Joyce and I had a nerve-wracking start to our day. Our new tour guide had texted us to meet outside our hotel at 8. Our bus driver had texted us to meet outside our hotel at 7. We were waiting outside ready to go at 6:50.
Our bus never showed up. Joyce was calling and calling and the tour guide told us that they would pick us up at 8:30. Then, we got a call from the bus driver telling us that he didn’t see us and they were already on the road. We were instructed to get a greyhound bus and ask the driver to drop us off at the infamous jade shop we had spent an hour and half at just days before. The greyhound-like bus driver dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and I just felt my heart drop. I felt we were just being left. Luckily, over the horizon, we could see the tops of buses in a parking lot and dragged all of our stuff over to it where we met up with our bus driver and tour guide who both said it was our fault. Our fellow bus mates told us that they had seen us waiting outside, but the bus driver didn’t want to stop to pick us up! Then, they gave us badges and told us that we needed to go buy some jade. Yeah, right.
When we got back on the bus, the tour guide wouldn’t even let Joyce and I sit next to each other. He sat me right in the front and Joyce at the back of the bus. I was not thinking nice thoughts about the man.
We had a long eight-hour bus drive back to Kunming. Joyce had called the nice head tour agent and she met us at the bus. She forced the bus driver to pay us for the “greyhound” ticket out of his own pocket and she helped Joyce buy a plane ticket back to Beijing. We went back to her friend’s teashop and she paid for our take out dinner. It was a very generous way to end a rather ugly day.
We went back to our hotel and I was able to book a hostel in Shanghai and Joyce showed me pictures of her previous trip to the city.
This concludes my epic trip with Cindy and Joyce. I will be grateful to them always because they were able to help me to see parts of China I no way would have been able to see on my own. I am lucky to have friends like them.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Day 11- Oxygen
Day 11- Oxygen
We had another early morning wake up call. We got on our bus and were taken to a big shop where we were told to purchase oxygen, water, and snacks for our trip to the first nationally protected park in China. I was a bit skeptical, but we bought the stupid pump of oxygen which we didn’t use at all. It was raining quite heavily, but luckily the bus driver let us get our rain gear out from under the bus.
We had to walk through several buildings selling hiking gear (I felt like I was going to be hiking Everest) until we reached a set of buses that took us to the first “hiking” spot. In my mind, I had built this up the hardest hike of my entire life, but then we got there and the “hike” was a flat sidewalk around a lake! It cracked me up. We had a nice walk in a beautiful forested area, though, and Joyce put up with me telling her about my sixth grade level forest science education. At the end of the lake, we were transported to a scenic spot to take pictures. I was amazed to see so many different types of trees! It was beautiful. The bus took us to another site where we were able to walk for a bit before going back to meet the tour group. I was disappointed that we weren’t able to walk anymore, though.
I was really sad to leave Shangrila after spending less than 24 hours there. It’s a beautiful place full of gracious people. I hope I’ll be able to visit there again in the future.
We spent a long time on the bus back to Liquiang. I was able to finish one of the books that I had brought with me. Joyce and I ditched the normal dinner for going back to eat at the “Little Venice” of China instead and did some more shopping.
We had another early morning wake up call. We got on our bus and were taken to a big shop where we were told to purchase oxygen, water, and snacks for our trip to the first nationally protected park in China. I was a bit skeptical, but we bought the stupid pump of oxygen which we didn’t use at all. It was raining quite heavily, but luckily the bus driver let us get our rain gear out from under the bus.
We had to walk through several buildings selling hiking gear (I felt like I was going to be hiking Everest) until we reached a set of buses that took us to the first “hiking” spot. In my mind, I had built this up the hardest hike of my entire life, but then we got there and the “hike” was a flat sidewalk around a lake! It cracked me up. We had a nice walk in a beautiful forested area, though, and Joyce put up with me telling her about my sixth grade level forest science education. At the end of the lake, we were transported to a scenic spot to take pictures. I was amazed to see so many different types of trees! It was beautiful. The bus took us to another site where we were able to walk for a bit before going back to meet the tour group. I was disappointed that we weren’t able to walk anymore, though.
I was really sad to leave Shangrila after spending less than 24 hours there. It’s a beautiful place full of gracious people. I hope I’ll be able to visit there again in the future.
We spent a long time on the bus back to Liquiang. I was able to finish one of the books that I had brought with me. Joyce and I ditched the normal dinner for going back to eat at the “Little Venice” of China instead and did some more shopping.
Day 10- Shangrilia!
Joyce and I met with a new group of bus mates on Monday. We were a smaller group, and a mix between people from our first leg of the journey and some others that were just going in Liquiang.
Our new tour guide is Tibetian. Shangrila is the closest one can get to Tibet without the crazy red tape so we were going to be learning a lot about Tibetian culture on her short adventure.
Shangrila means harmony in Mandarin. There is a famous story about two American pilots during World War II. The men had been injured and their little plane made an emergency landing in Shangrila, which had remained a peaceful city throughout war time. The men were cared for by the people of Shangrila and they were nursed back to health with Chinese medicine, food, and good company even though they couldn’t speak a word to their rescuers. They are were made famous by saying that Shangrila is the most harmonious place on Earth.
We took our time getting to the place of harmony, though! We stopped at the famous river that the Red Army crossed during the Long March. Then, we were given two hours to walk along the river on a pavement sidewalk. The river was gorgeous and it was great to just walk after a morning on the bus! We took a lot of pictures. We even had a decent lunch that day.
We were on the bus for about two and a half hours after lunch to get to Shangrila. The vista was just so gorgeous, I just stared out of my window the whole time and Joyce educated me about Tibet. Let’ s just saying that our high school social studies teachers told us very different stories about the infamous place.
Our first stop in the outskirts of Shangrila was a Buddhist home. Shangrila and Tibet are considered the most spiritual parts of China since the majority of people openly omit that they believe in a higher power and refuse to declare themselves Athesists. To be a member of the the Communist party in China, you must declare that you do not believe in any spiritual being or beings or the force or….
The Buddhist home was beautiful. Most of my bus mates got their palms read, but since I wasn’t able to speak with the Buddhist monks, I went out to tour the grounds. I found a big tent where Joyce explained to me that when a Buddhist member of the community dies, their body is taken to the tent and is left for the birds to devour. Then, their families bless the bones and grind them into a powder to return to the Earth!
Next, we were taken to our hotel and had exactly five minutes to freshen up before going to a Tibetian dinner. I was nervous about the dinner because Joyce told me that they would be roasting an entire cow and I was trying to prepare myself for that!
We were warmly greeted at the entrance by people dressed in full Tibetian clothing and they gave us white scarves, called “hadas” to wear around our necks like scarves. We were served shots of their alcohol before we went in and I accepted mine happily in anticipation of seeing a full roasting cow on barbeque!
We went into a great hall and were seated at tables close to the ground. We were told to drink a third of our tea, and then the waitresses dished flour and spices into our tea cups. We were told to mix everything up, and it turned into our grain for the evening. Then, the brought out roasted yaks and they pulled in apart by their hands. It was a little easier for me to take than a cow, though, I think. Everyone just couldn’t get enough of the yak meat! Joyce had asked the tour guide to ask the dinner people to cook me some vegetables, which they did and they were delicious. It was really nice of everyone to help me out with that!
Then, the show started. The MC embarrassed me because I was the only white person there out of the group of 500 people or so, even though that I understood it was friendly. It was easy to tell that this particular group of entertainers were excited to do what they do, which was a nice change from some of the other minority sites we had previously visited. We were presented with an awesome show of dancing and singing. It is customary for visitors to show that they are enjoying the performer by racing up and putting their hada around the performer’s neck. Joyce and one of the sweet bus ladies peer pressured me to put mine on a gorgeous singer. I started to walk up to him confidently, but then the crowd started screaming and hollering. I was pretty embarrassed and quickly placed the hada around his neck and ran back to my seat. The MC made many comments throughout the rest of the evening about my “moment of romance” as translated by Joyce. We ended the night dancing with the performers.
We got back on the bus a happy group of travelers.
Our new tour guide is Tibetian. Shangrila is the closest one can get to Tibet without the crazy red tape so we were going to be learning a lot about Tibetian culture on her short adventure.
Shangrila means harmony in Mandarin. There is a famous story about two American pilots during World War II. The men had been injured and their little plane made an emergency landing in Shangrila, which had remained a peaceful city throughout war time. The men were cared for by the people of Shangrila and they were nursed back to health with Chinese medicine, food, and good company even though they couldn’t speak a word to their rescuers. They are were made famous by saying that Shangrila is the most harmonious place on Earth.
We took our time getting to the place of harmony, though! We stopped at the famous river that the Red Army crossed during the Long March. Then, we were given two hours to walk along the river on a pavement sidewalk. The river was gorgeous and it was great to just walk after a morning on the bus! We took a lot of pictures. We even had a decent lunch that day.
We were on the bus for about two and a half hours after lunch to get to Shangrila. The vista was just so gorgeous, I just stared out of my window the whole time and Joyce educated me about Tibet. Let’ s just saying that our high school social studies teachers told us very different stories about the infamous place.
Our first stop in the outskirts of Shangrila was a Buddhist home. Shangrila and Tibet are considered the most spiritual parts of China since the majority of people openly omit that they believe in a higher power and refuse to declare themselves Athesists. To be a member of the the Communist party in China, you must declare that you do not believe in any spiritual being or beings or the force or….
The Buddhist home was beautiful. Most of my bus mates got their palms read, but since I wasn’t able to speak with the Buddhist monks, I went out to tour the grounds. I found a big tent where Joyce explained to me that when a Buddhist member of the community dies, their body is taken to the tent and is left for the birds to devour. Then, their families bless the bones and grind them into a powder to return to the Earth!
Next, we were taken to our hotel and had exactly five minutes to freshen up before going to a Tibetian dinner. I was nervous about the dinner because Joyce told me that they would be roasting an entire cow and I was trying to prepare myself for that!
We were warmly greeted at the entrance by people dressed in full Tibetian clothing and they gave us white scarves, called “hadas” to wear around our necks like scarves. We were served shots of their alcohol before we went in and I accepted mine happily in anticipation of seeing a full roasting cow on barbeque!
We went into a great hall and were seated at tables close to the ground. We were told to drink a third of our tea, and then the waitresses dished flour and spices into our tea cups. We were told to mix everything up, and it turned into our grain for the evening. Then, the brought out roasted yaks and they pulled in apart by their hands. It was a little easier for me to take than a cow, though, I think. Everyone just couldn’t get enough of the yak meat! Joyce had asked the tour guide to ask the dinner people to cook me some vegetables, which they did and they were delicious. It was really nice of everyone to help me out with that!
Then, the show started. The MC embarrassed me because I was the only white person there out of the group of 500 people or so, even though that I understood it was friendly. It was easy to tell that this particular group of entertainers were excited to do what they do, which was a nice change from some of the other minority sites we had previously visited. We were presented with an awesome show of dancing and singing. It is customary for visitors to show that they are enjoying the performer by racing up and putting their hada around the performer’s neck. Joyce and one of the sweet bus ladies peer pressured me to put mine on a gorgeous singer. I started to walk up to him confidently, but then the crowd started screaming and hollering. I was pretty embarrassed and quickly placed the hada around his neck and ran back to my seat. The MC made many comments throughout the rest of the evening about my “moment of romance” as translated by Joyce. We ended the night dancing with the performers.
We got back on the bus a happy group of travelers.
Day 9- Liquiang
We were up early, but luckily, we didn’t have to pack up since were staying another night at the same hotel. We were taken to ranch where we were given the choice of going boating or going horse back riding. The horses to me looked really sad and not cared for well, so I joined the older members of our group on the boat and for a nice, leisurely walk around the ranch.
We then had another not so great meal for lunch and were taken to a place where we had to watch a demonstration on some amazing tea. Then, we were taken to a scenic spot where were able to take picture. I taught Joyce and Cindy how to take videos and on their cameras and we all became directors!
Then, we were taken back to the city where we could either continue with the tour guide or go find our own way around the city. Since it was Cindy’s last night with us, we decided to go out on our own. Also, the city of Liquiang is said to be the “Little Venice” of China, and we had to go explore that!
The “Little Venice” of Italy doesn’t really look too much of the pictures I have seen of Venice, but I could tell that the creatures were going for that look. The area had cobblestone roads and there was a human made little creek that wove throughout the stores, bars and restaurants. We shopped and took picture for a few hours. Every time Joyce got out her camera, people would approach me to ask to take a photo with me. It’ll go down as my one chance to feel like a celebrity! In that late afternoon and early evening, I was the only “Western” person I saw there, but later on in the evening, we began to see more foreigners.
We had a fantastic dinner of local food where I learned that Yunnan food is delicious! I actually felt full for the first time in days! We tried to find a bar to sit down and listen to some music and have a drink, but even beer was at 50 RMB that is pretty outrageous since even the most touristy places in Beijing the beer never goes above 20 RMB unless it is imported. We skipped the bars and got Gatorades instead and toasted Cindy.
We went back to the hotel so Cindy could get her bags and then Joyce and I took her to the train station. Joyce and I came back to the hotel sad that Cindy wasn’t with us.
We then had another not so great meal for lunch and were taken to a place where we had to watch a demonstration on some amazing tea. Then, we were taken to a scenic spot where were able to take picture. I taught Joyce and Cindy how to take videos and on their cameras and we all became directors!
Then, we were taken back to the city where we could either continue with the tour guide or go find our own way around the city. Since it was Cindy’s last night with us, we decided to go out on our own. Also, the city of Liquiang is said to be the “Little Venice” of China, and we had to go explore that!
The “Little Venice” of Italy doesn’t really look too much of the pictures I have seen of Venice, but I could tell that the creatures were going for that look. The area had cobblestone roads and there was a human made little creek that wove throughout the stores, bars and restaurants. We shopped and took picture for a few hours. Every time Joyce got out her camera, people would approach me to ask to take a photo with me. It’ll go down as my one chance to feel like a celebrity! In that late afternoon and early evening, I was the only “Western” person I saw there, but later on in the evening, we began to see more foreigners.
We had a fantastic dinner of local food where I learned that Yunnan food is delicious! I actually felt full for the first time in days! We tried to find a bar to sit down and listen to some music and have a drink, but even beer was at 50 RMB that is pretty outrageous since even the most touristy places in Beijing the beer never goes above 20 RMB unless it is imported. We skipped the bars and got Gatorades instead and toasted Cindy.
We went back to the hotel so Cindy could get her bags and then Joyce and I took her to the train station. Joyce and I came back to the hotel sad that Cindy wasn’t with us.
Day 8- Dali
We were up again after less than four hours of sleep! I was feeling much better, though. We had to race to pack up everything again and make it down to the bus without getting any chance to eat breakfast.
Our first stop was taking a boat on a river in Dali. It was a beautiful morning and we took a lot of pictures. There had even been several Olympic events that had taken place on the river.
Then, we were taken to the “old town” version of Dali were minority people sold their art, food, jewelry and clothing. The tour guide gave us only forty minutes, but I could have easily stayed there for hours. We did manage to go from food cart to food cart on the hunt for breakfast and got to try some new snacks.
Then, we were back on the bus where we were driven to a huge silver outlet shop. I have never seen so many pieces of silver in my life! The tour guide had talked about how amazing it was and he told Cindy and Joyce that he expected me to buy a lot of things since I was a foreigner and must have a lot of money! Ha! This led me to not buying a single thing in any of the tour guide appointed shopping areas, except for maybe water or ice cream or fruit from the vendors outside of the places who made pretty good money off of the bored tourist groups.
We got back on the bus and the tour guide started yelling at us about how we didn’t buy enough. I learned that the tour guide gets commission. Lucky for me, I had no clue about what he was saying and was able to blissfully look out of the windows at the beautiful mountain vistas around me and sharing snacks with the funny three sisters sitting with me on the back bench of the bus.
Then, we were taken to some medicinal shop for another hour. I was getting antsy to actually explore, but waited it out with an ice cream cone.
We got back on the bus and were taken to a little hole in the wall place where the tour agency pays women to cook different bus groups’ lunch. The food was pretty bad… Think camp food…. bad camp food… and multiply the grossness by about 6! It was pretty nasty. Then, the tour guide screamed at us because most of the bus group was buying fruit outside of the lunch place to supplement our meals, but we were running late for a show.
We watched a show about Dali’s minority peoples dancing. I was just starting to enjoy it and it was already finished! So disappointing! Then, it was back to the bus with the mean tour guide man.
Next, we were driven to a mountain where we took cable cars up to the top. While waiting for the cable car for over an hour, I decided that I should take a few extra days at the end of my trip to visit Shanghai. I also spotted a man wearing a U of O track and field tee shirt. We spent the rest of the hour trying to talk to the man! At the top of the mountain, we walked through a cave that was the setting for a very popular kung fu television show. Everyone was so excited to be there and taking pictures, but I had no clue about what all the fuss was about.
Then, we slowly started to make six hour drive to Liquiang. The landscape around us was just spectacular. I just looked out of my window in awe most of the time drinking in all the greenness around me. It was absolutely lovely.
Then, we were forced to stop for an hour and a half at a jade shop. We spent maybe ten minutes looking at the jade and then we had more ice cream and fruit and water and talked with our fellow bored bus mates.
Our final stop of the day was to a historical campsite. We were led through a day in the life of how the minority group of the area traditionally lives. It seemed that the performers did this over and over again each day and looked really bored. I felt sorry for them. Plus, I had no clue about what was going on!
Then, we were back on the bus for the rest of the bus trip to Liquiang. I watched episodes of “Bones” on my laptop after it grew dark and I couldn’t see outside. (In one episode the team solved a murder on a flight to Shanghai, so I took that as a good sign for my own trip). A lot of the road wasn’t paved, so it was a pretty bumpy ride. I was thankful I wasn’t sick for that day!
We reached Liquiang around nine in the evening and parked right next to a gigantic statue of the Chairman. We were taken to a bad dinner and sent to our hotel room. It was quite the day!
Our first stop was taking a boat on a river in Dali. It was a beautiful morning and we took a lot of pictures. There had even been several Olympic events that had taken place on the river.
Then, we were taken to the “old town” version of Dali were minority people sold their art, food, jewelry and clothing. The tour guide gave us only forty minutes, but I could have easily stayed there for hours. We did manage to go from food cart to food cart on the hunt for breakfast and got to try some new snacks.
Then, we were back on the bus where we were driven to a huge silver outlet shop. I have never seen so many pieces of silver in my life! The tour guide had talked about how amazing it was and he told Cindy and Joyce that he expected me to buy a lot of things since I was a foreigner and must have a lot of money! Ha! This led me to not buying a single thing in any of the tour guide appointed shopping areas, except for maybe water or ice cream or fruit from the vendors outside of the places who made pretty good money off of the bored tourist groups.
We got back on the bus and the tour guide started yelling at us about how we didn’t buy enough. I learned that the tour guide gets commission. Lucky for me, I had no clue about what he was saying and was able to blissfully look out of the windows at the beautiful mountain vistas around me and sharing snacks with the funny three sisters sitting with me on the back bench of the bus.
Then, we were taken to some medicinal shop for another hour. I was getting antsy to actually explore, but waited it out with an ice cream cone.
We got back on the bus and were taken to a little hole in the wall place where the tour agency pays women to cook different bus groups’ lunch. The food was pretty bad… Think camp food…. bad camp food… and multiply the grossness by about 6! It was pretty nasty. Then, the tour guide screamed at us because most of the bus group was buying fruit outside of the lunch place to supplement our meals, but we were running late for a show.
We watched a show about Dali’s minority peoples dancing. I was just starting to enjoy it and it was already finished! So disappointing! Then, it was back to the bus with the mean tour guide man.
Next, we were driven to a mountain where we took cable cars up to the top. While waiting for the cable car for over an hour, I decided that I should take a few extra days at the end of my trip to visit Shanghai. I also spotted a man wearing a U of O track and field tee shirt. We spent the rest of the hour trying to talk to the man! At the top of the mountain, we walked through a cave that was the setting for a very popular kung fu television show. Everyone was so excited to be there and taking pictures, but I had no clue about what all the fuss was about.
Then, we slowly started to make six hour drive to Liquiang. The landscape around us was just spectacular. I just looked out of my window in awe most of the time drinking in all the greenness around me. It was absolutely lovely.
Then, we were forced to stop for an hour and a half at a jade shop. We spent maybe ten minutes looking at the jade and then we had more ice cream and fruit and water and talked with our fellow bored bus mates.
Our final stop of the day was to a historical campsite. We were led through a day in the life of how the minority group of the area traditionally lives. It seemed that the performers did this over and over again each day and looked really bored. I felt sorry for them. Plus, I had no clue about what was going on!
Then, we were back on the bus for the rest of the bus trip to Liquiang. I watched episodes of “Bones” on my laptop after it grew dark and I couldn’t see outside. (In one episode the team solved a murder on a flight to Shanghai, so I took that as a good sign for my own trip). A lot of the road wasn’t paved, so it was a pretty bumpy ride. I was thankful I wasn’t sick for that day!
We reached Liquiang around nine in the evening and parked right next to a gigantic statue of the Chairman. We were taken to a bad dinner and sent to our hotel room. It was quite the day!
Day 7- The Sickness
We woke up earlier today than the day before to get to the Chengdu Airport for our flight to Kunming in the Yunnan Province. I woke up stomach sick and Mr. Toilet was my friend that day. Ah, the romance of travel!
Our plane to Yunnan was delayed for three hours and they gave us a free breakfast of a hard boiled egg and some crackers that I couldn’t even look at. Meanwhile, next to me Joyce and Cindy were chowing down on a rabbit’s head. I think it’s awesome in China that people eat so much of the animal, but I was sick and behaving like an ugly American tourist and getting a bit grossed out between frequent trips to the bathroom.
We eventually made it safely to Kunming. We were picked up by one of our tour guide agency’s agents who were really nice. We sat in an office while they went through paper work with Cindy and Joyce and I just sat there and drank water while dreaming about just lying on the floor! Cindy had decided that she wanted to go home earlier from the trip, and we went around with one of the agents helping her get a train and plane ticket back to Beijing. The tour guide realized what a depressing state I was in and led me to one of her friend’s teashop. Her friend was super nice and made me tiny cup after tiny cup of tea while Joyce and Cindy went shopping.
We had dinner at a hole in the wall place. I had been feeling better, and attempted to have some of an eggs and tomatoes and rice dish, but I didn’t get eat much before I started to feel gross again. I had been taken some American stomach medicine, but Joyce went out and got me some Chinese medicine. Chinese food should be fought back with Chinese medicine, Cindy declared. The girls left me again at the tour guide’s headquarters so they could go shopping and I could just sit. I was feeling much better. The Chinese medicine really helped.
We got on our bus at 7:30 in the evening for a five-hour trip to Liqiang. I sat at the very back of the bus and comforted myself by listening to a Josh Groban over and over again on my iPod, drank a lot of water, and actually ate the breakfast crackers.
We reached Dali around 12:30 in the morning. Joyce’s friend arranged for us to stay in better hotels than the rest of the group along with a few other couples. We were dumped off in the middle of nowhere and were ushered over to our hotel. I took a shower and fell into bed. It had been a very long day. I feel sorry that Joyce and Cindy had to put up with me all day and I appreciate how kind they were to me.
Our plane to Yunnan was delayed for three hours and they gave us a free breakfast of a hard boiled egg and some crackers that I couldn’t even look at. Meanwhile, next to me Joyce and Cindy were chowing down on a rabbit’s head. I think it’s awesome in China that people eat so much of the animal, but I was sick and behaving like an ugly American tourist and getting a bit grossed out between frequent trips to the bathroom.
We eventually made it safely to Kunming. We were picked up by one of our tour guide agency’s agents who were really nice. We sat in an office while they went through paper work with Cindy and Joyce and I just sat there and drank water while dreaming about just lying on the floor! Cindy had decided that she wanted to go home earlier from the trip, and we went around with one of the agents helping her get a train and plane ticket back to Beijing. The tour guide realized what a depressing state I was in and led me to one of her friend’s teashop. Her friend was super nice and made me tiny cup after tiny cup of tea while Joyce and Cindy went shopping.
We had dinner at a hole in the wall place. I had been feeling better, and attempted to have some of an eggs and tomatoes and rice dish, but I didn’t get eat much before I started to feel gross again. I had been taken some American stomach medicine, but Joyce went out and got me some Chinese medicine. Chinese food should be fought back with Chinese medicine, Cindy declared. The girls left me again at the tour guide’s headquarters so they could go shopping and I could just sit. I was feeling much better. The Chinese medicine really helped.
We got on our bus at 7:30 in the evening for a five-hour trip to Liqiang. I sat at the very back of the bus and comforted myself by listening to a Josh Groban over and over again on my iPod, drank a lot of water, and actually ate the breakfast crackers.
We reached Dali around 12:30 in the morning. Joyce’s friend arranged for us to stay in better hotels than the rest of the group along with a few other couples. We were dumped off in the middle of nowhere and were ushered over to our hotel. I took a shower and fell into bed. It had been a very long day. I feel sorry that Joyce and Cindy had to put up with me all day and I appreciate how kind they were to me.
Day 6- Lessons in Taoism
We woke up really, really, really early- well early for people who didn’t usually have to start for work until two in the afternoon on Wednesday in order to join a travel group on a bus around the Taoist temples in the Chengdu area. We were picked up by the bus at 6:10 and then spent the next hour picking up our fellow travelers around the city.
It rained throughout the morning. Our first stop was one of the tallest Taoist tours in the world. It was damaged in an earthquake in 2008 so people are not allowed go inside it anymore. Then, we had a little lesson in fueng suai, which is an important element in Taoism. It’s not so fun being the only person who can’t understand what the tour guide is saying. I was able to call back a little memory of the religion from studying world religions in college and reading The Tao of Poo and The Chi of Piglet. Cindy and Joyce would paraphrase a few key ideas for me, but I ended up missing a lot and wandered a bit on my own. I have been spoiled living in Beijing all year where most of the museums and tourist spots usually have English below the Mandarin.
Then, we were back on a bus to travel to the areas largest damn. Cindy and Joyce spent the time at the damn upset with the tour guide because she didn’t give us a chance to stop for a snack or go to the bathroom. The best part of the park was there are suspension bridges that you can walk across which were like a wild ride. I went across them a few times…. There was also a beautiful Taoist temple up on a hill that we were able to visit.
We stopped for lunch provided by the tour guide in a whole in the wall place. The food was not good and the place was not very clean. Little did I know that there would be a lot of meals like that in my future very soon! We then spent the afternoon in a forest that is the home to one of the oldest Taoist temples in all of China. It was such a joy to be in a beautiful forest. Cindy had never been in a forest like that before and it made me more grateful for the all the weeks I’ve lived in the forest in Oregon. I took in everything- the clean air, the beautiful trees and the sound of birds- something you rarely ever hear in Beijing unless you seek out a quiet place. The climb to the top was rough, but we were the only ones from our bus that made it to the top! I left the forest really sad to go. I also didn’t realize then all the beautiful places I would be seeing very shortly.
We went back to the hotel to make our next plans for our trip. We were planning on traveling more South, but the forecast called for lots of rain and some flooding in the area we were planning to travel to. Instead, we were able to book a travel tour group in Yunnan. Joyce got on the phone with another friend who was able to book us flights for the next morning. There was a huge debate over the name to put on my ticket. We tried to pack up as much as we could to prepare for another early morning!
It rained throughout the morning. Our first stop was one of the tallest Taoist tours in the world. It was damaged in an earthquake in 2008 so people are not allowed go inside it anymore. Then, we had a little lesson in fueng suai, which is an important element in Taoism. It’s not so fun being the only person who can’t understand what the tour guide is saying. I was able to call back a little memory of the religion from studying world religions in college and reading The Tao of Poo and The Chi of Piglet. Cindy and Joyce would paraphrase a few key ideas for me, but I ended up missing a lot and wandered a bit on my own. I have been spoiled living in Beijing all year where most of the museums and tourist spots usually have English below the Mandarin.
Then, we were back on a bus to travel to the areas largest damn. Cindy and Joyce spent the time at the damn upset with the tour guide because she didn’t give us a chance to stop for a snack or go to the bathroom. The best part of the park was there are suspension bridges that you can walk across which were like a wild ride. I went across them a few times…. There was also a beautiful Taoist temple up on a hill that we were able to visit.
We stopped for lunch provided by the tour guide in a whole in the wall place. The food was not good and the place was not very clean. Little did I know that there would be a lot of meals like that in my future very soon! We then spent the afternoon in a forest that is the home to one of the oldest Taoist temples in all of China. It was such a joy to be in a beautiful forest. Cindy had never been in a forest like that before and it made me more grateful for the all the weeks I’ve lived in the forest in Oregon. I took in everything- the clean air, the beautiful trees and the sound of birds- something you rarely ever hear in Beijing unless you seek out a quiet place. The climb to the top was rough, but we were the only ones from our bus that made it to the top! I left the forest really sad to go. I also didn’t realize then all the beautiful places I would be seeing very shortly.
We went back to the hotel to make our next plans for our trip. We were planning on traveling more South, but the forecast called for lots of rain and some flooding in the area we were planning to travel to. Instead, we were able to book a travel tour group in Yunnan. Joyce got on the phone with another friend who was able to book us flights for the next morning. There was a huge debate over the name to put on my ticket. We tried to pack up as much as we could to prepare for another early morning!
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