Adventure Week

So it’s time I tell everyone where I’ve been. After being out in the middle of China virtually off-grid for a week and a half, I’ve finally returned to Shenzhen with Wifi and stories to tell. So here’s a (brief) re-cap of my adventure week.

First, an explanation. Although I’m in China for an internship, I had the fortunate luck to get two weeks off of (in-office) work. See, my boss recently took an unplanned but fairly necessary business trip to America for 2 weeks, meaning that coming into the office was optional as long as our work still got done. My co-worker and I took this opportunity to explore China.

Day 1- Sunday at 8 am embark on a 38 hour (not bullet) train from Shenzhen to Chengdu. No joke, this train was literally 38 hours -almost 2 full days- of sharing a room with a Chinese family, staring out the window to the Chinese countryside, and having the top bunk (of 3) in the hard sleeper room. Traveling nearly 1,200 miles (2,000 km) we ventured from oceanside to the middle of China to start our adventure.

Day 2- Still on the train! At least until 11 pm. We arrive, find our hostel (with difficulty), some Wifi, and sleep! A bit of advice- ALWAYS know the name and address of your hostel in Chinese. Cannot stress this enough and learned this the hard way at every new city we went to.

Day 3- Awake at 7 am to take bullet train to Leshan. Arrive in Leshan by 8 am, to have a whole day in the city. Saw the famous Leshan Buddha, aka the largest outdoor Buddha in the world. My entire body- 5 ft 6 in height- barely reached his toenail! We then continued the day exploring the numerous temples on the island, some filled with Buddhist monks conducting prayers, others completely abandoned and claimed by nature.  We explored the parks of Leshan city and ended the day with a bullet train back to Chengdu by 10 pm.

Day 4- Arise again at 7 to leave Chengdu and hop onto a 13 hour bus to Jiuzhaguo. Disaster strikes in the morning as I leave my phone in the taxi in Chengdu in the morning before leaving. Alas, my communication with others, my pictures (including hostels details for our whole trip) and Pleco (English to Chinese translator) all gone. But the beautiful scenery along the way starts to makes up for it. A narrow, mostly unpaved road running along a clear blue river (and I mean clear) surrounded with large green mountains. Along the way we see Tibetan people (who look exactly like the pictures) and small houses with solar panels. Not to mention, as we got farther the weather got colder, cold enough to buy a Chinese North Face jacket that proved very useful. A crazy arrival story that will need a post of its own leaves us in bed by 11 in a Tibetan home turned hostel in Juizhaguo.

Day 5- Our Tibetan host, a mother named Zhou Ma cooks us a breakfast, gives us a packed lunch and a ride into one of China’s most beautiful (and expensive) national parks. Pictures and words cannot do this place justice, but all the trouble for this journey was certainly worth it. Seeing water here has redefined the word “blue” and “crystal clear” (and I’m from a Cali beach town). 100 km of land to explore makes it no ordinary day!

Day 6- We leave Zhou Ma’s in the morning only to create another crazy story as we catch our slightly shorter 9 hour bus back to Chengdu. After the bus, we arrive early enough to explore the city of Chengdu, but not early enough to catch a famous Chengdu Teahouse before closing. However, one must note that Chengdu is surprisingly urban and its reputation for spice is no lie. The city itself literally smells spicy, even when walking in its people’s park.

Day 7- We start this day with a trip to Chengdu’s Research Base of Giant Pandas Breeding, aka- the best place to see pandas in China. Side Note- this is where China does the majority of its research and breeding to keep the panda population going. Let me just say that watching a panda live its life is the best comedy show I’ve ever seen, no subtitles needed. Everything they do (eat, sit, play, sleep, and scratch their butts) is hilarious and makes you wonder how they ever got by as a species. End the day by embarking on a 25 hours bullet train to Guilin (only a day and an hour!).

Day 8- Wake up on the top bunk of a train again to find our train has been delayed for 6 hours because of the military. Scratch that 26 hours train and change to 31 hours. Arrive in Guilin for sleep and Wifi.

 

Day 9- A trip to the Dragon Bone Rice Terraces in the morning was spectacular (and incredibly hot). I like rice, but never have I loved it this much. Regretfully leave the Rice Terraces to pack up in Guilin and venture to our last destination, Yangshao.

Day 10 – Somehow we managed to save the best for last. We start the day with rock climbing outdoors on one of Yangshao’s famous spires, go cycling through the city and countryside by the afternoon, and end with a steep hike up Moon Hill (just Google it) to end up at its peak with a 360 view of the city and country side. Wow. The whole day just had spires and spires as far as the eye can see. Even in the touristy main street (aka- West Street) filled with bars and shops at night, you just have to look up to see many spires, partially lit up in a distance not even 1 km away.

Day 11- Last day! Exhausted, we wake up the latest the whole trip 8 am to head onto the Li river for a bamboo boat cruise to see the famed scenery of the region, the very same on the back of the 20 yuannote. Then its hostel in Yangshao -> bus to Guilin -> bullet train to Shenzhen -> metro to finally arrive home!

What an adventure it’s been, but now, sleep.

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