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.

How I Ruined a Girl's Day in Heaven on Earth

Oct 22nd-26th

Our initial plan was to do a Yangtze river cruise starting in Wuhan and terminating in Chongqing, taking at least 5 days and more money than we were willing to spend. When we had met up with Winnie, his review of the 3 gorges cruise was not as enthusiastic as we had hoped. For that reason we decided to forgo it although still looked into going overland to visit the lesser 3 gorges, but ultimately scraped that idea because it would require 6 days of travel and equal nights accommodation.

Instead, we got a bus back to Shanghai and that same night boarded a train to Chengdu, in Sichuan province, lasting a ridiculous 37 hours.

Despite the brakes failing on the first bus, we quickly got a replacement double-decker bus and watched Kung-Fu movies the rest of the way. We dropped off our bags at Blue Mountain on the Bund hostel where we had stayed before leaving for Huangshan.

Hilariously enough, Helinä was still there and was still in bed when we had arrived in the afternoon. We woke her up and proceeded to grab a bite at McDonald's and bought some supplies for our marathon train ride that evening.

Unfortunately, our train was delayed for 2 hours and I killed time by writing my blog while curious Chinese men would read (attempt to) over my shoulder while making disgusting noises and hocking up phlegm.

Even though the train ride was 37 hours, it still passed relatively quickly and provided me a chance to catch up on my blog and get some reading done.

We arrived in Chengdu in the afternoon and quickly booked a bus ticket to Jiuzhaigou National Park in northern Sichuan.

We only stayed one night at the comfortable Traffic Inn (redcliffinn.cn) before embarking on yet another extended journey.

The road from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou was absolutely stunning: numerous, towering snow-capped peaks; trees shimmering with golden leaves; sprawling autumn forests of red, orange, yellow and green.

We even saw some downed bridges and vacated houses from 2008's devastating earthquake, having claimed 88,000 lives and effecting 33 million people (almost the population of Canada!)

It is amazing that after only 4 years, it is quite difficult to see its lasting effects. Someone should hire the Chinese relief effort and construction crews in Haiti. Just saying...

The surrounding jagged mountains were dotted with many minority villages such as Tibetan, Naxi and Hui; each wearing their brightly-colored traditional costumes.

On the roads, we passed horses, mountain goats and a few fluffy yaks: a staple of Tibetan culture.

After passing the idyllic village of Songpan and its mountain-top temple, it was only 2 hours until we arrived in Jiuzhaigou.

The tranquil, picturesque country-side leading up to the national park was quickly forgotten as we passed scores of tour buses and thousands of tour groups. The Sichuan capital city of Chengdu looked calm compared to this supposed natural wonder.

A man from our hostel, the damp and over-priced Hostel C met us at the bus and escorted us to the hostel.

Despite the teeming rain greeting our arrival to the park, we were still confident in the forecast we had been following.

The next morning, we went for breakfast at 6am and were joined by Etienne and Carla from South Africa and Jonas from Denmark. The five of us crammed into one car and were brought to Jiuzhaigou's front entrance.

We managed to get tickets quite quickly utilizing Chinese-learned pushing techniques and we used our Quebec Driver's licenses as student IDs because the Chinese cannot read French, and made our way into the park at a discounted price.

Jiuzhaigou means nine villages valley, for the nine Tibetan villages in the region. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and World Biosphere Reserve and home to some of the most stunning natural scenery in China. Because of this, it attracts 1.5 million visitors per year, sometimes getting as many as 50,000 per day! Ah yes, the tranquility of Chinese Nature.

We took the shuttle bus to the Primeval Forest but realized if we started there we wouldn't be able to explore the rest of the park by foot. We hopped on another bus and got off at Panda Lake.

Even though the sun had not yet reached the valley from behind the towering, snowy peaks, it was still easy to see the water and its surreal turquoise colour. We continued past the Panda falls until we reached another lake for the sunrise.

The calm, still water perfectly reflecting the picturesque mountains; the autumn colours in graceful transition and the relative silence made this a special moment in the park.

Surprisingly enough, because most Chinese tourists only use the shuttle buses to get from one scenic spot to another, we were able to walk pretty much alone for most of the day along the wooden paths in the forest, making the experience rather unique in touristic China.

We continued until we reached the Pearl Beach Shoal (a very wide river running down the side of a mountain) and Pearl Beach waterfall.

As we descended, we passed more phenomenal scenic spots like Mirror Lake, Nuorilong Falls, Rhinoceros Lake and Tiger Lake.

After walking along the western route for most of the day, we took a shuttle bus to the eastern side terminating at Long Lake.

Long Lake is the largest lake in Jiuzhaigou and also the most isolated. Despite its isolation, it is one of the highlights of any visit to the park and consequently inundated with thousands of tourists.

We still managed to get some unreal pictures before joining the queue towards Five Coloured Pool.

Thinking that the Five Coloured Pool was an amusement park ride based on the amount of people waiting in line to see it, we quickly realized that it was worth the wait.

The Five Coloured Pool is a crystal-clear lake, shimmering in various shades of blue, green and turquoise; with vibrant green trees surrounding it. You would think it was a movie star by the sheer amount of people taking pictures of it (Jiuzhaigou is actually featured several times in the Jet Li film Hero).

While I was snapping some of my own pictures, a girl crams in beside me with her iPhone and holds the phone as far over the water as she can. As I'm about to leave, I lower my right elbow, hitting her outstretched arm, making her lose her grip of her phone and she drops it into the crystal-clear water below us. The clarity of the water allowed us to see the phone sink to the bottom and mock us from its watery grave.

I say sorry in English and Chinese and that it was an accident and there's nothing I can do. She is noticeably and understandably upset but we can't properly communicate to each other. She finds someone who speaks some English and demands I give her 2000¥ (360$), saying that the phone cost 5000¥. I said once again that I'm sorry, it was an accident but I'm not giving her any money. With the thousands of people pushing their way through to take pictures (herself included), accidents are likely to happen.

She whimpered behind me and followed us until she realized I wasn't budging on my resolve.

Obviously feeling guilty, I wasn't as enthusiastic for the remaining sights in the park, but we spent our last few hours admiring the lakes, shoals and waterfalls back towards the entrance gate.

Jiuzhaigou truly is like heaven on earth, with its stunning landscapes and otherworldly colours. But like the biblical version of heaven, with good and beauty, there also exists evil and ugliness, and that Chinese girl is probably always going to remember that bearded, white devil who dropped her expensive phone into the crystal lake at the nicest place that she or that white devil has ever seen.

Amen.

Crouching James, Hidden Joshua

Oct 18th-21st

After an enjoyable night train-ride to Huangshan city, also known as Tunxi, we took a public bus to our hostel. We arrived at Ancient Town Youth Hostel (www.yhaha.com) and immediately made arrangements to stay the following night on Huangshan, and the person at the desk happily shifted our second night's accommodation to the night we returned.

Since we had arrived in the morning, we lounged around most of the day, but still found time to wander down Tunxi's Old Street or Lao Jie. While it isn't very long, it is still charming because it's wooden shops and Ming-styled buildings. What was also nice about Tunxi, was that it was quite cheap compared to many other Chinese cities we had visited.

After playing some pool, Josh and I went to bed early because we had two intense days of hiking ahead of us.

The following morning, we woke up early and grabbed a light breakfast of oversize dumplings and took a city bus to the long-distance bus station.

From there we caught another bus to Tangkou, the city at the base of Huangshan. The bus journeys didn't end there. We then took a final bus to the beginning of the eastern steps, our route to the summit.

Huangshan or Yellow Mountain is one of China's most famous mountains and although it is not a mountain revered by Buddhists or Taoists, it is still said to be the most beautiful scenery of all of China's mountains, sacred or not. Countless painters, authors and poets have etched Huangshan into the collective psyche of the Chinese people, describing its granite peaks, impressive gorges and oft-misty landscapes.

Although it is supposed to rain 2/3 of the time on the mountain, we had seen a break in the forecast and decided to seize the opportunity.

We paid the exorbitant entry fee and started our slow yet steady ascent. The eastern route is said to be easier and less steep than the western route, but still comprises thousands of stairs. No matter how tired or fed up of stairs we were, we sucked it up because there were scores of porters climbing those same steps, bringing food, drinks or building materials; often weighing more than half their body-weight. Talk about a shitty job!

An even shittier job is the porters in charge of shlepping lazy or old Chinese people up the stairs while balancing the imperial style bamboo-thrones on their aching shoulders. To make matters worse, one of the people we saw being carried up had actually fallen asleep while the poor guys carrying him were sweating and working their asses off. Talk about unappreciative.

Personally I think if you are too lazy, old or weak to climb the steps, take the damn cable-car!

Because of our pace, we made it to white goose ridge (1770m) rather quickly. We took a brief break to admire the beautiful scenery around us before continuing our ascent.

Before long we had reached bright summit peak (1841m), which is famed for its views of the sunset and sunrise. This peak is flanked by the golf ball shaped meteorological centre and observation deck, numerous hotels and restaurants. A short walk from there brought us to alchemy peak, another fantastic viewpoint.

It was quite evident to us that there was a cable-car station not too far from the summit because there were exponentially more people there then we had seen climbing up, and most of them were wearing matching, poorly-made, goofy hats and visors: a tell-tale sign of a Chinese tour group.

We decided to ditch them and visit the often neglected west sea canyon. Unknowingly, we had been reading our map wrong and ended up at the base of lotus flower peak. At 1873m, it is Huangshan's highest. It was not in our original plans but since we were so close we'd be stupid not to climb it.

On the summit itself it was hard to take it all in because once again there were far too many people up there. The only consolation was that there wasn't a cable-car leading here, so all the people up there had climbed up, so I'll let it slide.

Once up there it seemed that people were more interested in Josh and my presence than in the breath-taking mountains around us. We posed for the 20 or so photos we were asked to be in and I made the summit go crazy by kissing a Chinese girl on the cheek for one of the pictures. I sometimes wish we drew this kind of attention back in Canada!

Our last stop of the day was fairy walking bridge: a narrow stone bridge wedged between two sheer cliffs at over 1300m in height.

With the sun slowly dipping in the sky, the magnificent granite peaks reflecting hues of orange, pink and red; and a sparsity of tourists at the site made this the highlight of our day. We stayed and watched until the sun had almost completely disappeared before trekking back up the steps to our hotel.

One of the highlights of any trip to Huangshan is its sunrise. Hundreds of people wake up at ungodly hours to get the best spots to watch this daily occurrence.

Josh and I got up at a respectable 5:20am and started climbing up the steps towards bright summit peak. When we got there, there were already several hundred people waiting. We quickly went to alchemy peak, but it seemed as if everyone had already had the same idea. As the sunrise approached, it became evident that the clouds that rolled in just prior to sunset the night before would impede any chance of the other-worldly sunrise we had been told of.

Since we were already up, we decided to start hiking even though it was only 6:15am. We had managed to orient ourselves properly and would go to the west sea canyon, which we had attempted to find the day before but ended up on lotus flower peak.

This portion the the trail was absolutely beautiful: numerous gorges and canyons; exposed trails sitting hundreds of meters in the air, picturesque pavilions on cliff-sides and the golden glow of the rising sun illuminating the whole area. Josh's legs were failing him so I continued to finish the first ring path and climbed back up to meet him.

We were now more than content with our feats on Huangshan and decided to start our descent. Before starting, however, we had to go up stairs for an hour just to reach our decent point since the west sea canyon was considerably lower than the summit.

Our descent would take us down the western steps, a grueling 15km steep stairway leading you past some fabulous scenery and exhausted people.

Our knees were screaming the more steps we climbed down, the looks of despair and desperation of those hiking up fueling our desire to get down and also making us happy we chose to go up the eastern steps.

After 2 hours of descending, both Josh and my right knee started acting up, further necessitating an end to this torture.

When we finally made it down, our legs were trembling uncontrollably but we didn't regret it for a second. We had done it. We had conquered Huangshan.

After our second of three fabulous meals of Hui cuisine at Meisti Renja, we called it a night and gave our aching legs a break.

The following day we made our way to the western Huizhou villages, giving us a taste of Anhui province's rural life. Our destination was Hongcun, a beautiful Song dynasty village looking like it's floating on the south lake.

The village, along with nearby Xidi village, are UNESCO World Heritage sites and rightly so, they are truly stunning.

Before we explored Hongcun, we hailed a 3-wheeled car to Mukeng's Bamboo forest, a mere 5km away.

We took an hour to climb to the highest point and took a zip line down to the other side! After doing so many stairs and climbing up and down things for so many months, it was amazing to strap into a harness and just zip right down!

Before exiting the beautiful bamboo forest, used for some fight scenes in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, we walked through China's half-assed version of a haunted house with a giant gorilla over its entrance (don't ask why they had this in a bamboo forest). We caught another rickshaw back into Hongcun and commenced our exploring.

Hongcun's most iconic entrance way is a small, steep bridge which was also used in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I've personally never seen the film, but after seeing some of the beautiful sights in real life, I would definitely like to watch it!

Hongcun is centered by a central crescent-shaped moon pond. Branching from there are many narrow alleys, impressive halls with wood carvings and every other element of quintessential "chineseness".

It is no wonder that at every corner of this stunning village is a group of art students painting on their easels to varying degrees of artistic ability.

After exploring all the nooks, crannies and waterways Hongcun had to offer, we hopped on a bus back to Tunxi.

Although our stay in Anhui province was confined to just Huangshan and Hongcun, I fell in love with its beautiful landscapes, granite peaks, lovely rural villages and amazing cuisine.

I guess Ang Lee knew what he was doing!