Advertisement
Published: June 29th 2009
Edit Blog Post
After settling into Jane's Guesthouse that evening, eating some Tibetan style dinner (with a German/Canadian couple and a Korean guy who'd just done the trek that day) we decided to plan on doing the gorge trek in only one day and not two. Then we could return to the guesthouse for dinner and have a bit of a birthday celebration as I asked Jane to make us some apple pies! So with a long day ahead of us, we just chilled out and played some cards, whilst meeting a British couple who'd be doing the same as us the next day...
Waking up at 3am due to Brad freaking out about a mouse/rat in our celing, the 3 of us slept till about 7am, washed and filled ourselves with a yummy breakfast. Brad opted for a cup of coffee with scrambled eggs and some monstrous toast, whilst Kim & I went for the fruit shakes and the massive bowls of fresh, homemade muesli with yoghurt.
(oh, and I must mention that I recieved some lovely red pants from Brad & Kim for my birthday that made me look a little like superwoman when i wore them over
my shorts, so I just opted to tie them to myself throughout the hike that day as you might see in some of the photos!)
So! Setting off at about 8.45 (a little later than planned) we eventually met up with Helen and Pete from the night before and continued the hike with them for the whole day.
The day was truly unforgettable and I don't think I'll easily forget my 25th. Spent with two great friends and a great couple, we saw some of the most spectacular scenery. The photos again, don't do them any justice. We climbed up, around, down, across waterfalls, over bridges, met locals, lots of goats, the odd yak, cows, bugs, lizards and had an amazing (and pretty sweaty) day. But the effort was worth it .
Walking on the edge of the gorge( 3900m+) and looking up at the unbelievable mountain scenery, I cant recommend the Tiger Leaping Gorge enough. It's just a shame that with the building of the 8 dams along the Yangzi river over these few years, it will most vikely be the end of it in order to increase China's tax revenue & supply energy to those
outside of the area.
Anyway, several blisters later, some shoe swapping and lots of bottles of water we arrived at Tina's Guesthouse where Jane had a minibus come to pick us up. However, having experienced some windy and dangerous situations on the trek, what we forgot about was the drive back to Qiaotou. Let's just say the cliff edge/landslide driving experience was almost as memorable as the trek itself!
Arriving back at Janes Guesthouse with relief we were straight away ordered to come and eat dinner by Mama (& whilst we'd been walking, 4 French students had arrived).
What then followed was another much needed shower and some well earnt beers! The night before, I'd spoken to Jane about making some apple pies and she also ordered a cake for me, so Kim, Brad, Pete, Helen, the French guys and myself tucked into our sweet treats and a few beers before fading at about midnight!
Overall, it's one birthday I wont easily forget!
p.s.I musn't fail to mention Mine and Kim's lovely sunburn..ouch!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.103s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 6; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0407s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb