One day, one quest: find that wall!!!!
I got to Datong at 05:00, after a “good” night sleep on a 60cm wide berth in a train. I had heard that Datong was famous for some old caves with giant Buddhas carved inside them and for having a piece of the great wall of China. What I didn’t know was that it was not an easy task to find it…
Finding the caves was easy, first avoid all the touts who wanted me to rent a taxi for a ridiculous rate and second take a bus for an hour and a half and bargain my way into the place with my student card 😉
The caves are amazing and probably one of the most impresive things I’ve seen in this trip. They were carved on the year 460 A.D. by monks, of course who else has all that time, and the biggest Buddha is 17 meters!! Inside the caves there are shrines and every wall is carved with beautiful images.
I only had a day in Datong and I had to move quickly, so I jumped in a bus again and then is when the adventure begins.
NO ONE speaks english, which has not been a problem at all, but sometimes they are not willing to try to understand you and belive me I’m very good at Charade (mimica). Finally someone told me the “way”, get a bus, drive 2 hours and then the driver will tell you where to get off. Easy right? I took the bus, and then after the 2 hours the driver told me get off, Yeah I thought!! but then I realized, where am I?? I was surrounded with field and only fields. There was also a very strong wind hitting me all the time and getting every imaginable piece of sand in my eyes! I was supposed to walk, so that I did, and after 1 hour and a bit I got to this place:
Did I get to the ancient great wall of China?? Did I rediscover a historical place that no tourist has ever seen?? I don’t know but it was THE BEST adventure I’ve had during this trip. No maps, no way to comunicate with words, no clue where I was or where I was going.
If you ask me, this is the first time I have really travel.
I also met this new friend!
It was time to catch the train, and with my heart still excited I took it, Beijing was next…
Tags: Buddha, China, Datong, great wall, Simon Uribe, Travel
simonuribe@yahoo.com
Hey Simon…
Es ist aber wahnsinnig schön und beindrückend… Langsam werde ich überzeugt, dass ich auch so eine Reise eines Tages machen will ! Dann viel Spass in Pekin (tja.. so heisst die Stadt auf französich) !
Hey!!!!!!!nrAmazing photos!!!!!!!!!!!Have you walked the great wall yet?????Well you already knew that the best places appear when you get lost…Enjoy my friend.Fill your heart and your mind with views,smells,sounds,people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really really cool pictures… Keep enjoying China 🙂 How long will you stay here for in total?