So I awoke at 10 to get things started off. Went to the hostel front desk where I was told I could buy my bus ticket for the boarder town but since it was Spring Festival I had to wait for the day before. I did as they said and of course the bus that goes through Old Town Dali was sold out because it started about 3 hours up the road and people bought all the tickets. So to get a ticket I had to go to New Dali and buy one that started there. I was a little upset at wasting time but I got down there and back in two hours and I have a ticket for today at noon. My plan all along was to hike the mountain so I set off to find my way.
When getting off the bus at the mountain stop it was not clearly marked at all which way
to walk. Ran into some other travelers and we made our way...eventually paying 3 yuan to get a ride up. Upon getting to the gate it was about 3 o'clock and I had heard from some people that you can take the cable car up but once at the top it is hiking for old people. A paved, flat, walking path with loads of Chinese tourists up there and not a true nature experience which i was kind of looking for. So I set off to hike up to the top and maybe walk around but then hike down. Well, I set off on what looked like a path, it was paved with lots of stairs and eventually came to this statue. There was no obvious path I could see so I just followed my trusty Mt. Fugi ways and walked up towards the top of the mountain. Every now and again I would find a remnants of what looked like a path only to loss it again. It not like in Colorado where there is a marked trail head...it was essentially a real life version of "Man vs. Wild" without having to eat my own food. I used the cable car as a guide and just tried to keep it within hearing distance so I always had a frame of reference. I took a video at the top of one of the peaks and let you take a look.So it was very beautiful there but right after I took the video I hiked up a little more and the cable car went across this big valley and finally arrived at the station. I had been hiking for about an hour and a half and the station looked pretty close so figured I could make it there and then catch a ride down. Well, I got to a cliff that I could not surpass. I would go one way for a bit through thick bush and then the same another direction. I finally conceded and went down the same track I came up thinking I took a wrong turn. I found what looked like a path but decided against it thinking it was better to get down before light ran out or get to the top after the cable car stop running...it was about 5 pm at this point.
Upon walking down lots of guys were willing to give me a ride but for a ridiculous price so I said 1 yuan cause that is what I paid one the way up. Apparently it was not even close cause they just laughed so I decided to walk down to the main road and grab a bus back. While I was walking a Chinese family pulled over and asked if I wanted a ride. They said 'no money...free" and sounded good cause I was tired. I went back to Old Town Dali with then cleaned up a little in their hotel room, I was a little dirty from a fall on the hike...and we went to dinner. The whole time it was one girl kind of translating but they did not really at all have a grasp for English so it was an interesting experience. Here are some photos of them and I, kind felt like a superstar cause they kept taking my photo.
Over dinner I discovered that the three older ones were brothers and sisters and the kid was one of the girls son. After dinner I really had to shower so went back and showered in my hostel and met them at a bar. They taught me their version of rock, paper, scissor and a couple other Chinese games. They wanted me to teach them an American game so the only thing that came to mind was thumb war. They absolutely loved it! The beginning saying "1, 2 ,3 ,4, I declare a thumb war" did not really come out but they understood and it was good fun. Around 10:30 they went to bed and met up with the same guy from the night before and had a few drinks again before heading to bed.
It was quite a wonderful day and was so thankful I met these people to show me what real Chinese people are like. A great experience which I will never forget. I am off to a 15 hour bus ride to the boarder...next posting should be from Laos. Later!
