That's right - photos are back! Again, many thanks to Peter who has set my computer up so that China thinks I'm using the internet in Melbourne! Over the next few weeks, I'll try to add pictures to old posts. But, here is the first post about my most recent adventures.
This was about as clear as it got!
I began my travels by jumping on a train as soon as school had finished and heading 13 hours south to Anhui province, home of beautiful teas, ancient villages and Huang Shan (or Yellow Mountain). Many people will recognise Huang Shan from traditional Chinese paintings - huge peaks appearing out of clouds of mist. Unfortunately for me, the clouds of mist were the only things I saw during my two days on the mountain! I took the 'short but hard' route up the mountain, appearing at the summit 2.5 hours and thousands of steps later. Once on top of the mountain, I stumbled around in the mist, following Chinglish signs until I found my overpriced hotel. The hotel reminded me of the reasons for my lack of love for chain hotels - rude staff, no character, dodgy rooms. I paid 120rmb ($24) for a bed in a 7-bed dorm, about 4 times the normal price for such a room. Other things were also over priced - water was 10rmb ($2), compared to the usual 2-3rmb and entrance to the mountain was a whooping 250rmb ($50).
Follow the poncho!
On my second day, I awoke (along with hundreds of Chinese tourists) at 5am to hike to the best spot to see the sunrise. We all waited for an hour but the sun didn't appear, it just got a little lighter! So, I headed back down the mountain along the 'long and even harder' route, where I saw a few spectacular sights, but not as many as I would have on a clear day. The trip up the mountain was an expensive two days, with not a lot of return. However, I plan to head back in a few weeks, dependent on the weather forecast.
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