The waterfalls are nice…but my bed is even nicer.

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I hate being sick. I woke up this morning feeling like death yet I still dragged myself down to the bus just before it left grabbing some kind of rice cake and water in the little market for a meal. Outside it was mucky, rainy and cold; not the best day to go hiking. Despite feeling physically miserable, I was in a great mood and ready to take on the day!

We went to the Jiuzhaigou Lakes and Waterfalls, a world heritage spot. We took a bus up the mountain part of the way then walked to see the waterfalls and lakes. As soon as we got off the bus, it was pouring! I immediately bought an umbrella (fuchsia pink!) and It was really nice hiking up the paths to see the water falls and over the small rivers.

We alternated between bus rides and walking since the hike was 14km and we had no intentions of walking that in 3 hours. I cherished the times we got on the bus taking naps and abusing the pack of tissues that were pretty much glued to my hand at this point.

We then went to an early lunch, 10:30am, where I indulged myself in hot soup and tea. At this point I didn’t think I’d be able to hike 3 more hours up the mountain where it was even colder then it was at the bottom. My poor nose was all pink that anymore I would be giving a Rudolf a run for his spot on Santa’s line up next Christmas. Some of the other people were feeling just as run down as me so we all jumped in cabs and went back to the hotel. The second we got back I turned up the heat, put on my PJ’s and went to sleep.

I didn’t wake up until the group got back around 5pm! The sleep felt so good and then I was hungry once again so I threw on some flip-flops and marched my way down to dinner. Mmmm, more soup and hot tea. Everyone was coughing and sneezing that to even sit near our table you would think you were getting infected.

After dinner I realized that I was going through internet withdrawals so Rob, Bret, Ally and I walked the 15 minutes down the street to the internet café. It was great to contact the real world! On the way back, the boys bought beer and I a banana and apple. It is so hard to come across fruits here so I take advantage of every chance I get. I had no intentions of drinking.

But that changed. As soon as I got back I found the rest of my friends bunched up in one of the rooms with an empty case of beer and in the middle of a drunk game of Kings Cup. I couldn’t resist; I jumped in and starting playing…after sending Sean to get another case of beer. I didn’t drink much since I was still feeling sick so after the game I went into Bret and Rob’s room to find them playing hearts with Jess and Fei. I curled up in I think Rob’s bed and watched tennis while they finished their game of hearts till Bret kicked me out and sent me to my own bed since I was falling asleep in their room. Opps!

So I just had some hot tea and I’m going to try and get some sleep. I can’t wait to go back to the warm weather in Chengdu…this cold mucky stuff sucks!

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Photos

Ally and I at the lake
It was soo blue!! And there are no fish or anything in it since it is so cold!

Bret is crazy!
We were freezing our asses off and he was just walking around like this!

The Lake
So peaceful.

Most amazing waterfalls ever
Wow.....need i say more?