07/09/18 I didn’t sleep very well thanks to a scooter next to my window last night. Its alarm went crazy all night, and you know, not just beep beep, but all the possible siren sounds every 3 seconds, like a kid’s firetruck toy. And because it is an alarm, it goes REALLY loud. I could not wait to leave that place. I left asap and was early at the station. I took a 5h train to Zhangjiajie which was painful thanks to my seat neighbour, a guy in his 30’s who didn’t bother moving his ass to his own seat. He kept his legs wide open all trip (note to all men reading this, please keep your legs closed on public transport, really) and acted like I was not even there. The train was packed so there was litterally no room for anyone, this guy certainly did not help. Without mentioning the pleasant noise when he scraps his throat next to you when you are eating. His girlfriend, on the opposite block of 6 seats, put her phone on the table, on loud mode and played in loop a video of her dancing show. She was rehearsing her dance while seated on the train, between 2 other passengers. Who did not really seemed bothered. And since this is the bitching complaining time, let’s talk about the smart people who want to take their big suitcases and bags next to their seat instead of leaving them at the front or the back of the carriage. It is just not funny, common sense, people, common sense?!
As usual, I wanted to drop my bags first at the hostel on arrival, and after the bad experience in Yichang hostel I was anxious about the cleanliness of this one. After 15 min walk from the train station, I arrived at the address on the map, to find a deserted demolition site, the size of 3 apartment blocks. I hoped I was in the wrong place, because it is 6pm, and I don’t want to knock at all hotels nearby to find one. I decided to ask people around, and after 4 attempts, a nice girl took me to the hostel, which was probably a good 300m away from the initial map location, in an area where there are only hostels on 4 crossing streets. This time I have a room to myself, so I should get a good night sleep!
08/09/18 I booked a tour last night at a local travel agency still open on the street at 9pm, as the online bookings were not available for the next day. I am not exactly sure what I signed up for, as the agent only said I will see the national park for one day and that food is included. I only knew someone would pick me up at 7.am. I chose the tour based on some pictures on the wall, and the availability. The agent used his translator app to communicate with me and we both had the bare minimum info required to be successful with the booking.
I was at the meeting point from 6.45, but a car finally showed up at 7.30. The driver took me to another place where the big coach was waiting for me. A bus full of Chinese people as expected, and the guide did not speak English, but I don’t blame him as I booked a local tour. I was welcomed by a group of 3 local girls on a weekend trip, and was very lucky they spoke a bit of English. Thanks to them, I knew where and when to go during the entire tour, I don’t know what I would have done without them. The first stop was at their hotel where most passengers were able to drop their bags before we left the city for Wulingyuan national park.
The site is classified by Unesco and is mesmerizing. It has inspired the famous movie Avatar for its landscape of giant rocks made of eroded Quartz that started forming 400 million years ago, and as we started with the Bailong elevator, the view from the top was spectacular. The elevator is built alongside one of the biggest rock formation and is partially made of glass so you can see yourself rising to about 400m high in less than 1 minute, as it rises 5 meter per second. Mom you would have loved it ?.
Then we spent the day moving with buses to multiple scenic spots in the huge park which were even more beautiful. The site is really impressive and you have a really good view as you get higher. The tour guide had one of those guide flags floating above his head so we always knew where to go. The organisation was great, despite the crowd in many places we went. A lot of stairs too, but it was worth it. And among the crowd, again many people wanted to take a picture of me, I felt like a celebrity again ?.
A monkey came to say hi on one of the pathways, probably looking for food. We stopped by a museum telling the story of ancient people who used to live in the area. They were also selling food and the girls bought a few bags of snacks. The park staff was trying to convince us to play archery and firing guns on glass bottles for a few yuans.
Later we were invited to watch a little show of people with particular skills, like a group of young boys doing gymnastics, an old man doing calligraphy (and selling his art straight away) or a 60 years old man imitating the sound of animals. Another one was juggling with cooking knives.
On site they were selling many local products, food, jewelry, alcool (in which snakes have been soaked in),… there was something for everyone. I finally bought fried sesame balls, but these were empty, not like the ones I had in Beijing (filled with red bean paste). It is always a surprise to see what is inside. Local farmers also sell cute mini kiwis that grow on the local mountain.
After the last view point, Tianzi Mountain, we took the cable car to get down and we shared the car with a German couple. The girl lived in China for a year and was fluent in Chinese, quite impressive, and she said she learned by travelling because the university she went to was not good. She gave me a few tips on Guilin, my next stop. Then the bus took us back to the group’s hotel and we shared dinner with the group.
After dinner, it was time to say goodbye to the girls and the tour guide drove me to a minibus going back to the city. This was obviously not planned as he gave me 20 yuan to pay for it.
The only annoying part was that the tour guide talked without stopping and very loud in a microphone all the way to the site (2h drive) which was really painful. But I had an amazing day thanks to the girls, the weather was perfect. We exchanged contact details and Stacey, who introduced me to her group, organised a tour for me tomorrow to the glass bridge with a private driver who took them there the day before, so I can see something in the morning before catching the train to Changsha, a stopover on my way to Guilin. Very lovely girls, I was very lucky to meet them.
09/09/18 I cancelled the glass bridge tour as I thought I could save the money, considering I have already spent too much in China. I took a 5h train to Changsha, where I spent the night in a hotel then took the train to Guilin the next day.
