Scenic China (plus Amit's return to blogging)

Hi All, After a brief 2 1/2 month hiatus, I (Amit) am finally ready to blog again. Fortunately, Dena has held down the fort admirably in my absence, but now that we're both posting again (and we're out of internet-filtering China), we will strive to keep you all updated more frequently. We are currently in northern Vietnam, but for this post I'll stick to our last week in China, which we spent in the more scenic southern part of the country. Our first stop after Shanghai was a mountain called Huang Shan, the location where the final scene of the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was filmed. As advertised, the misty mountain scenery there was truly stunning, the way I imagined more of China would be. It was a very steep climb to the top, but hiking in China is a little different than hiking in the US. First, there are no trails, only concrete steps. If you get tired, you can hire a two guys to carry you up the mountain in a "sedan chair" (approximately $10-$20 / kilometer, depending on your weight). Second, whereas in the US, national parks tend to be places for connecting with nature in peace and quiet, this park was anything but. Huang Shan is an incredibly popular attraction for Chinese tourists, so it was literally filled with Chinese tour groups. A few things we don't like about Chinese tour groups (I don't like to generalize, but the following characteristics were pretty universal): Tour group leaders use loud, obnoxious blowhorns (or more modern microphone / speaker systems) to guide and explain Many chinese tourists carry little boom-boxes, blasting music as they climb the trail At every turn, somebody in the group would inevitably shout at the top of his / her lungs to test the echo. Somebody else would then respond, equally loudly from the other side of the cliff / mountain, to confirm the first person was heard. The spitting, almost always preceded by a loud, prolonged phlegm huck The pushing and shoving at view points, and the complete disregard for the peace and quiet of others All that said, the hike was still very enjoyable. There were three options for ascending the mountain: the easy way (gondola), the long hard way, and the longer harder way. We opted for the middle option, saving the longer harder way for the way down. Once at the top, we wandered around to several of the various peaks and view points and then spent the night on the mountain in an overpriced hotel (options were limited). We woke up very early the next morning for a pre-sunrise hike (i.e., stair-climb) so we could witness the magnificent sunrise, but as with our pre-sunrise hike way back in Chile, the weather did not cooperate, so we missed out on the magnificence. Our last adventure in Huang Shan was scaling Heavenly Peak. We scampered up about 1300 steep steps, straight into the clouds (hence the name, as you are supposed to feel likey you're ascending into heaven). The real challenge, however, was getting down on the back side of the mountain. The trail winded through incredibly narrow channels in the rock (some narrower than my shoulder span), each one getting steeper than the next (steep enough that my backpack would bump into the stairs behind me). Shortly after the picture on the right was taken, I lost my footing, and slipped down 5-10 steps before getting my feet under me and scampering down another 10-15. It was pretty nerve-wracking (there was a steep drop off not far from where I stopped), but other than a jammed thumb and a few scrapes and bruises I was fine. The remaining two hours climbing down stairs were not so fun, but eventually we reached the bottom! From Huang Shan, we continued further south to a town called Yangshuo, located in another very beautiful area of China. The highlight of our time there was a cruise down the Li River in a "bamboo raft" (actually made of PVC piping). It was pouring rain the whole time, but the clouds and mist only added to the mystique and allure of the landscape. Another fun excursion we did in Yanshuo was renting an electric scooter. We were hoping they would not require a motorcycle license, but in fact, no driver's license of any kind was required! On a side note, a driver's license is useful in China because it can be used a student ID, thereby halving the admission fee at most sites. Since we are jobless and soon-to-be students, we figured it was morally acceptable. Yanshuo was our last stop in China, and from there we made our way to Vietnam. On the map it doesn't seem that far, but the trip required a short bus ride, an overnight train, another bus ride, a golf cart to get across the border, then another bus, and finally a taxi (24 hours in total). All went smoothly except we had a slight mishap at the border (of all borders in the world to have a mishap, the Chinese / Vietnamese border would probably be at the bottom of my list). The problem was that my Chinese visa was in my Israeli passport (much cheaper than getting a visa as a U.S. citizen), and my Vietnamese visa was in my American passport. When the Chinese border official asked me where my Vietnamese visa was, and I had to take out my other passport, he did not seem to pleased. He called over his supervisor, who took me into the "waiting room" (actually a very comfortable lounge), and then disappeared with both my passports. Fortunately, a few short minutes later he returned, said everything was okay, and they let me through! That's all the news for now. Stay tuned for an update on our first week in Vietnam!

A sedan chair going up Huang Shan (Dena did not let me take one, despite my strong interest) On the way up the long, hard stairs to the top Misty mountain scenery on Huang Shan Dena and more misty mountains at the top Within less than 5 minutes, a beautiful scene could become completely fog covered, like this picture Our Huang Shan sunrise hike (not too bad, although not the perfect sunrise we'd hoped for) The mountains in the early morning, before the fog rolls in If you squint, you can see me standing by the upright rock Stairway at the top of Heaven's Peak Right before my near-death experience Li River cruise near Yangshuo on the "bamboo" raft A brief moment without rain Our electric motor bike A Yangshuo farmer in the rice paddies with his water buffalo