More Blogs, Sorry about the wait

---

16-8 Blog

This afternoon we visited some rustic markets; small shops selling a mixture of authentic and counterfeit goods. There was even a street dedicated to undergarments and flip-flops! After buying some new socks, we met up with Michelle’s sister for Chengdu’s most famous dish, hotpot (literally translated, fire pot). It was not as hot as I thought, and served with a garlic and coriander dip, it was quite a delicate balance of flavours. Served with a Chinese flower tea that was topped up using unusual teapots and methods. (The picture explains it better.)

17-8 Blog

A group of 5 of us travelled to Leshan to start meeting Michelle’s extended family, and some sight seeing. I met her uncle and auntie, two of her cousins and her fathers parents. We were treated to a delightful meal on a boat on the riverside, before heading along the shore by a bus that flagged us down, to the Biggest Bhudda statue in the world. At a gargantuan 71m, this figure contemplates the Leshan skyline with a delicate ease. The idea for this endeavor came when the shallow waters were too rough for some boats, costing many lives. Soon after the idea to dig out the bottom of the river came, there was a problem of where to put the soil. After the idea of digging a hole to bury it in as dismissed, the grand bhudda idea came about, and after many years of hard work, the bhudda was complete. Although we now cant see it in its full glory, it still is a an awesome sight to behold. Wars with the Mongolians took their part in robbing the statue of its entire splendor, as it used to be colourful, and housed in a 13 storey roof.

18-8 Blog

Monkeying around on Mt Emei

Moving Westward a little way from Leshan was Emei, the base camp so to speak of one of the most splendid but tourist of mountains in Sichuan. Our group of five, comprising Michelle, her two sisters, her brother and myself, had decided to hike Mt Emei in hope to catch the sunrise that is said to be awe inspiring. If the weather holds up. Which it didn’t. Nonetheless, we had a magnificent time, saw some splendid sights, and some cheeky monkeys!
We got to the office at the base of the mountain and brought our tickets, which we got our photographs printed onto, and headed up at about 11 o’clock. The mountain is paved with steps along the way, so the gouing ins’t rough, just steep. The first few hours walking were peaceful, the morale high, the weather nice, and the scenery gradually getting more enticing. We knew we would definitely see monkeys at some point, just a matter of when, not if. But it was I who spotted the first one. We had stopped for a quick breather, and as I turned to our left, I saw a movement by the ground. It had to be. I shouted “look, a monkey!” I stood in awe, watching this little fella rummaging around the earth, maybe scratching himself. You could only make the outline of his round torso and its little black head, but it was definitely a monkey. “where, where” my comrades enquired, they hadn’t seen it yet. I pointed, and no sooner had I pointed and we all saw it, the monkey turned around to reveal his full shape. It was a chicken! “it did look like a monkey from my angle” I consoled as we continued stepping, All disappointed to be robbed of our first monkey sighting.
Later in the afternoon we did get to see monkeys, and lots of them. This was an area where wardens patrol the area, ensuring that the clever monkeys don’t grab the tourists belongings. We were given corn that we could feed them, but one monkey took a packet of corn from Michelle’s brother before he had chance to open it. We took some snaps, and although we had to be vigilant of being targeted, it was quite fun. We left the heavily populated monkey area and headed on to our first evenings stop. This was one of the many Bhuddist Temples that are on the mountain. We got a basic room, with the ceiling tiles hanging by a thread, and questionable pillows. As we prepared for bed, and the next day’s hiking, we listened to the chanting bhuddists performing their evening prayer. It was very peaceful and charming, but I could help wondering if all the tourists distracted them. I suppose they had to make a compromise as the tourists made money for the temples, which were not immaculate but still a sight to behold. We were confident about the next day, but just before we turned in a security guard made a visit. He shone his torch around the room and I thought he was just searching to make sure everything was okay. He conversed with my comrades in Chinese, and I didn’t really understand until my companions all shouted in unison: “Hou zi?!” I had learnt today that Hou zi was the Chinese word for monkey. And by the sounds of it, not friendly cute ones. I tried to join the conversation. “B…Big…Monkeys?” Michelle then informed me that that the holes in the ceiling of our room were caused by a monkey. And not only that, there would be more monkeys on our hike tomorrow. More clever monkeys. With no wardens to protect us. That night we slept with the light on...

To be continued...

Sorry for not keeping this up to date. Look at the Gallery for Pictures I put on a few days ago.
I will try to post some more when I get the chance. Thanks for being patient

---

Comments

[Katie]

Monkeys
Thanks for the update. It must have been an incredible experience being so close to all those monkeys. But I think I prefer the ones behind bars in a zoo :)