8/19/07
8/1/07
Entry #6
We've been in Vietnam just over a week now. At first glance, it doesn't appear drastically different from China. Given a few days, we've noticed we're in a very different country. We arrived in Hanoi on a sunny afternoon with bright blue sky. By the time we'd retrieved our bags, gone through customs, and exchanged our Hong Kong dollars for Vietnamese Dong, and found a minibus from the airport to Hanoi's Old Quarter, the skies had completely opened up. By the time our bus dropped us near the hotel, 45 minutes later, it had stopped raining, but the streets were full of water.
On our first full day in Hanoi, we bussed it to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology where we saw exhibits of Vietnamese art and everyday objects, Vietnam's cultural diversity, and an exhibition on life in Hanoi under the Vietnamese Subsidy Economy from 1975-1986, which was particularly interesting. Later that evening, we took in a performance of traditional Vietnamese water puppetry (roi huoc), which was developed in Northern Vietnam over 1000 years ago by rice farmers.
Early the next morning, we began our series of tours. Unlike China, we have found traveling on our own more challenging in Vietnam. Tours are easy to join and are often cheaper than making the trip on our own. On our arrival in Hanoi, we booked two tours straight away.
A trip to Halong Bay was our first tour. Ha long means 'where the dragon descends into the sea,' and the Bay contains more than 3000 islands rising from the Gulf of Tonkin. The islands are made of karst, and are very similar to the rock formations we saw in Guilin and Yangshuo, but rising out of the ocean rather than a river valley. According to my Lonely Planet, Halong Bay is another UNESCO World Heritage Site, but according to some travellers we've met, it is in danger of losing this title because of the amount of pollution tourism contributes to the waters of the Bay. Irrespective of its status as a World Heritage Site, Halong Bay is beautiful.
Our tour included one night aboard a 'junk' on the water, one night in a hotel on Cat Ba island, some kayaking, meals, and transportation. Admittedly, it was nice to not have to worry about finding hotels or restaurants, and to have everything taken care of for us for a few days. It seemed like hundreds of nearly identical tours were coming and going from the port at Halong City daily. The weather was gorgeous: sunny and very hot. We climbed through a cave (kind of corny with the colored lights illuminating the stalactites and stalagmites), swam in the tepid water off the junk, and ate fresh seafood the first day. On day 2, we climbed a mountain on Cat Ba island (half of which is a national park) and sea kayaked in the Bay. We took a boat and bus back to Hanoi after a night on Cat Ba island, and boarded our overnight train to Lao Cai that evening to start our second tour - to Sapa to do some trekking through the villages of local Hill Tribes.
Although our travel agent had booked a soft sleeper to Lao Cai for us, the train car we were assigned to was actually a hard sleeper. Far different from a Chinese hard sleeper, our car resembled a cage. Mesh-covered windows open to the outside and a metal fan provided our 'air conditioning.' A swipe of the hand over our berths removed a layer of gray grime. There must have been a shortage of soft sleepers available, because every traveler in our car seemed horrified by the conditions, complaining that they had paid for air conditioning. Jen and I opted for humor, knowing that we'd survive to tell the story.
Sapa was a nice retreat from the heat of Hanoi and Halong Bay. Sapa town is a French Hill Station built in 1922. It's nestled in Hanoi's highest mountains, the Hoang Lien Mountain range, and is home to a number of Hill Tribes. We were supposed to begin our trek the morning of our arrival, but the rain postponed our departure by one day. It was nice to have the first day to rest up and clean up after our sleepless train ride, however.
We began our trek from the hotel the next morning with 6 other travelers, our guide, and a whole gang of girls from the Black H'mong tribe who would accompany us along the path to their village in hopes of selling us their goods upon arrival. They were adorable, very chatty, and the friendliest Vietnamese people we've met. Their questions didn't vary much beyond "What's your name?," "How old are you?," "How many brothers and sisters?," but their English skills - picked up almost entirely from tourists - were remarkable. As the trail got muddier, more slippery, and steeper, they'd offer their hands and help the tourists navigate the tricky slopes. These kids, some as young as 4 and 6, never have any trouble walking through the slippery mud. We had lunch at the first village, but not before the incessant question popped up: "You buy from me?" Making a promise to buy only from the two that helped me - Lha, 19 and with Ham, her first baby, strapped to her back, and Sea, 12 - I got off fairly easily, spending only 80,000 dong total on a bracelet and earrings. Most of the tourists in our group ended up spending 300,000 dong or more. Although that seems like a lot, Vietnam will make you an instant millionaire: one US dollar will buy just over 16,000 VND.
We arrived at our homestay not long after lunch and were able to take off our mud-soaked shoes. We were almost immediately approached by more women selling more goods: bracelets, earrings, belts, bags, pillow cases, sheets. I found myself buying some traditional pants off an old woman of the Red Dzay minority. A steal at just over $10, I didn't get the impression that tourists are often interested in them. My pants were pretty well coated in mud, however, and I hadn't brought anything else.
We spent a nice evening chatting with our tour guide and other travellers and slept in the loft of our hosts house on foam mattresses with delightfully thick blankets and mosquito nets. The morning was spectacular: clear, blue sky and the sweet singsong voices "You buy from me?" starting just after breakfast. Also just after breakfast: the downpour. Our group opted for a shortcut to the main road. Once there, we still hiked to a beautiful waterfall, through a small village full of children and water buffalo. We passed a few hours playing cards with an Australian couple at our lunch spot before heading back to Sapa for showers and dinner. We caught our bus back to Lao Cai and were pleasantly surprised to have a soft sleeper with which to compare our previous hard sleeper.
Back in Hanoi, we await an overnight bus to take us down Vietnam's coastline to Hue, where we'll spend one night. Here's hoping that the overnight bus in Vietnam is better than the one in China!
On our first full day in Hanoi, we bussed it to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology where we saw exhibits of Vietnamese art and everyday objects, Vietnam's cultural diversity, and an exhibition on life in Hanoi under the Vietnamese Subsidy Economy from 1975-1986, which was particularly interesting. Later that evening, we took in a performance of traditional Vietnamese water puppetry (roi huoc), which was developed in Northern Vietnam over 1000 years ago by rice farmers.
Early the next morning, we began our series of tours. Unlike China, we have found traveling on our own more challenging in Vietnam. Tours are easy to join and are often cheaper than making the trip on our own. On our arrival in Hanoi, we booked two tours straight away.
A trip to Halong Bay was our first tour. Ha long means 'where the dragon descends into the sea,' and the Bay contains more than 3000 islands rising from the Gulf of Tonkin. The islands are made of karst, and are very similar to the rock formations we saw in Guilin and Yangshuo, but rising out of the ocean rather than a river valley. According to my Lonely Planet, Halong Bay is another UNESCO World Heritage Site, but according to some travellers we've met, it is in danger of losing this title because of the amount of pollution tourism contributes to the waters of the Bay. Irrespective of its status as a World Heritage Site, Halong Bay is beautiful.
Our tour included one night aboard a 'junk' on the water, one night in a hotel on Cat Ba island, some kayaking, meals, and transportation. Admittedly, it was nice to not have to worry about finding hotels or restaurants, and to have everything taken care of for us for a few days. It seemed like hundreds of nearly identical tours were coming and going from the port at Halong City daily. The weather was gorgeous: sunny and very hot. We climbed through a cave (kind of corny with the colored lights illuminating the stalactites and stalagmites), swam in the tepid water off the junk, and ate fresh seafood the first day. On day 2, we climbed a mountain on Cat Ba island (half of which is a national park) and sea kayaked in the Bay. We took a boat and bus back to Hanoi after a night on Cat Ba island, and boarded our overnight train to Lao Cai that evening to start our second tour - to Sapa to do some trekking through the villages of local Hill Tribes.
Although our travel agent had booked a soft sleeper to Lao Cai for us, the train car we were assigned to was actually a hard sleeper. Far different from a Chinese hard sleeper, our car resembled a cage. Mesh-covered windows open to the outside and a metal fan provided our 'air conditioning.' A swipe of the hand over our berths removed a layer of gray grime. There must have been a shortage of soft sleepers available, because every traveler in our car seemed horrified by the conditions, complaining that they had paid for air conditioning. Jen and I opted for humor, knowing that we'd survive to tell the story.
Sapa was a nice retreat from the heat of Hanoi and Halong Bay. Sapa town is a French Hill Station built in 1922. It's nestled in Hanoi's highest mountains, the Hoang Lien Mountain range, and is home to a number of Hill Tribes. We were supposed to begin our trek the morning of our arrival, but the rain postponed our departure by one day. It was nice to have the first day to rest up and clean up after our sleepless train ride, however.
We began our trek from the hotel the next morning with 6 other travelers, our guide, and a whole gang of girls from the Black H'mong tribe who would accompany us along the path to their village in hopes of selling us their goods upon arrival. They were adorable, very chatty, and the friendliest Vietnamese people we've met. Their questions didn't vary much beyond "What's your name?," "How old are you?," "How many brothers and sisters?," but their English skills - picked up almost entirely from tourists - were remarkable. As the trail got muddier, more slippery, and steeper, they'd offer their hands and help the tourists navigate the tricky slopes. These kids, some as young as 4 and 6, never have any trouble walking through the slippery mud. We had lunch at the first village, but not before the incessant question popped up: "You buy from me?" Making a promise to buy only from the two that helped me - Lha, 19 and with Ham, her first baby, strapped to her back, and Sea, 12 - I got off fairly easily, spending only 80,000 dong total on a bracelet and earrings. Most of the tourists in our group ended up spending 300,000 dong or more. Although that seems like a lot, Vietnam will make you an instant millionaire: one US dollar will buy just over 16,000 VND.
We arrived at our homestay not long after lunch and were able to take off our mud-soaked shoes. We were almost immediately approached by more women selling more goods: bracelets, earrings, belts, bags, pillow cases, sheets. I found myself buying some traditional pants off an old woman of the Red Dzay minority. A steal at just over $10, I didn't get the impression that tourists are often interested in them. My pants were pretty well coated in mud, however, and I hadn't brought anything else.
We spent a nice evening chatting with our tour guide and other travellers and slept in the loft of our hosts house on foam mattresses with delightfully thick blankets and mosquito nets. The morning was spectacular: clear, blue sky and the sweet singsong voices "You buy from me?" starting just after breakfast. Also just after breakfast: the downpour. Our group opted for a shortcut to the main road. Once there, we still hiked to a beautiful waterfall, through a small village full of children and water buffalo. We passed a few hours playing cards with an Australian couple at our lunch spot before heading back to Sapa for showers and dinner. We caught our bus back to Lao Cai and were pleasantly surprised to have a soft sleeper with which to compare our previous hard sleeper.
Back in Hanoi, we await an overnight bus to take us down Vietnam's coastline to Hue, where we'll spend one night. Here's hoping that the overnight bus in Vietnam is better than the one in China!
7/31/07
Entry #5
After such a relaxing time in Yangshuo, it's notable that our overnight bus ride to Shenzhen was probably our most uncomfortable experience in all of China. It was only a 10-hour ride, leaving at 9 pm, which started out bad and got worse. After stowing our bags beneath the bus, we boarded removed our shoes, and saw the three rows of bunks in two levels down the length of a very long bus. We had lower level beds, which we expected to be better than the upper. The bunks were angled up at the back so that each person's feet were tucked in neatly behind the back of the person in front of them. A good setup, in theory. A bit cramped, we were able to settle in well enough. Just as the bus got moving, a chubby Chinese guy in his 20's grabbed my blanket to use as a pillow as he lay down in the narrow aisle between my cousin and me. On Jenny's left, a taller Chinese guy with three-quarter inch long fingernails on his left hand (just for fashion, we're told) settled in. Looking behind me down the long aisle, I could see it was packed to the gills, with people lined up in all the bunks and filling the aisles all the way to the back. At one point, about 30 minutes into the journey, we made a stop and the aisles seemed to empty out completely. Thinking they would be with us the whole way to Shenzhen, we were quite relieved when everyone left. Unfortunately, at another stop not 20 minutes later, they all reappeared from somewhere. Again, the chubby Chinese guy stole my blanket, and he also snatched the pillow right out from under the head of the woman in front of me. It was a sleepless night: he bossed Jennifer around, and tucked his arm into my berth. We eventually arrived in Shenzhen where Jen removed her backpack from under the bus to find that it had been sitting in water draining from boxes of lotus roots for about 9 hours.
We shared a cab with a British couple to the ferry terminal. The ferry to Kowloon in Hong Kong was short and uneventful, and after dim sum with the British couple, we made our way to the hotel to wait for my sister. Thankfully, the hotel allowed us to go into our room, even though the reservation was under Emily's name and she wouldn't be arriving for at least 6 hours. We took showers and naps and waited for her in the lobby.
Hong Kong was great. The city is remarkable in its differences from mainland China's big cities. Traffic laws are obeyed, spitting is forbidden, and bicycles are fewer and more far between. Being in a clean city in a nice hotel room (thanks Emily!) for a few days was a nice break from our hectic traveling schedule in China. We took a tram to the top of Hong Kong's peak, took a bus to see a monastery and giant Buddha, ate well, took a ferry to Macau (a small country of Portuguese influence), and were even able to talk with our family before catching our flight to Hanoi on July 24.
We shared a cab with a British couple to the ferry terminal. The ferry to Kowloon in Hong Kong was short and uneventful, and after dim sum with the British couple, we made our way to the hotel to wait for my sister. Thankfully, the hotel allowed us to go into our room, even though the reservation was under Emily's name and she wouldn't be arriving for at least 6 hours. We took showers and naps and waited for her in the lobby.
Hong Kong was great. The city is remarkable in its differences from mainland China's big cities. Traffic laws are obeyed, spitting is forbidden, and bicycles are fewer and more far between. Being in a clean city in a nice hotel room (thanks Emily!) for a few days was a nice break from our hectic traveling schedule in China. We took a tram to the top of Hong Kong's peak, took a bus to see a monastery and giant Buddha, ate well, took a ferry to Macau (a small country of Portuguese influence), and were even able to talk with our family before catching our flight to Hanoi on July 24.
7/24/07
Note #2
We think OSHA should pay a visit to China. The size and quantity of loogies on the streets, in addition to the floors of buses, bus and train stations, and restaurants has got to be hazardous to the health of the general population.
7/23/07
Entry #4
Guilin is a beautiful city on the Li River. The area is known for its karst topography. Karst is the eroded lanscape found in the limestone regions in Guanxi province. Despite its beauty and relatively relaxed feeling, Guilin was the most expensive city we visited in mainland China, and it also contained among the pushiest street vendors and most crooked cab drivers. Our first cabbie in Guilin offered to take us from the train station to our hostel for 20 yuan. When we asked him to use the meter, he offered to drive us for 15 yuan. When we demanded that he use the meter, he got huffy but obliged. Our cab ride to the hostel was less than 10 yuan.
We spent day exploring the city and sampling the local cuisine. Pijiu'yu ('beer fish'), is local Li River fish cooked with chilis, spring onion, tomato, ginger, and beer, and is delicious. One day in Guilin was plenty, so we headed the next morning for Longsheng. And so began a week of doing everything completely on the fly. Upon arriving in Longsheng, we were immediately swept onto a bus departing for Ping'an. Stopping to pick up additional passengers and goods along the way, we made it to Ping'an in relatively good time, despite having to switch buses midway when we encountered a road block. We walked around the road block and switched buses with a load of passengers headed the other direction. The ride was long and winding, as usual, but the scenery was spectacular, as always. When the bus dropped us off at the entrance to Ping'an and the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, we were approached by a sweet woman who invited us to stay with her and her family in their house. She told us they have travelers stay with them all the time. We agreed to take a look at the room, and followed her up the steep stairs through her village to her house. The house, in many ways, seemed more like a hotel, but our room was beautiful with windows on two sides overlooking the rices terraces. We had some lunch in their small restaurant out on the deck. We went for the rice noodles, instead of the menu's other offerings: 'braised old pumpkin,' 'froot planet,' or 'locar coca' (coca cola).
After lunch, we hiked to the top of the rice terraces. The views were absolutely amazing. Stay tuned to this blog in August when we're actually able to upload photos! The land is cut in a very even, stair-stepped structure; an amazing feat of Chinese farm engineering. In July, the terraces were bright green and the sky was a perfect blue.
Anxious to move along, we didn't stay long in Ping'an. We did have a nice dinner that night, though, followed by hilarious converstaion with a 16 year old Chinese boy called 'Cake' and his 10+ member family. "Whaaaaaat?" he's ask in a high-pitched voice to his family when he didn't necessarily agree with the line of questioning he was expected to translate.
In the morning, we managed to hitch a ride all the way back to Guilin with some locals who were heading into the city on their monthly shopping trip. The ride took nearly half as long as our trip up, which made a stopover in Guilin a bit more relaxed. We headed to our previous hostel in search of Jen's sleeping sack that she'd mistakenly left behind. It was a fortuitous bit of backtracking because, after successful retrieval of her sleep sack, we were able to pass a couple of hours playing cards with the waitstaff at a local restaurant. Jenny asked them to teacher her to play Chinese cards, but it was too hard for us to understand, given that we could never quite determine what the Chinese characters on the cards meant. Next, we taught them to play hearts which was good fun. They caught on much more quickly than we had been able to.
We hopped on our 3pm bus to Yangshuo, about an hour and a half south of Guilin, hoping that finding lodging wouldn't be too much of a challenge. Sure enough, as we got off the bus, we were approached by a friendly hotel owner who convinced us to follow him to his "brand new hotel" not far away. Our room, which had A/C and its own bathroom was nice, and quite a bit cheaper than most of our hostel dorm rooms, so we agreed to stay for three nights. The owner's wife also helped us book our overnight bus tickets to Shenzhen (that is another story for another entry!) at the end of the week. After showers, we headed out to the night market for dinner. The night market was full of vegetables, not to mention live fish, ducks, chickens, frogs, shrimp, crawfish, eels writing around waiting to become someone's dinner. We also noticed "dog" on the menu, but overhead other backpackers say that dog had to be found before it could be cooked. Otherwise, you could point to just about anything and have it cooked to order.
Our favorite day in China was the next day. We rented bikes from our hotel and rode into the countryside. We hired a bamboo raft and floated down the Yulong River for the afternoon. Our bikes strapped in behind us, we lounged in wooden chairs as our guide pushed us through the shallow water and over some small waterfalls. After our hour and a half float, we pedalled on through the small villages and rice fields on our way back towards Yangshuo. It was an appropriately quiet and peaceful day, one that we'll always be glad we spent together.
* * *
Back in Yangshuo, we spent the next two days quietly, passing the time reading and writing in coffee shops, awaiting our sleeper bus to Shenzhen and seeing my sister in Hong Kong.
We spent day exploring the city and sampling the local cuisine. Pijiu'yu ('beer fish'), is local Li River fish cooked with chilis, spring onion, tomato, ginger, and beer, and is delicious. One day in Guilin was plenty, so we headed the next morning for Longsheng. And so began a week of doing everything completely on the fly. Upon arriving in Longsheng, we were immediately swept onto a bus departing for Ping'an. Stopping to pick up additional passengers and goods along the way, we made it to Ping'an in relatively good time, despite having to switch buses midway when we encountered a road block. We walked around the road block and switched buses with a load of passengers headed the other direction. The ride was long and winding, as usual, but the scenery was spectacular, as always. When the bus dropped us off at the entrance to Ping'an and the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, we were approached by a sweet woman who invited us to stay with her and her family in their house. She told us they have travelers stay with them all the time. We agreed to take a look at the room, and followed her up the steep stairs through her village to her house. The house, in many ways, seemed more like a hotel, but our room was beautiful with windows on two sides overlooking the rices terraces. We had some lunch in their small restaurant out on the deck. We went for the rice noodles, instead of the menu's other offerings: 'braised old pumpkin,' 'froot planet,' or 'locar coca' (coca cola).
After lunch, we hiked to the top of the rice terraces. The views were absolutely amazing. Stay tuned to this blog in August when we're actually able to upload photos! The land is cut in a very even, stair-stepped structure; an amazing feat of Chinese farm engineering. In July, the terraces were bright green and the sky was a perfect blue.
Anxious to move along, we didn't stay long in Ping'an. We did have a nice dinner that night, though, followed by hilarious converstaion with a 16 year old Chinese boy called 'Cake' and his 10+ member family. "Whaaaaaat?" he's ask in a high-pitched voice to his family when he didn't necessarily agree with the line of questioning he was expected to translate.
In the morning, we managed to hitch a ride all the way back to Guilin with some locals who were heading into the city on their monthly shopping trip. The ride took nearly half as long as our trip up, which made a stopover in Guilin a bit more relaxed. We headed to our previous hostel in search of Jen's sleeping sack that she'd mistakenly left behind. It was a fortuitous bit of backtracking because, after successful retrieval of her sleep sack, we were able to pass a couple of hours playing cards with the waitstaff at a local restaurant. Jenny asked them to teacher her to play Chinese cards, but it was too hard for us to understand, given that we could never quite determine what the Chinese characters on the cards meant. Next, we taught them to play hearts which was good fun. They caught on much more quickly than we had been able to.
We hopped on our 3pm bus to Yangshuo, about an hour and a half south of Guilin, hoping that finding lodging wouldn't be too much of a challenge. Sure enough, as we got off the bus, we were approached by a friendly hotel owner who convinced us to follow him to his "brand new hotel" not far away. Our room, which had A/C and its own bathroom was nice, and quite a bit cheaper than most of our hostel dorm rooms, so we agreed to stay for three nights. The owner's wife also helped us book our overnight bus tickets to Shenzhen (that is another story for another entry!) at the end of the week. After showers, we headed out to the night market for dinner. The night market was full of vegetables, not to mention live fish, ducks, chickens, frogs, shrimp, crawfish, eels writing around waiting to become someone's dinner. We also noticed "dog" on the menu, but overhead other backpackers say that dog had to be found before it could be cooked. Otherwise, you could point to just about anything and have it cooked to order.
Our favorite day in China was the next day. We rented bikes from our hotel and rode into the countryside. We hired a bamboo raft and floated down the Yulong River for the afternoon. Our bikes strapped in behind us, we lounged in wooden chairs as our guide pushed us through the shallow water and over some small waterfalls. After our hour and a half float, we pedalled on through the small villages and rice fields on our way back towards Yangshuo. It was an appropriately quiet and peaceful day, one that we'll always be glad we spent together.
* * *
Back in Yangshuo, we spent the next two days quietly, passing the time reading and writing in coffee shops, awaiting our sleeper bus to Shenzhen and seeing my sister in Hong Kong.
Note #1
Chinese children are toilet trained on the streets. Literally. Children under the age of two run around in crotchless pants, and diapers are practically unheard of.
7/18/07
Entry #3
After a quick stop back through Chengdu, we left again for Emei Shan (Mount Emei), elevation 3099 m, about 103 k southwest of Chengdu. This bus ride was only about 2 1/2 hours. Emei Shan is one of the Middle Kindgom's four famous Buddhist mountains, according to my Lonely Planet. Although, as typical in China, it was possible to take a bus most of the way to the top (The Golden Summit), I managed to convince my cousin that we should walk the entire way up, provided I carry the pack. A gorgeous walk, it was worth the effort. I hesitate to call it a hike because there was actually no trail. Rather, the entire route to the summit consists of a walkway of stones and cement blocks. The elevation gain on Emei Shan is more than 2500 meters, which means that the stone walkways contain lengthy sections of very steep steps. On the older sections of the walkway, the stairs are often taller than they are deep, making these sections especially steep. I tried to count the stairs on a few sections, and the often numbered at 500+. I lost track on the longest section I attempted to count (which was nowhere near the longest section we climbed) after 800 stairs when we encountered a group of macaques. The monkeys were in many places along the trail, and are known to steal food from tourists. We made sure to be empty handed as we walked, to avoid being accosted by the monkeys, but some people weren't so lucky, having bags of fruit torn apart. Feeding the monkeys isn't entirely forbidden, but they are fully aware of being shortchanged and will come after stingy tourists.
Given the steepness of the stairs, we were both taken with the workers rebuilding parts of the walkway. The amount of effort they put in to improve the walkway is astounding. They work to replace the unstable stones with more sturdy cement blocks, carrying two or more blocks or bags of sand on wooden shelves strapped to their backs with woven horse hair. Only one side of Emei Shan is accessible by bus, so they walk the stairs to get to the work site, stopping to be weighed (presumably, they are paid by how much they carry), and stopping to rest their load on a long T-shaped stick they carry and use as a walking stick. At one point oun our trip, we passed some workers leading five horses. Seeing the knobby knees of these animals buckle under the weight they were carrying as they descended the stairs was heartbreaking.
Emei Shan is also littered with souvenir, food, and snack stalls all along the path. A 16 oz bottle of water (shui) would cost 2 yuan in town, but on the mountain, it's 6. We brought along 4.5 L with us, but still had to buy a few bottles on the second day. In addition to all the shopping opportunities on the mountain, Emei Shan is also peppered with Monasteries which provide beds for weary hikers at night. We spent two nights on the mountain, the first at the Magic Peak Monastery after climbing for 11 hours that day. The Monastery was dark and musty, but the people, mostly droves of elderly women who make up the majority of the mountain's visitors, were quite warm and welcoming. On the second day, after 6 or 7 hours of walking, we reached the Golden Summit. The vistas from the top, as well as from the many pauses along the way, were sublime. The mountain was slowly swallowed in a sea of clouds as we gained elevation. At the Summit, the backside of the mountain drops off in a sheer cliff rising out of the clouds. On our third day, we woke early to see the sun rise out of the clouds. The overcast morning prevented the sunrise from exhibiting it's full glory, but it was a nice way to start the day. The sunrise on Emei Shan's Golden Summit is considered to be one of the mountain's four blessings.
Given that walking down thousands of steps is actually much more taxing on the body than walking up, we opted to walk just to the bus stop so we could catch an early bus back to Chengdu to pick up our belongings and head south. After running a few errands around Chengdu (including running to a local art/office supply store so I could buy Chinese rice paper), we were on our last overnight train in China: hard sleeper to Guilin in Guangxi Province in southeast China where we look forward to limestone peaks, rice terraces, and easy passage to Hong Kong on July 20.
Given the steepness of the stairs, we were both taken with the workers rebuilding parts of the walkway. The amount of effort they put in to improve the walkway is astounding. They work to replace the unstable stones with more sturdy cement blocks, carrying two or more blocks or bags of sand on wooden shelves strapped to their backs with woven horse hair. Only one side of Emei Shan is accessible by bus, so they walk the stairs to get to the work site, stopping to be weighed (presumably, they are paid by how much they carry), and stopping to rest their load on a long T-shaped stick they carry and use as a walking stick. At one point oun our trip, we passed some workers leading five horses. Seeing the knobby knees of these animals buckle under the weight they were carrying as they descended the stairs was heartbreaking.
Emei Shan is also littered with souvenir, food, and snack stalls all along the path. A 16 oz bottle of water (shui) would cost 2 yuan in town, but on the mountain, it's 6. We brought along 4.5 L with us, but still had to buy a few bottles on the second day. In addition to all the shopping opportunities on the mountain, Emei Shan is also peppered with Monasteries which provide beds for weary hikers at night. We spent two nights on the mountain, the first at the Magic Peak Monastery after climbing for 11 hours that day. The Monastery was dark and musty, but the people, mostly droves of elderly women who make up the majority of the mountain's visitors, were quite warm and welcoming. On the second day, after 6 or 7 hours of walking, we reached the Golden Summit. The vistas from the top, as well as from the many pauses along the way, were sublime. The mountain was slowly swallowed in a sea of clouds as we gained elevation. At the Summit, the backside of the mountain drops off in a sheer cliff rising out of the clouds. On our third day, we woke early to see the sun rise out of the clouds. The overcast morning prevented the sunrise from exhibiting it's full glory, but it was a nice way to start the day. The sunrise on Emei Shan's Golden Summit is considered to be one of the mountain's four blessings.
Given that walking down thousands of steps is actually much more taxing on the body than walking up, we opted to walk just to the bus stop so we could catch an early bus back to Chengdu to pick up our belongings and head south. After running a few errands around Chengdu (including running to a local art/office supply store so I could buy Chinese rice paper), we were on our last overnight train in China: hard sleeper to Guilin in Guangxi Province in southeast China where we look forward to limestone peaks, rice terraces, and easy passage to Hong Kong on July 20.
7/4/07
Entry #2
Leaving Chengdu on a bus destined for Jiuzhaigou, the skyscrapers and smog quickly gave way to mountain peaks shrouded in mist and steep, winding mountain roads. Surely the mountains should be visible from Chengdu, but the pollution makes any kind of view out of the question.
The bus ride (11 hours in total), was a bit of an adventure in itself. It seems that China has no traffic laws or, at the very least, no citizens who obey them. Passing lanes don't exist, and so drivers indicate their intention to pass, the fact that they're passing, and their satisfaction at having successfully passed another vehicle by using their horns with excrutiating frequency. Nevermind that there may or may not be oncoming traffic in the opposing lane. The insidious horn, combined with Chinese music videos, some sort of Chinese Idol television show, and really bad (read: not remotely funny, as none of the Chinese bus passengers were laughing) Chinese comedy at high volumes meant that we arrived in Jiuzhaigou with throbbing heads. On the other hand, we were well taken care of on the ride up by a Chinese woman across the bus aisle from me. She took it upon herself to make sure we were well-fed throughout the day. She had us try all kinds of Chinese confections, including coconut rice pies and puffed corn snack bars. She and her family also brought (and bought along the way) various dried frutis and other snacks. I managed to draw a picture explainging that I don't eat meat, so Jen was the only one who got to try some sort of small hermetically sealed snack meat. It is my understanding that it tasted like some kind of brined and cured rubber band.
After some confusion, we located our hostel. Not quite as nice as the previous two, but passable. The Park, however, is the reason we came to Jiuzhaigou.
Jiuzhaigou is a national nature reserve, a UNESCO listed National Heritage site, and a UN World Biosphere Reserve. The name "Jiuzhaigou" means "Nine Village Gully," which refers to the nine Baima Tibetan villages located in the river valley. Legend has it that Jiuzhaigou was formed when a jealous devil caused the goddess Wunosemo to drop a magic mirror, a gift from her lover, the warlord God Dage. The mirror shattered, creating 118 turquoise lakes. And they are -- bright turquoise. High levels of calcium and magnesium together with yellow green algae give the pools their strong color. The Park is something like Montana's Glacier National Park, if Glacier were only comprised of the Going to the Sun Highway, and there were about 50 tour buses departing from every scenic overlook every 5 minutes. Bus traffic aside, the park is truly stunning. We managed to avoid the buses most of the day by hiking along the boardwalk footpaths through the Park. In doing so, we also managed to avoid many of the throngs of Chinese tour groups who only got off the buses to check out major attractions such as Nuorilang Pubu (Promising Bright Bay Waterfall).
Walking back to the hostel after leaving the Park, we stopped by a stall to try some bread made by a local Tibetan woman. Understanding that we wanted ours with scallions, seasonings, and sesame seeds, but without the meat, she made ours special, and it was worth the wait. Speaking to us in Tibetan, she was delightful, even though we couldn't understand a word she said.
We leave Jiuzhaigou on the reverse bus route back to Chengdu tomorrow morning. It has been terrific, and I only wish we had the time to venture into Tibet. Here, in Northern Sichuan, we rest between 2000 and 4000 meters, making the cool, fresh aira welcome respite from the humid congestion of the cities. We're in the midst of China's rainy season, and the high altitudes are no exception, but I find the near constant drizzle refreshing and comforting.
Uploading photos to this blog will have to wait until our return because China has more or less blocked access to Flickr. I understand that the one photo I tried to upload (of the Great Wall) sort of worked, but China has also blocked access to this blog itself, so I only know what I'm told. Somehow, I'm able to post entries with relative ease, but I cannot view them, so if anyone has left comments, we're very grateful and will look forward to reading them at some point down the road. Thanks!
The bus ride (11 hours in total), was a bit of an adventure in itself. It seems that China has no traffic laws or, at the very least, no citizens who obey them. Passing lanes don't exist, and so drivers indicate their intention to pass, the fact that they're passing, and their satisfaction at having successfully passed another vehicle by using their horns with excrutiating frequency. Nevermind that there may or may not be oncoming traffic in the opposing lane. The insidious horn, combined with Chinese music videos, some sort of Chinese Idol television show, and really bad (read: not remotely funny, as none of the Chinese bus passengers were laughing) Chinese comedy at high volumes meant that we arrived in Jiuzhaigou with throbbing heads. On the other hand, we were well taken care of on the ride up by a Chinese woman across the bus aisle from me. She took it upon herself to make sure we were well-fed throughout the day. She had us try all kinds of Chinese confections, including coconut rice pies and puffed corn snack bars. She and her family also brought (and bought along the way) various dried frutis and other snacks. I managed to draw a picture explainging that I don't eat meat, so Jen was the only one who got to try some sort of small hermetically sealed snack meat. It is my understanding that it tasted like some kind of brined and cured rubber band.
After some confusion, we located our hostel. Not quite as nice as the previous two, but passable. The Park, however, is the reason we came to Jiuzhaigou.
Jiuzhaigou is a national nature reserve, a UNESCO listed National Heritage site, and a UN World Biosphere Reserve. The name "Jiuzhaigou" means "Nine Village Gully," which refers to the nine Baima Tibetan villages located in the river valley. Legend has it that Jiuzhaigou was formed when a jealous devil caused the goddess Wunosemo to drop a magic mirror, a gift from her lover, the warlord God Dage. The mirror shattered, creating 118 turquoise lakes. And they are -- bright turquoise. High levels of calcium and magnesium together with yellow green algae give the pools their strong color. The Park is something like Montana's Glacier National Park, if Glacier were only comprised of the Going to the Sun Highway, and there were about 50 tour buses departing from every scenic overlook every 5 minutes. Bus traffic aside, the park is truly stunning. We managed to avoid the buses most of the day by hiking along the boardwalk footpaths through the Park. In doing so, we also managed to avoid many of the throngs of Chinese tour groups who only got off the buses to check out major attractions such as Nuorilang Pubu (Promising Bright Bay Waterfall).
Walking back to the hostel after leaving the Park, we stopped by a stall to try some bread made by a local Tibetan woman. Understanding that we wanted ours with scallions, seasonings, and sesame seeds, but without the meat, she made ours special, and it was worth the wait. Speaking to us in Tibetan, she was delightful, even though we couldn't understand a word she said.
We leave Jiuzhaigou on the reverse bus route back to Chengdu tomorrow morning. It has been terrific, and I only wish we had the time to venture into Tibet. Here, in Northern Sichuan, we rest between 2000 and 4000 meters, making the cool, fresh aira welcome respite from the humid congestion of the cities. We're in the midst of China's rainy season, and the high altitudes are no exception, but I find the near constant drizzle refreshing and comforting.
Uploading photos to this blog will have to wait until our return because China has more or less blocked access to Flickr. I understand that the one photo I tried to upload (of the Great Wall) sort of worked, but China has also blocked access to this blog itself, so I only know what I'm told. Somehow, I'm able to post entries with relative ease, but I cannot view them, so if anyone has left comments, we're very grateful and will look forward to reading them at some point down the road. Thanks!
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