The Grand Buddha

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Today we left the city of Chengdu and, a two hour bus journey later, came to the riverside town of Leshan, home to the Grand Buddha. According to the lonely planet guide, it is the biggest stone Buddha in the world, standing (or sitting) at 71 metres high. It is nestled in the cliffs, facing out to the three rivers that join at his feet. It was amazing, definitely worth the journey of taxi, long-distance bus, local bus, and then walking from the more expensive entrance the bus dropped us off at, down to the cheaper entrance. We clambered up hundreds of stairs, passing all these smaller Buddhas in alcoves in the cliffs, before coming to the Grand Buddha, and then we walked down another set of steps to see it from the bottom, and then climbed all the way back up again! It really is huge; its toe nail is bigger than any human! In the area around it were temples, pagodas, a small waterfall and beautiful gardens, which we wandered around for a while. Luckily, we had joined up with a couple of tour leaders who were off-duty and just visiting, but they couldn't seem to break the habit of taking the lead, looking after tourists and giving interesting bits of information - so, technically, me and Mark managed to get our own private tour for free! And the best part? It was hot! Not just slightly warm, but actually 'tie my coat around my waist, sweating cobs, slightly sunburnt' hot! I'm sorry to everyone back home, and I don't mean to make you envious (well, actually, I do), but today was really lovely. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the rivers that flowed by were blue-green rather than grey or brown, and a cooling breeze was more than welcome!

Anyway, after all the travelling of today, we're just going to relax tomorrow. And then the day after, we depart the flowery province of Sichuan, and head to Shanghai!

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Comments

[qudsia]

im cold!
im so jealous (again!). u kno how much i hate being cold, n here we r stuk in snowy, rainy manchester, whilst u enjoy the sun. Ur wandering around wivout a coat, n im sat here in 4 layers! enjoy it whilst u can! appreciate every ray of sunlight u get........

[susan houlbrook]

Jealous? Me? Not a bit!
Fantastic photos. Have you and Mark lost weight? Both of you looking very trim. Need some good homecooking!!! Why would you think we would be envious of the weather you are enjoying. We are freezing, shaking with cold and slipping on black ice. The boiler is making strange noises, the poodle is grey and murky, the car is filthy (nothing new there then), and the garden looks like a slum area. Cant wait for our Spring! But you two carry on enjoying yourself. Dont worry about us! Mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Dad]

Budda
Its amazing how Mark looks so like the Budda.

[Uncle Dinx]

IT'S....
That picture of Mark and The Buddahs foot... very Pythonesque. Jealous? Jealous? PAH! We can build Snowmen all you can do is watch Dark Mark hide from the withering Sun or plait fog! These places look fantastic, I am actually a tad on the green with envy side, but I ain't gonna own up to it! Jealous? PAH! Get some dinner down you!