The day started early. Now we are on the mag-lev train traveling at 300 km/HR!! We arrived and were met by out guide Jackie Hu. He was to be with us for the next three days. Right away we liked him.
He got us into the van and off we went for the long ride to the Yellow Mountains, Huangshan. After four hours we arrived and had some lunch. This one was marginal, but ample. So we loaded up knowing that we were going to need our strength. Jackie had told us he was a mountain boy....ut oh! We hoped we were up to the challenge! Luckily we had hiked hard on the Great Wall and that prepared us.
After lunch we jumped into the cable car that was built by an Austrian company and felt very much like we were going skiing. The ride was 2600m long and the scenery spectacular. We kept thinking...boy are we glad this thing is taking us up to the top for our hiking!
We got there and started to walk. Jackie explained that China has many many people and they all need work. Some people's job is to build the stairs, others to carry the goods. Every single thing that is up on the mountain has been carried up by the porters. AMAZING! You see these men with a bamboo pole across their shoulder and balanced on each side is huge loads. We saw some with 200 kg.
They are building a new 5 star hotel and each beam, each bed, each wire is being carried up on the backs of the porters. they are paid by the weight they carry. 1 RMB per 2 kg. Hard life!
We felt stressed just carrying two back packs with overnight clothes and our cameras! Can't imagine their world!
As we walked off the cable car, we immediately began to shoot images. Oh my goodness....the beauty before us was breath taking! That old adage that life is not about the number of breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away....well this was 24 hours of breathlessness. Breathlessness from altitude, steps, up and down as well as the beauty!
We first hiked to the hotel dropped off the unnecessary gear, loaded all the camera equipment and struck off to hike and see the sunset. The sheer nature of the cliffs was astonishing. The mountains are mainly granite and very very beautiful. The pine trees grow right out of the rock at all angles. It is clear to see why this place inspired so many paintings and poems.
We were very lucky in that we had two beautiful sunny days. The sun is seen about 25% of the year. The rest of the days are misty, cloudy and rainy. Thank God!
We hiked at our own pace behind the mountain boy. The place was packed, largely with Koreans. They are a mere two hours by plane and they love the Yellow mountains. Some spoke excellent English and elected to converse with us.
Dinner was ok, but the staff were stressed. Our rice never arrived. So. Cheri tried to get it taken off the bill. Thankfully a Chinese American woman saw her plight and stepped in to help. Jeanne Kwok was a huge help! Thank you!
We had read the reviews about the hotel...moldy, airy, freezing. They were right! Our room had no heat and no insulation around the windows. So when the windows were closed, the air whistled right in. After dinner we pulled the curtains, took baths and showers, put on everything we owned and jumped into bed for an early night!
Enjoy!
Cheri & John
After the tour it was back to the boat and the final pack. We sailed a bit further into the very small port at Yi Ching where we were met by our guide, Susan. She got us to the airport and enabled lunch at the airport restaurant. It was one of the most delicious meals we've had. Cheri had pork and hot peppers with rice. John had chicken and mushrooms with a mushroom soup that was very tasty! Our plane was 40 minutes delayed so we chatted with our friends from the curies who were also transiting to Shanghi. We landed, got our luggage, met Jimmy our Guide and asked if we could see an acrobat show. Of course! They literally dropped us at the door at 7:30 and the show had just begun!! WOW! amazing! Love it!
Spinning plates, bodies in impossible positions, motorcycles flying in a small metal cage, men balancing each other with one hand! We both loved the acrobat show and agreed we'd see another one the next time we are in China.
We spent the night at the Bund Hotel. They were out of non smoking rooms, so our guide forced them to give s a suite! Very nice! Just wish we had more time there! We did order a shrimp fried rice for dinner and it was tasty.
After we had our fill we move to the next location and saw more black a d white Panda. Then it was on to the lesser Panda who is actually a raccoon. The word Panda means bamboo eater and these little guys eat bamboo.
We both filled out 32 G cards and were very happy about it!!!
Then it was off to see a Buddhist Monastery. We learned about their religion and heard the monks chant before lunch.
Our first really tasty lunch was had in Chengdu! We went to a local place with Ping and ordered dishes off the menu. Yummy!! Poor John is getting pretty good with those sticks!
The afternoon was in an "old" part of town...read giant tourist trap. We quickly decided to have tea instead. When we got to the tea house local people were playing Mahjong. We asked Ping if we could play. She quickly agreed and began to teach us Chengdu rules! That was FUN says Cheri who won at least half the games! We learned to count in Chinese. Ping put the characters in order and we took a picture.
Then it was off to catch the 194 km/HR train to Chongqing! The ride was beautiful even though it was darkening and a bit foggy. We arrived at the station, the biggest train station in Chongqing to be met by our guide, Mike. We would only be with him for a short while, but he really packed in the information. We told him we needed to catch some dinner on shore before boarding the ship, so he quickly suggested a hot pot...the local specialty. We agreed and he and his driver zipped us off to their local favorite. The food was delicious if a bit rushed as we needed to be on board by 8:30.
Chongqing is famous for its Hot pot. there is a burner built into the table. The chef brings all kinds of food and begins to place it in a two part pot. One part has a very spicy pepper broth and the other part is water with many vegetables and spices. Then each diner has a little bowl where oil, soy, garlic and ginger are placed. When each type of food is cooked, the chef puts it in your bowl so you can douse it in the sauce. Then you eat! Delicious! We had beef, pork, noodles, mushrooms, bean curd, crab, and the list goes on!
We stopped on the way to the ship to pick up supplies, mainly water for us. Others were buying booze and snacks. We decided we didn't need snacks with the amount of food they were likely to serve on board!
Enjoy!
Cheri & John
