Mountain and Giant Buddha

The park
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We arrived in Baogou via 2 hour bus from Chengdu.  We were fine so long as we didn't watch the road...there is no way to describe just how frightening the driving is here.

We got to a stop where most of the bus emptied out so Carrie ran to the front to ask the driver if this was our stop.  I was sitting in the back of the bus.  Carrie yelled to me that this was it. Apparently Carrie was brokering a deal because the Next thing I knew, there were two Chinese men taking our bags off the bus and putting them into a small van and ranting about something in Chinese.  Seconds later, we were off.  We just looked at each other and started laughing.  After 10 minutes we arrived at the Teddy Bear Hotel at the base of Emei Shan mountain.  Oddly enough, this was the hostel we were planning to stay at.  We got a luxurious room (lol) and headed to the cafe for some tea leaves in water.

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We sat with a lovely couple on their honeymoon.  They are from Hungary, both doctors.  While chatting, who should walk in but the couple we are stalking from Seattle.  We seem to show up EVERYWHERE they are :)

We all walked around the base of the mountain and took some fine nightime pictures.

The next morning, we got up and took a bus to Leshan to go see Dafo (a 70 meter tall buddha carved into the face of a cliff where two rivers converge).  The bus dropped us off and promptly sped away.  We entered the park and walked at least 2 miles of stairs.  When I say we climbed stairs, I mean we have never climbed more stairs in our lives!   It was soooo beautiful.  There were giant carvings all over the park and it was very quiet and peaceful...until we arrived at dafo (the statue).

dafo
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There were at least a million Chinese tourist here, pushing and taking pictures and of course staring at us.  It was hysterical.  The buddha was UNBELIEVABLE.  We wanted to walk down and take pictures from his feet.  In order to do this, however, we had to wait in a line that spanned the length of a football field and walked down steep, slippery steps while being tossed about by flocks of Chinese.  It was like we were being floated down the mountain given our feet rarely touched the ground.  Biblical.   We are definitely off the white tourist trail now.

Carrie, shannon and dafo
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The bottom was even more spectacular than the top (we will post pictures but you'l have to turn your head to the left because they are verticle pictures and we can't figure out how to flip em).

We trekked back another 2 miles, hailed a cab, made our way the bus station, hopped a bus and made it home in time for cabbage and green beans and bed!  We were tired and smelly.  Did I mention I had to use a public squatty potty with no doors?  This was my first public toilet experience (not my first squatty potty).  It was not something I would recommend as I spent most of the time trying not to throw up or be stared at by the locals who thought I was really something interesting hovering over a hole in the ground, gagging.

Mt. Emei Shan
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On our last day at the holy mountain we were staying at, Emei Shan, we headed up part of the mountain.  It was too bloody foggy to bother to go to the top and everyone warned us about the dangerous wild monkeys that had attacked a Brittish woman the day before to get her bag from her....NO TOUCH MONKEY!

The mountain was breathtaking and so quiet and it smelled really good. (unusual here).

Then we headed to Kunming on a 18 hour train ride...we'll save that story for next time kids :)

Some things to note:

Even though this is typed by me, Shannon, Carrie is always with me and telling me what to say...I just type exponentially faster :)

Also, my recreation buddies...if you are an ACA member and get Camping magazine...look for my article in the Nov/Dec issue!  That's right, I'm famous..not really will you send a copy to my parents when you're done with the magazine?

27 Holbrook Road  N. Weymouth, MA 02191

:) thanks all