Creedence Clearwater Revival

Sichuan Day 6, Part 1

This is our second day in the park itself.  The owner of the B&B told us not to go outside until people started showing up on the main trail.  This is because if the park authorities see us, they will charge us for a second day in the park.  After the crowds start pouring in,…

…we could venture out from our village.

Which we did.  But before we got beyond the boundaries of our village, we saw what has become a common vision in China:  a couple taking wedding pictures in a beautiful environmental environment, this time with unusual attire.

As we sat outside a little café in the village watching the wedding group, I noticed, off to the side, that there was a bucket next to a hose with water running slowly on the ground.  It seemed to me that someone meant for the hose to be filling the bucket, so I fixed the problem.

Let’s hope I didn’t ruin some guy’s experiment.

So, we joined the river of people flowing over the wooden walkway…

…in order to view the beautiful rivers of water…

…that eventually end up in small lakes…

…or large ones.

Every beautiful lake is bordered by a wooden walkway full of people, of course.

There were lots of gorgeous waterfalls…

…where inevitably some family group was taking a selfie.

X23 and I had no selfie stick but that didn’t stop her from taking selfies.

This particular lake was called Clear Lake (in Chinese, of course).  There were swarms (make that schools) of fish everywhere you would look.

Obviously, a good place for more wedding photos.

We continued along the wooden path and found a family who, contrary to the customs we generally observe in China, decided to go off-trail to have their lunch.

Exhausted from fighting the crowds every minute, we were relieved to find a relatively quiet side trail slightly away from the shore of Clear Lake.  The relative solitude allowed us unfettered observation of the local wildlife.

As we came to the end of this side path, there were a few students sitting on the steps at the end.

One of the frustrating things about China is that common courtesy, as defined by Americans, is often lacking.  In this instance, it was very clear from our noise that we were coming down the trail but there was no effort on the part of these students to “make a hole.”

We continued walking along the lake, and wherever there was an opportunity for a viewing platform, there was one.

This is because Clear Lake is particularly beautiful and clear.

One problem with crystal clear water is determining its depth.

The photo below is not upside down.  Need I say more?

At the far end of the lake there was a large are for people to gather…

…and, of course, buy stuff you don’t need.

I don’t why but this reminds me of New Mexico.  (Right, FII?)

(Day 6 to be continued.)

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Wade in de Water, Chillen

Sichuan Day 5, Part 2

Yeah, we’re still here in Jiu Zhai Gou.

After finishing our food-truck special, it was, of course, bathroom time.  We found the public restrooms.  As it is worldwide, there was no waiting at the men’s toilets but there was a long line at the women’s.

X23 was on her way to get in this line when I noticed another section of women’s restrooms on the other side of the building – with no line!  She owes me one.

So now we started on our trip back to our village, partly by walking down the wooden trails with thousands of tourists and partly by shuttle bus.  There were fallen trees with mushrooms,…

…forests of red-trunked trees,…

…and more crystal-clear lakes.

This particular lake was very deep and especially clear.

I even think its name is “Clear Lake,” and, like everyone else, we had our picture taken nearby.

We hopped on the shuttle and headed back down the valley.  We noticed that one of the regular stops was at a largish building that seemed to be a local “Trading Post,” i.e., a retail place where we could buy really cheap junk that we don’t need and would eventually give it away to people we don’t like.  How can anyone resist such a lure?

We hopped of the bus and started towards the Trading Post, but halfway there we noticed a small footpath leading off toward an old village.

Off to our right was a woman outside her home,…

…and off to our left was a guy washing lettuce at a water pipe.

It turned out that he was the owner-chef of a small café in this village.  Because we were not the typical tourists, we took turns helping him wash the lettuce.

When we were done, we continued up the path to find a place where we could sit and rest for a few minutes.

I was a bit tired,…

…but X23, full of energy as usual, decided to become intimate with a nearby tree covered in prayer flags.

We walked a little around the hillside and noticed a number of “houses” in varying stages of construction – or perhaps deconstruction.

We saw a small concrete post in the ground that I assumed was an indicator of an underground electrical line.  Anyone have a better idea?

Finally, it was time to head back to the bus stop, and on the way we passed some horses saying their prayers.

Our next stop was at a place called “Stone Mill,”…

…and at the end of a short path was a fast moving river…

…with an old shack over it, presumably the actual mill.

It was a hot day and the water looked very inviting, but along the boardwalk the tourists stood and photographed the water.  I talked X23 into cooling her feet in the water, and out of hundreds of people on the boardwalk, she was the only one doing so.

Perhaps it’s against the rules, but there was no warning sign indicating this.  Notice X23’s excitement.

When I was in junior high and high school, one of the true joys of life was drinking fresh water from a clear stream such as the Kern River, so I bent down and did so here.

A young boy saw me doing this and decided to try it, while his mother and others looked on in amazement as if they’d never seen something like this before.

Arriving back at our own village, we sat for a few minutes on a bench outside the local Starbucks.

Before heading back to our hotel, we decided to peruse the village shops.  There was a hat place, but we decided against buying any hats, despite their chic design.

There was a jeweler at work making something interesting.  X23 told me what it is that he’s doing, but I forgot (duh).

Thirsty.  Yup, time for a drink.   We found a rather nondescript place (to say the least),…

With an interior that was anything but nondescript.

The woman in charge (manager? owner?) brought us some delicious barley tea…

…in a lovely bowl.

Outside, across the “road,” was a drawing in a shop window.  Still trying to decipher it.  Anyone?

We took an alternative route back to the hotel and came across more construction, this time more precariously on the walkway itself.

Back at our place, our hostess was preparing tea and dinner.

All the hotel’s residents sat at the same table for dinner.

What did we eat?  I’m not sure.  Mostly vegetables and seaweed over rice (yum),…

…accompanied by some milk with floating brown stuff that resembled malt.  As before, X23 told me what it was but I forgot.  Oh, well.

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