"I'm Ridin' My Pony..."

For those of you who have not been able to have the experience of taking a 10 hour over-night train ride, let me tell you. It's quite the experience. Our adventure started as we were dropped off at the train station by our speedy taxi driver. I would like you to make a note at this point and mention that the words speedy and safe are not used in the same sentence when referring to a taxi driver. Giles and I boarded the train leaving Shanghai on route to Huang Shan, China. We were told by our Chinese friend Mia that our tickets were for the bottom and top bunk in room 9. So,prior to the trains arrival, Giles and I had agreed that I would get the top bunk. After many years of letting my older siblings have the opportunity, I felt it was my turn. I think both Giles and my jaws could have used a crank once we realized just how high the top bunk was. It was the top of three lodged in a room that was about 8 feet high. Our beds were approximately 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, and had varying space for sitting. I think the first and second bunks had about 3 feet for sitting. I didn't. Giles lucked out and got the bottom bunk. On the way back, we both got the top. The other details of the train ride are fairly straight forward. We slept. However, the trains bathrooms make for a story of their own.

The bathrooms were in my favorite style. Squatters. Once one is able to maneuver over the hole in the shaky cabin, they then have to undress and squat. This is not an easy feat as the cabion is quite shaky. There is a handle to hold on to. So, as one squats one must use thus handle bar for stability. With the other hand one must attend to everything else that is required for a bathroom visit. As I did thus, I was reminded of the vary famous song "I'm ridin' my pony.."

Once we got to the mountain, we took a godola up to the top. The gondola took like 15 minutes. It really was an amaizing view. In fact any description that we can offer will be inadequate and will be best shown through pictures when we get the chance. It is an enormous mountain range. I think that in English it is reffered to as The yellow mountains. We hiked for 5 hours and then took shelter in a hostel for the night. In the morning we tried to catch a glimps of the sunrise but we were unsuccessful because of rain and clouds. Yuk. The second day, we walked down the mountain in the rain. It warmed up mid-day and we were able to enjoy a steep decline. Really, we were soaked and tired but had little to complain about after seeing labour worker after lablour worker carrying heavy loads of rock, wood, metal, food , and much more up the mountain. The spot has just recently become popular and so there was a lot of construction on the top of the mountain. I guess having men carry the equipment was cheeper than hiring a helicoptor.

What I have failed to mention is that we took a Chinese tour to save money. You should have seen there faces when Giles and I boarded the tour bus. We made some fast friends though. One man was a Japanese man who was proficient in English and Chinese. He helped us a lot.

Happy Easter all. I hope you have plenty of food and chocolate!!

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