Monasteries in the mist
We are back in the hostel a day earlier than expected because Katie is still not recovered from the trots. However, we did make to the Golden Summit of the Emei Shan. Ther is a huge gold Buddha at the top with four elephants. We walked for about 6 hours or so yesterday and reached a monastery where we spent the night. The whole way up is on steps so it quite knackering, especially in the heat. It was very humid and we spent most of the climb in the clouds. However, it was a good walk and we enjoyed it very much. I think we have got a bit more used to the crowds everywhere. Usually at home if I see anyone at all when I am out walking it is quite unusual. Here there are droves of people everywhere. On the way up we went through an area where there are lots of monkeys. We had been advised to take walking sticks (provided by the hostel) in order to defend ourselves.Katie, of course, wouldn’t be seen dead with a trekking pole let alone a walking stick, so she soon had monkeys grabbing her trousers while I tred to fend them off. I also had one grabbing my leg – not a good idea as I was in shorts. But we managed to fight them off in the end. The monastery where we stayed was called The Elephant Bathing Pool. We had a double room in what was a typical Buddhist monastery building. The woman who took our money clearly hadn’t been on the customer relations course! We have found that a lot of Chinese people are extremely rude and inconsiderate. Today we set off for the top and were there by lunch time. We had intended to stay in the monastery at the top but Katie felt really rough so we decided to come back to the hostel. We were horrifed to see people being carried up the mountain by porters. Big fat lumps being carried up steep steps by two quite small men doesn’t make a pleasant sight. Thankfully, no Western people were taking this option. Katie is currently adopting horizontal mode in the bedroom so I hope she is recovered by tomorrow. We will be having a quiet few days here before we catch the train for Kunming on Weds night. I must admit I could do with a bit of a rest – all this enjoying oneself is very tiring!
Tags: Travel, Tag Index
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