Man in the Mirror

Sichuan Day 5, Part 1

FINALLY!!  Today’s the day we go to Jiu Zhai Gou Park, our main reason for coming to Sichuan Province.  For years my friend MQ has been telling me this is the most beautiful place in China, and now I’m going to see it.

But first things first:  BREAKFAST.  X23 and I left our hotel (which didn’t serve any food) and sauntered a couple blocks to this little alley…

…where we found an eatery that didn’t even rise to the level of hole-in-the-wall.

I must digress ever so briefly in reminding you that the food throughout China is wonderful.  In 3 years of eating all over the country I never had a bad meal – until this morning.  I don’t know what it was about these noodles and buns, but they just didn’t taste good.

Maybe the problem was with me.  As you can see in the previous photo, X23 (in the background in her new gray and orange jacket) devoured this food, as she does all meals, as if there will be no tomorrow.

We walked down to the main road and grabbed a taxi to go the few miles to the entrance of the Park.  I don’t remember the exact cost of the entry tickets, but I believe it was about $15/day.  Just inside the entrance, we hopped on a bus,…

…and got off at the first main stop, a small village tucked at the base of the mountains.

In a rare moment of genius, X23 had arranged for us to stay at a small hotel in this village.  It was a great decision not only because of the ambiance but also because we got 2 days in the park for the price of 1.  (The way we did that was to wait until the second day’s buses started delivering tourists before we ventured from the hotel rooms.  That way Park officials wouldn’t be suspicious.)

We started up a walkway toward our hotel,…

…which, as it turned out, had plastic tarps covering the patio…

…because of all the construction going on nearby.

We were led into the common room (combination living room and dining room), decorated in the traditional lavish manner of Tibetans,…

…where we were served tea by our hosts.

After tea I sauntered out to the windowed porch (or sitting area) where I soon fell asleep.

There was another old man there, too, who was the father of the hotel’s owner.  He wasn’t really grumpy but he didn’t want his picture taken.

And while I was snoozing and the old man was pouting, X23 was goofing off, taking pictures into a mirror.

After I awoke, we decided it was time to take a look at the natural beauties of the park.  We headed toward the other side of the village, where we would catch one of the many buses that constantly shuttle throngs of people from one observation point to the next.  Our village is the first stop after boarding a bus at the entrance.

Near the bus stop is a colorful display of flags.

As we approached the bus stop area we saw that the crowds had increased,…

…so we joined them on the trek to the next observation point.  For most of this journey, all we saw were the backs and heads of other tourists.

Finally, the underbrush started to open up and we got occasional glimpses of beautiful river.

It was indeed crystal clear water.

We rejoined the hordes of people going up the wooden constructed trail, and soon came upon several cascading waterfalls,..

…above which was a crystal-clear lake…

…full of schools of little fish.  (I wonder if these are the ones they use to clean your feet.  J)

This is the view that reminds me of Glacier National Park, with the steep tree-crowded slopes next to the lake and the tree-less mountain in the distance.

We rejoined the horde…

…and finally made it, by bus, to the top of the valley.  Here, at Long Lake,…

…there were local people dressed in their native costumes.

We saw the other tourists eating lunch,…

…so we went to the single food truck and bought our own gourmet meal for about $1,…

…which we enjoyed immensely.

Throughout China, whenever there are large crowds (“basically” everywhere), you see many people ignoring the lines and trying to butt in and order something without waiting in line.  This was certainly the case at the food truck.  They are generally successful because they intimidate the sellers with their aggressiveness.  What impressed me about the guys running the truck was that they would not serve these “buttinskies” and continuously told them to go to the end of the line.  This kept me from having to tell them myself, which I have often done, much to the fear of my companions.

More soon.

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