the storm, but how you dance in the rain’.
*DAY FOUR*
Weigh in: 46.5
We start the day with a 5 hour bus journey to Dun Huang City. Our bus stops in a lay way to set up toilet. We step out of the bus, the sun is blazing down heat, and my feet are a metre away from a trail of human feaces! It is explained to us by our local guide that this is normal in China. The side of the road is an open toilet. Men use the left of the highway, and women use the right. Right! Believe me, this is where you DO NOT want a photo inserted!!!!!
Note to self: remember you have packed your sense of humour!
We arrived in Dun Huang and I am happy to see some colour and greenery. Our eyes have been starved of colour, and it feels as though we have just stepped from an old Hollywood black and white Western film in to a 3-D Bollywood film. There is a fanfare for our arrival - pretty young dancers with full performance make up, all dressed in spangly bright Pink and Yellow costumes.
We are served a Chinese feast for lunch. The tables are covered in plates heaving with steaming food. I eat one unidentified dish...I must be getting brave. It is like blocks of clear jelly. I am told after it has pork rind in it. For a Vegetarian of 23 years I should be close to vomiting, but I couldn't taste or smell it, so I decide it was just a noodle.
We have a gentle stroll today, an excursion to the Mogao Grottoes. These are hand dug caves in the side of a mountain with sand dunes in the distant that look so perfect my mind tells me they must be a painted backdrop at the London Opera. We visit three of the larger caves - all with Buddha paintings and statues. I am sad to say there were no photos allowed inside, as it is one of the most breath taking sites I have ever seen.
When we step inside, it is dark and freezing cold (Ancient Air Con!). We stand at the feet of one Buddha, 113 feet high. The surrounding walls and ceilings are decorated with thousands of intricate individual drawings of Buddha that pattern around like tiles. This has been a place of contemplation for centuries. Buddhist Monks used to live here and famous artists made these Deities to inspire and span 10 Dynasties, last through wars and even a few earthquakes. I feel small, humbled and while processing why I am here, the word 'acceptance' repeats in my head.
On returning to the hotel I am moved by what I have seen and tears of sadness stream down my face, for the ones I have lost to Cancer. Three friends - one was my best friend. We were sitting around chatting one day when she noticed she felt a pain, like a Kidney infection. The following day she was taken to hospital. I sat by her side for the next three months, watching the devastation of Cancer take over. I will never forget the horrific diagnosis that she was not going to survive. My friend was just 36, and never to leave that hospital. In the most serene organised way, she planned her funeral and gave family and friends specific details to take care of. All I could do was rub her feet and look into her eyes and try to be brave. Six months after her passing I find myself with all her loved ones on a beach to scatter her ashes into the sea, as requested. There is nothing that can take your breath away more than holding ashes of your dear young lost friend in your hand, and un-curling finger by finger until they float away in the tide. I was numb all over.
This was just over a year ago - and I am now here, in Central China, crying and trying to 'accept' this personal devastation. Most of the walkers on this trip have no idea what I had been through, and suspect I am walking due to the experience of my sister's breast cancer. I wish that was the only reason. With one friend surviving Leukaemia, four surviving cancer, three friends lost to cancer and two currently being treated for cancer, the numbers are staggering.
Please please please help me raise money to find a cure for this illness that is plaguing our lives. I don't want to live with it, and I don't want to fight it - just find a cure and move forward to a time when it will no longer be a part of our world.
With love that stretches farther than the Great Wall is long. Thanks for taking this journey with me
Love and Kisses Dannii x
www.danniiminogue.com
www.myspace.com/danniiminogue
PS: Many thanks to everyone who has already sponsored me.
“I love the desert. I want to feel the space and openness and see the Great Wall for the first time.
I got to know one of the walkers today, Scott Morrison, who told me about his cancer treatment at the Austin Hospital and the absolute need for this new centre. He was in an isolation room when he was having his treatment, but still needed to go down the hall to use communal toilets.
But it’s much more than just better facilities. Apart from the much-needed research, I believe that wellness programs should be available to everyone going through cancer – to make it accessible to all. Not everyone would have the opportunity, like my sister Kylie, to seek out wellness therapies on top of their medical treatment. We need to make this accessible to everyone.
