Wild Horses and My Little Pony

Oct 27th-28th

Having taken advantage of the beautiful weather and clear skies in Jiuzhaigou, and wanting to get as far away from that angry Chinese girl as I could, we left for the town of Songpan, 100km south of the national park.

The frigid temperatures, high elevation and unpredictable precipitation must have resulted in quite a bit of snow, because the scenery between Jiuzhaigou and Songpan was that of a Canadian winter: a delicate blanket of snow covering all the pine trees creating a picturesque Christmas card.

By the time we made it to Songpan, all the snow had melted except for that on top of the mountain peaks.

We got off the bus and went in search of a guesthouse. We managed to find one affiliated to the famous Emma's kitchen. We had also met two Quebecers on the bus, David and Camille, and would share a room with them.

We took a stroll down the old part of the city, admiring the Hui (Chinese Muslim) and Tibetan townspeople. The absence of tour groups and genuinely friendly people made this a really attractive place.

We found some delicious street food and then visited the meat market where we saw people engaging in bizarre activities like blowtorching cow heads and then made our way back to the hostel.

Songpan is known touristically for its horse treks varying from one day to two weeks. Josh and I opted for a single day trek to a nearby Tibetan monastery. We would be joined by two Israelis, Martin and Maya, because the Quebecers would be moving on to Chengdu.

After having arranged our equine adventure, I spent the rest of the day exploring Songpan's mountain-top temple, covered bridges, ancient gates and reconstructed walls.

That evening we found a terrific street vendor selling fried meat and vegetable skewers, which were then grilled and deliciously spiced right before our eyes. It was so good that Josh and I had already planned out our next meals before finishing our first.

The following morning we met the Israelis in front of Shunjiang Horse Treks, the company we used to book our excursion. Guides with horses started to arrive and we started to walk towards the starting point of our trek.

Except for one woman who had to ride a donkey, I got the smallest horse, a proud brown pony who should have been called Napoleon, clearly stemming from his Napoleon complex.

After we mounted our horses, ponies and a donkey, our slow ascent became an avenue for our animals to strut their stuff. At each available opportunity, someone's horse would gallop in front of the others, leading the pack while shoving its ass in everyone's face.

This competition eventually escalated to kicking other horses in the face, biting other horses and causing saddle-soreness in their riders' asses by spontaneously galloping at any given moment.

Although rather difficult to take pictures while riding a horse, the surrounding scenery was stunning. As a plus, after 1.5 hours of climbing, our horses seemed to have calmed down or were just too tired and fell into an orderly line, with Napoleon at the helm of course.

After around 2 hours. We arrived at the Tibetan monastery and the 4 of us explored its various temples and passageways. Although it wasn't ancient, it was currently in use and was being renovated by local Tibetans as we were visiting.

We rejoined our guided who had been making us lunch and then waited for them to finish their beers and cigarettes.

We returned the same way we had come and with the horses rested, they resumed their quest for dominance. Our descent culminated in a 3-way race between my horse, Martin and Maya's horse shortly after martin's bit Josh on the leg. Napoleon still kept in front but not without a fight.

Needless to say we were glad to get off our battle horses: our asses and knees uncomfortably sore.

That evening, Josh and I returned to that same street vendor whose greasy, spicy food kept us coming back for more. We retired early because first off, Songpan's nightlife didn't really exist save for line dancing in front of giant neon Chinese and Muslim characters; and because it was below zero Celsius and we only had jeans and hoodies.

Songpan is the type of city I had been searching for in China: quiet, no tour groups, natural beauty and some unique cultural elements. Who would have thought I would have found it there?

I certainly didn't, but I'm definitely glad I did.