9 mountains - 27.5.11 (Day 10 - Stop-over at Xi'an)

Had a great sleep and woke up at 8am after a nice 7 hours rest. Not too much and not too less. I read an article before that this was the optimal hours for health reason!

Turned on the TV and the NBA Eastern Conference final game 5 between the Bulls and the Heat was showing lived! Yeh!! I quickly walked to the McD next door for my breakfast.

I ordered a pancake set 2 and an extra Egg McMuffin. And I got a big breakfast and a Sausage McMuffin!! Didn't know my Chinese was that bad!! I asked if I could changed but the staff was so defensive and got agitated. She probably had her point since I didn't really hear her clearly when she repeated my order. But her manager was more professional and polite to give me my Egg McMuffin at least.

After my breakie, I walked back to my room to enjoy the NBA game. Heat were leading 3-1 in the series. It was a good game. Pity to see the Bulls lost in the last 2minutes with 12points lead!

It was around 11:30am and just nice to pop by the Internet cafe for a couple of hours. Around 2, I checked out and thought of keeping my stuff there if I go for their hourly rate room later. But their charges for 2 hours was almost half the full day rate!! Can't keep my stuff there, I walked over to leave my luggage with the train station instead. They charged rmb3 for each side of my shoes!!

What a heavy lunch!

I walked to the department store and picked up a couple of hotels with the rate of rmb80 for 4 hours rest instead. Still early to check in, I window shopped around in the department store looking for food. Found a nice Chinese restaurant. The menu were all pictured!! With a whole fish and a plate of vegetable, I knew I over-ordered again! I had a feast!! The sweet and sour fish was delicious and cheap. After the heavy lunch, I walked down to the supermarket to get my breakfast in the train tomorrow.

Bell Tower at Xi'an

Passed by a CD section and bought one compilation by Steve Zhou. I bet you don't know his English name is Steve. He is Zhou Chuan Xiong.

Muslim district street!

Having settled everything, I headed to Starbucks for my latte and wifi access. Spent about two hours there catching up with friends and downloading my latest emails and the train schedules.

Around 5:45pm, I walked to the hotel as planned, stopping along the way to withdraw some money. As I walked, I thought I had just taken shower this morning and still felt fresh since I was in the air conditioning all day. So, I decided not to check in for the hourly rest but to go for a foot massage instead.

After that, I walked to the same Muslim district I went last night and tried the famous local yang rou pau mo (flour rice with mutton in soup) and 3 skewers of barbecued lamb.

And I was expecting English!

Flour rice with mutton in soup!

There were many such food stall, but I went to one with lesser people. The mutton was great but the soup was too oily. And the skewers were the biggest disappointment. I was surprised that they were pre-barbecued!!
It was a quick meal. I took the bus backed to the train station! Collected my luggage and went to the waiting room. I just realized they had a separate air-conditioned waiting area for soft-seater ticket holders (those in 4-berth sleeping coach)!! And the attendants were prettier too!!

I met two Sichuan guys heading back home. One of them was in the oil industry and the other in research. The one in oil industry, around 40+, came with a 4-year old daughter and his father. He reminded me of the Chinese actor in the famous movie Fei Chen Mi Rao! We chatted for hours. About travel in Sichuan, about living standard, about the government, about the plight of many Chinese people. One of them slept earlier. The two of us continued at our upper berth until almost 1am!

9 mountains - 26.5.11 (Day 9 - Sunrise at Mt Hua)

Sunrise at West Peak!

Sunrise at West Peak again!

I was too tired to be bothered by the noise outside. It reminded me of those days at my grandma house when the kids were in bed, but we could still hear the adults talking outside and wondered why they could stayed up late while we had to sleep early!!

My alarm rang at 4:30am. I lazed for another 15minutes. The young couple just woke up as well. The 3 late comers already left at 3am as they mentioned last night! They were walking to the East Peak to view the sunrise. The hairstylist preferred the sleep more.

Highest peak at Huashan!

Huashan great view!

I went up to the West Peak's summit first. It was still early around 5am. Soon the young couple joined in. It was not very cold actually even at this hour. There were just the 3 of us most of the time. Only a few more turned up at 5 plus. Most of the people went to the East Peak.

Bird-eye's view!

Another Huashan great view!

More Huashan great view!

Around 5.25am, I saw a glimpse of the sun which was covered mostly by the clouds. Another unlucky day. There was a little hole among the clouds. I witnessed it passing through that until it emerged from the clouds. We all went back to our room a little disappointed. I washed up and ready to set off again at 6:08am. The couple decided to rest for a while. The hairstylist had already awoke but not leaving yet. I bid them farewell and moved on to the South Peak, the highest at Huashan. Here was where the previously dangerous trek of tiny planks were. I paid and geared up with the safety features. Glad I didn't give it a miss! It was pretty fun walking along the tiny planks.

Still Huashan great view!

After that I had a short breakfast stop and then walked to the East Peak. By now, everyone from there had already moved to the west. The place was very scenic. I came to another adventurous trek, the famous slope with only a small opening on the rock for your feet to support on!! It was cool!! I felt like Ethan hawk again in Mission Impossible 3. Surprisingly the descend was easier than the ascend to me.

Dare devils!

At the East Peak, I met a young guy from Shandong. YiQiang was 25 and married. We chatted and descended together around 10:30am. At the South Peak, we separated and exchanged contact. He was taking the other path to a temple to get his phone charged, while I wanted to pay the Taoist temple a visit on the same route I hiked up yesterday.

Fun planks!

At the temple, I couldn't see any worship area. There was a locked area. Probably that was the place since the taoists I met at Heng Shan were not back yet.

Still more Huashan great view!

I moved on but my knees were getting weaker and weaker!! About 4km more, I changed to my slippers. I reached the river again and chose a spot to dip my feet. It was just as refreshing as the first one I had at Taishan.

I managed to reach the foot of the mountain by 1:50pm. So there was still time for me to catch a cab to the train station to take the 2:18pm train to Xi'an!

The adventure was fun!

Really steep... steps!

At the ticket office, the staff said there was a 2:30pm train instead. I also asked for the trip to Emei but unfortunately all the sleeping berths for the day were sold out! I bought the sitting ticket anyway only to regret not checking for the following night. I thought it would be hellish to sit for the whole trip of 19 hours!! I went back to ask if I could exchange but the staff wasn't very willing to help and directed me to do it at the Xi'an station.

Inside the train, there were staffs actually selling belt!! We were at Xian in 2 hours.

Still another Huashan great view!

Immediately I went to the ticket counter to change my ticket. Came to the counter but was directed to another ticket office, which I couldn't quite figured out what she said. She advised me to be quick because there were only 2 tickets left for the sleeping berth. I quickly walked to the other ticket office available and thankfully managed to change the ticket with no extra charges but just to top up the difference. I was impressed by the service provided. Next was to find a decent hotel and get cleaned up!! Went to the one recommended by the book which was just in front of the train station.

Wonderful Huashan view!

Fun steps!

Quickly I cleaned up my bags, pants and jacket; washed the socks and handkerchieves, and finally had a great shower. After that, I walked out to look for food. I was too hungry and just marched into the first stall I saw and had some big serving of rice with three meats and three vegetables for only rmb20!!

On the way down to the planks!

I was so full and decided to take a walk. I just walked and walked. Passed by many shopping lots and departmental store and felt like I was back in Shanghai already. Reached the Bell tower and stopped at Starbucks for a cup of latte! Through the Drum tower, I walked further and came to the Muslim district area. The place was huge with many shops and stalls and many tourists and locals too. It was my food heaven because everywhere was mutton, mutton and mutton!! Saw so many specialty food, but I was still very full. I made a turn back to where I came from. I didn't realized I had already walked for 3 and a half hours!! Half way back my legs couldn't take it anymore and took the bus back to the hotel.

Updated my blog and watched TV till 1am before I was willing to go to bed!

9 mountains - 25.5.11 (Day 8 - Sunset at Mt Hua)

If you win over Huashan,
you live in peace for life!

The scary stairs of Huashan!

At 5am I was awaken by the staff attendant. I thought I'd reached but she was calling for the other to alight. Then, the two on the upper berth started chatting. Then, a lady boarded to our berth and started talking on the phone so loud I could hear in my dreamland. I eventually woke myself up at 7am! I washed up and got ready. At 8am, we reached the Hua Shan station.

Five peaks of Huashan!

As usual, I tried to avoid all those who approached asking for transport. I thought I could find the bus stop where the proper minivans operate. I walked up further and thought of asking a food stall owner.

The 80-degree stairs!

The lady next to her answered it was at the same place I came from. Feeling skeptical, I decided to go further to check it out instead, and that was a big mistake! I went further and further but no bus stop could be found. Didn't want to go back embarrassed, I asked an elder walking along the way. He told me I could hail for the minivans anywhere.

Resting cheekily at West Peak!

He confirmed we were talking about the same minivans when he said the ride was rmb3 as expected. So I decided to stop and wait. In seconds, a car pulled over and asked if I wanted to take his ride for rmb20. Since I knew that was the usual price and I saw he had a passenger as well, I hopped in. He started to ask me about accommodation and told me stuffs like I should climb at night to see the sunrise. I knew he wanted to send me to a hotel. I lied that I had already booked and paid for one at the mountain.

Huashan great view!

Feeling not very happy, he began to make demands. Telling me to pay him now, and leave the car faster because there would be policeman. He said we had reached but I found the place didn’t seem very right. It was also supposed to be roughly a 30minutes ride, but we had only travelled for some 15minutes or so. I could have not paid him! Since I didn't know the place, I had to alight. I dropped off some vegetables from my bun and dirtied his car. He ordered me sternly to clean it up. Actually, I didn’t did it deliberately, but I wished I had and left the car with the whole bun on his face!!

More Huashan great view!

This is how you dry your socks!

When I asked the staff at the gate, the taxi driver indeed dropped me off 2km away from my destination! I kept my cool and only had myself to blame. If I was smart enough, I could have asked him to drive further up for me to ask around before I pay him. In fact, I should not had board his car in the first place, but a proper taxi!!

I walked for a short while along the main road hoping to hop on to a minivan. Instead, a local cab stopped and offered the ride for rmb10. They sent me to the foot of the mountain where the ascend start.

Another Huashan great view!

Yet again Huashan great view!

It was 8:46am at 405m a.s.l. The first few kilometres was pretty relaxing following along a crystal clear river. Felt like jumping in again. Probably on my way back. The weather was cooling. Saw a lot of beautiful butterflies and heard many nice bird chirping!

Met a local from Xi'an and a French who were traveling alone as well. Soon the road got steeper and steeper until I reached two sections of the path where the stairs were like 80 degrees!! I could basically see the steps right in front of my face!!

North Peak's crowd!

These two stretches were the toughest, after which were more stairs. The view was really beautiful that I kept taking pictures as I went up.

Hua Shan was very clean and well organized. The paths were all well-signed. The tourist service points (selling food and drinks) along the way up were all numbered with the price of items clearly displayed.

Still another Huashan great view!

Fish head look-alike stone!

Around 3hours and 15min later, I reached the summit of North Peak at 1614m. There were many tourists. More opportunities for more photos! After satisfied taking all the pictures, I stopped for lunch. Thought I bought a bowl of hot noodle, but it was a cold dish instead. And the drumstick was cold too. Still hungry like a wolf, I bought another instant noodle and a hotdog, together with a coke! Total damage was 48rmb.

Told you not too stand too far!
See how small you are in
the picture now, Ms Bottle!

After the heavy meal, I hardly could move! I sat under the hot sun for a rest but couldn’t wait to go again. Met and chat with a Canadian there.

Yet another Huashan great view!

I avoided the crowed for a short while but there were too many people on the way up.

Heard a lot of Cantonese speaking tourists, just like Taishan! Yesterday, I read about the danger of hiking at Huashan on the internet. Now, there were no more such dangerous paths. With the new stairs built, they had closed all such roads and turned them into attractions instead. Tourists paid rmb30 to use the safety feature provided to experience the thrill!

World first mating room!!

Yes! It's Huashan great view!

Reached theWest Peak one and a half hour later. Checked into the dorm room at the West Peak hostel. Since it was just 2:30pm, I lied at the summit for a rest. Could had suntan up there but I forgotten my suntan lotion!

There were lots of old trees around the peaks! Some was 300years old, 500, 600, 800 and there was even one I saw was 1300 years old!!

The 1300 years old tree!

Amazing view from Huashan!

Still a lot of time to kill, I decided to cover the Center Peak as well today. On the way, I came to a deserted hotel. Saw a bowl of onions in front of the entrance. I wondered if that was to prevent the vampires inside from coming out!!

Still an amazing view from Huashan!

It was so noisy the whole day up in the mountain. People were shouting everywhere for no good reasons! About half an hour later, I reached the quiet Center Peak. It was a good spot to enjoy the view! Along the way back to the West Peak, I got to enjoy the silence again.

More amazing view
from Huashan!

Around 4:30pm, I was back. I dried my socks outside and brought my lonely planet to the summit to read up on the next destination. Chatted with a young staff at the West Peak. Wang Jin Peng was only 19 but had worked for 5 years at Shenzhen before he came back to his home town.

Another amazing view from Huashan!

By 5pm, the peak started to get quieter. Around 6 it started to get chilly. Another staff resting there had a music player, and it was nice to have Qi Qin’s (齐秦) song for accompany!

The famous pose at Huashan!

At 7pm, my stomach sounded the alarm. I went down to have an instant noodle with an egg and a sausage for dinner. Met a young couple from somewhere near Harbin! They drove all the way here!

Sunset at West Peak!

At the dorm room, I met another guy staying together as well. He was a hair stylist from Shanxi. The place didn't look like having a shower room. My nightmare was confirmed by the staff shortly.

I went back to the summit and waited for sunset. Unfortunately, the view was mostly covered by the clouds. It wasn't anything fantastic. Took a couple of pictures and went back to the dorm. Chat with the guys for a while until 3 more new guests came in.

After finishing my blog, I went to bed at 10pm.

9 mountains - 24.5.11 (Day 7 - Stop-over at Taiyuan)

At Taiyuan Yingze park!

At 4:10am, I was already awaken by the train attendant! I took another 10 more minutes to get out of my dreamland. At 4:50am, I was back to Taiyuan again!
My next destination was Hua Shan and my train was at 11:41pm. Today was a relaxing day to meet one and only one purpose, that was to do my laundry!! I supposed I should be able to complete my task in 18hours!!

Craved for a McD breakfast but couldn't find any nearby. So, I burnt some time to check my emails at an Internet cafe. An hour half later, I went to KFC for breakfast instead. They had youtiao (Chinese donut) too!!

Sword playing at Taiyuan Yingze park.

White tulip at Taiyuan Yingze park!

After that, I was a little lost and didn't know where to start. I asked the guy sitting next to me and he pointed along the main road on the right. I doubted he knew too. But I followed him and reached a junction. Saw a few traffic officers and they immediately pointed me to one laundry shop just opposite the road!! Since it was still very early in the morning, the shop had not opened yet. I decided to take a stroll to the Yingze park. Along the way, I saw many nice local food, and bought a big youtiao. Heard many shops listening to songs from the famous Hong Kong band in the 90's, Beyond. Saw a wedding car with flowers interestingly decorated all over it!

There were orange tulips as well!

About 15minutes later, I reached the huge park. It was amazing that so many activities could be going on there. I saw a lot of locals playing the Chinese shuttle balancing game! Even grandmums too!! And they were all really good! I was amused by their back-heel, back-feet somersault, side kick and many other stunts. I had not enjoyed watching this game so much until now!! There were also many dance groups. Hot pop, Traditional Chinese and even slow ballet! There were singing classes, dragon boat rowing, Taichi, Kungfu, fan dancing, sword fighting, flute playing, chess, Chinese spins, lawn ball, harmonica, everything!!

Reminded me of Stephen Chow!

A Stephen Chow kungfu's movie look alike sweet (po ban tong) caught my eyes! I bought it just to snap a picture and then offered it to a little girl and her brother after that. She was so shy to accept but still managed to say thank you.

I strolled around the park, passing two lakes and an amusement park!!

Ballet dancers!

I was backed to the laundry at 10:40am. The fee was rather shocking to me at rmb100 for 6 t-shirts, 5 boxers and a short!! It was rmb66 initially but the owner said he could not get them dried by tomorrow!! My foot, I thought! At his mercy, I asked if there were other options. He said he could do it using the high speed dryer with the extra charges. They didnt even except my handkerchieves and socks. I should had wash my own underwear next time!!

Precious moment!

After handing over the clothes, I started to look for a shopping centre. Asked around and came to one but was nothing close to what I thought of. There wasn't any outlet where I could sip a cup of coffee or even better indulged with a wifi access! Later, I came to a big open area, called Wuyi Square where I saw many family and grandpa were bringing their children and grandchildren to feed the pigeons. I sat there for almost half an hour checking out the kids enjoying themselves! Think that was the longest time I could stayed put myself in one place, except for meals and sleep, of course.

I like my milk!

Pigeon's hole!!!

Around 12, I went for another junk meal at McD. After my meal, I realized I had not book any hotel yet. I called up a booking line but they did not have any hotels at the peak of Hua Shan linked to them. So, I went to the Internet cafe again. Made a booking which I didn't know if it went through! After that, I managed to get the right direction and came to the city main shopping streets. But still, I could not find my coffee!! Many of the shops were repeated every 50m away!! I walked and window shopped around until the end of the streets and realized I was back to the park!! Exactly where I wanted to go to take a rest at the tenting area. Think I managed to nap for 30minutes, before I was chased away by the staff for stepping on the grass!! I explained that was a tenting area!! He told me that I would kill the grass if I sat on it, but I would not with a tent in between!!

Spirit of co-operation!

I returned back to the laundry shop to collect my clothes. I was impressed that my t-shirts were very professionally sealed in separate cover sheets! At least you knew where the charges went to now!!

Underground market!

I stopped at a snack stall just next door to settle with a hot coffee and some light meal. After that, I was deciding if I should go for a massage in order to have a shower and then followed by Internet cafe; or should I just checked in to a hotel for 4 hours just like before. I went to the massage parlor I passed by previously but it didn't looked too pleasant! I ended up in the hotel at 7pm. Had my shower and washed my socks. Unfortunately, they couldn't dry on time. Then I catched Sudirman cup on TV until 9:30pm when my phone was fully charged. Lin Dan almost lost the first set to a Japanese veteran, Sasaki! Then, I walked out to look for dinner. Wanted to eat in at the hotel but the restaurant seemed to have some function. So, I walked to one end of the street but found nothing. Walked back to another small road and saw the barbecue sticks on the street. Decided to take that and went back to the hotel happily after having a rmb18 meal! Lin Dan had already won but the 2nd game was pretty close too. I just relaxed until 11 when the hotel staff called. Checked out and headed to the train station. Everyone was already at the platform!! I quickly went down to my coach and settled down at my berth. I managed to get a lower 4-berth coach for the night! After the routine ticket check, the lights were off and within 2minutes or less, I already heard surround sounds from my top and left "speakers"! But, luckily I was too tired to be disturbed.