It was really a challenge to fall asleep. Probably I still needed some time to tune my clock. At 4:10am, my alarm rang out loud. Struggled for a while before I started getting changed. Soon the staff came to wake everyone at 4:20am as promised.
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| Sunrise-less dejected look! |
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| Waiting patiently for the sunrise! |
After getting my share of the toilet, I still had to wait for the rest of the group to get ready. When many started to get impatient, the tour guide told us not to worry. He guaranteed we would get to see the sunrise. While waiting, I saw a few tents set up just outside the hotel!! Soon many gave up and moved on first. I followed suit since everyone was going the same direction.
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| Knitting in process.. |
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| Taishan heavenly stone steps! | |
When we all reached the viewing point, it was roughly the time for sunrise. Half an hour later, the sun was still hiding behind the cloudy sky. Many started to return to their lodging. I hung around enjoying the breeze, till I started to feel cold. Walked back to my bed dejected. It was 6am. I jumped right back to sleep for a solid 3.5hours!! Woke up to find a place for my breakfast. The area was already crowded again with many tour groups.
There was some competition going on. Some hikers in couple were wearing the running number on their shirts.
I decided to walk up to the pavilion on top for a better view while having my bread. Sweat up all the way only to have a couple of bites. After which, I had a very strong urge and rushed down to my lodging again for the toilet!
Wasn't hungry anymore, I started my descend at 10:40am. Stopped shortly for a watermelon.
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| Famous tree at Taishan |
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| Huge incense! |
There was no sun today. So, it was a cooling stroll down. Reached the middle point at 12pm and decided to eat something first. I realized the beef noodle was all the same up in the mountains!!
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| Natural my foot reflexology |
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| My disciple from Taishan! |
I already planned to go the western route. According to the map, it should be following the bus path. After getting some direction, I started strolling down the slope on the main road at 12:20pm. It was very relaxing since it was down slope all the way until I reached a jungle path. It looked promising and I decided to be adventurous. It wasn't too bad and I started to enjoy my walk. At least the view was better but the best part was getting away from the crowd. After some 10min or so I reached the main road again. Took a short break and saw some locals picking wild berries and vegetable. The lady told me something about the berries which I couldn't catch much of wha she said. She pointed up the tree. I told her I saw some over a corner. She replied those were not ripe yet. They directed me to the jungle path again. After a short while, I reached the main road once again and met the river. The water was very tempting. Quickly find my way down, I took off my boots and dipped into the freezing water!! Hardly could last for 10sec for each dip! Took some pictures and dried up to move on. My feet felt so refreshed and powered up.
Along the way, i saw a very beautiful bird with feather on the head. Before I could take out my camera, it flew off.
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| Check out the beers chilling in the pond!! |
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| The swimmer was damn cool! |
Soon I reached a bus stop and checked out the map there. I could follow a hiking trail from here all the way down! And so I went to Wuji temple. Crossed the Longevity Bridge. Passed the Black Dragon Pool, ventured through a bee hive and finally reached a dam! Down at the pool, I saw a couple having a dip too while enjoying some cold beer!! Wished I were there. The dam was huge and many were seen swimming! As I walked further down, I saw many were on the way up carrying tongs to fill them up with water!
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| Beehive and the owner! |
At around 2:30pm, I eventually reached the town. Saw the main road which would lead to the railway station. Followed along for a while and came to an Internet cafe! Since I still have heaps of time before my train depart at 10:15pm, I spent an hour there checking out my next destination.
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| Taishan's Thor!! |
After that I walked to the city centre hoping to look for a shopping centre with wifi access. Unfortunately, I had no luck. Got hungry and stopped at a noodle shop. It was not bad and the green tea was most refreshing. It was icy cold!!! After that, I went to get a towel to clean up in case I couldn't find a place to take a shower. Spent the next 1.5hours in the Internet cafe. It was really cheap in China for rmb2-3 an hour. Popped into a restaurant next door and glad I made that choice! Great dinner finally!! Local mushroom chicken. I think they cooked the whole chicken! The serving was so huge that I couldn’t finish my rice! Very tempted to drink beer when the owner asked me for the 2nd time. I noticed some patrons even bargained in the restaurant when paying the bill!! My rice was free!!
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| The uncle's private swimming pool! |
I went back to the small lodging I asked earlier looking to get an hour rest and take a shower. However they didn't accept foreigners! I went to another wrong lodging before that and they didn't accept foreigners too.
I tried my luck at a big lodging which wanted rmb60 initially. I managed to bargain for 20rmb discount instead. Couldn't complain too much. The room with the toilet was clean and I get to use a towel as well. After my shower, there was still time for some update on NBA playoff on TV.
Half an hour before departure, I walked across to the train station. This train looked cleaner. It was from Qingdao all the way to Chengdu! I managed to get a lower berth but it seemed to be smaller than the upper berth! Planned my trip for tomorrow and knocked off to bed at 11pm. I tend to have this phobia of falling asleep now. I think only around 12am I started my dream!
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