this picks up where the last blog entry left off :) :



I’m so happy I went! I really enjoyed wandering around the grounds. The landscape was mossy and green, and everything looked so weathered and worn. I took so many pictures! I hardly ran into other people as I walked about, so I took my time enjoying the spring plum blossoms just coming into bloom, the waterfalls and the views.

I eventually found the bat cave…and it was so creepy! It just kept going down, down, down further into the chilly ground. I was getting more and more nervous with each step, lol. The further I went, the more narrow and short the passage got. The rock formations were cool, dripping water everywhere, and the peacefulness of it…so quiet & eery. With no end in sight, and my footing getting slippery & slimy, I turned back after about 20 minutes.

I found myself at the end of the park grounds (not really an exit, more of a blending into the local residences nearby), in desperate need of a WC. Didn’t need to look long since I’ve been to enough rural places in China to know what the WC buildings look like :) As always, it was primitive & airy, but someone had placed two bricks, one for each foot, to stand over the slit in the ground. Someone’s aim wasn’t so great before me, but I had to go! Can’t exactly be picky :)

After my WC adventure, I took the chance to check out the homes of course. Mossy walkways led me to a gathering place, like an open courtyard, with some local older people chatting…about me. I smiled, said “Ni Hao” and received the same in return. They smiled and watched me watch them :). I took some photos of the little homes and the mossy pots & gardens, then said my goodbyes. I kept going, finding a steep roadway and followed it to its end, which was up on the main road. Then I took a wrong turn and ended up in another little apartment area, and got yelled at, lol! I apologized like crazy, took some wrong turns trying to escape, found my way back into the park. I nearly wiped out going down the steep road. On the sides of the road it was just moss, so one wrong step and I was skating down the hill.

I took a different path on my way back to the entrance and got to see some lovely gardens, the tiny local Buddhist temple, and took all kinds of pictures of the blossoms, trees & ponds. I loved being in nature, surrounded by the colours and scents, and enjoying my moments of peace.

The time came to head back to Chongqing. I really didn’t want to leave this place, but I had other things to see in the city and only what was left of the day to do it. I stood on the opposite side of where I was let off, and soon a bus came along to take me back.

As we bounced and bumped back, ZHAO text messaged me and I lost track of where I was, so of course I got a little worried, got off and realized it was the wrong spot, lol! I ended up walking for about 20 minutes, getting help from bus drivers along the way pointing me in the right direction. The rest of the way back to the city was just as nice as before, and it included a sign that made me smile – A local hair salon’s name was “Your Beauty I Decide”. I laughed about that one for a while :)

Once back in the city, I headed to my next couple of tourist spots. The Luohan Temple was under construction (but I didn’t know before I got there), so most of the grounds were off limits. It was 5 RMB, so I paid and went in, but there wasn’t a map or any English signs, and the layout was quite confusing. I was there about 10 minutes before I just gave up…right out into a taxi. Hong Ya Dong was my next destination.

I have to say that what quite a few people from China enjoy seeing when they’re tourists can be quite different from what a lot of foreigners like to do (at least from my experiences, lol!) ZHAO had an original plan for the day, but I had my own in mind and tossed his out…well…not completely. In case he asked, I wanted to tell the truth and say I went…so I went to Hong Ya Dong.

Hong Ya Dong is floor after floor of super ultra touristy tacky Chinesey souvenirs and snacky foods. And the outside was pretty over the top too. I took some pictures of the outside…once again, I didn’t last long at this spot and hailed a cab. Poor cabbie didn’t know what he was in for…

The taxi driver was originally headed in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go, but I saw his “for hire” light and waved. He motioned that he would turn around for me. As soon as he got to me, a girl jumped in the back. I really didn’t feel like waiting any longer (it had already been quite a while), so instead of letting it go I jumped in the front and wouldn’t budge. The cabbie laughed, told the girl I had hailed him first, so she got out….grumbling. My driver, my new friend! :)

I showed him ZHAO’s note with “Ci Qi Kou” on it, and he realized he had to turn around again. He griped and complained, about what I’m not quite sure (maybe the long drive to Ci Qi Kou?), but he tried to take me…yes, tried. We got stuck in a massive traffic jam going in both directions. No one could move, period. Sitting there for a while, getting nowhere with the metre running, I used my little Chinese to ask him to skip it and go to Pibashan Park instead. Easier said. It took 5 minutes of inching this way and that to get turned around. He laughed the whole time and was a good sport, but I’m sure he wasn’t happy with my whims.

The sky was quickly getting dark and his driving was getting crazier. We got to the park, but he wouldn’t let me go in the dark…he paid the 5 RMB to crive me around and up to the top…to a beautiful view of Chongqing at night. Definitely worth the roundabout trip :).

The driver then wanted to know where to next, and I showed him my hotel card, but he couldn’t figure out what it said (he kept pointing at his eyes, then back to the card). He stopped, asked someone, had a good laugh, then took me back to my hotel. Aw…our misadventures had come to an end. I was sad to say goodbye to my speedy (and crotchety) friend.

So, I had managed to hit (or try to hit) five sites in Chongqing in one day, but the way to and from each one was more fun :). Tomorrow Shanghai. I’m sad to go; I’ve really grown to love Chongqing.