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Clockwise from top left:
Jiuyi villager, Olver boys with Gandalf, cavern entrance, tea ceremony.
Today we were out by 8:00. Dan had persuaded Gandalf to stay & accompany us to Jiuyi (“Joey”) Mountain, which is actually a small village with 9 mountains and a variety of attractions. We took a few 3-wheel cabs (4 yuan each) to the bus station, then a 45 minute ride through rural countryside and mountains. The mountains look like the stuff you see on Chinese scrolls: karsts of limestone protruding from the plain & covered with scrubby trees. Pretty wild! Our pics can be found in the Ningyuan album, http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172067316/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539.
We had a few options when we got to Jiuyi Mountain: (1) tour another temple, (2) go to Monkey Mountain, with the warning that the monkeys would try to strip us of cameras & wallets, (3) climb a mountain in 36˚C heat, or (4) tour a nice, cool cavern. We opted for (4).
After paying an entrance fee, we descended some stone steps to a concrete slab where tables had been set for tea. The proprietor – through Gandalf – explained that the tea was grown & dried on the premises, and the water came from a spring that fed the cavern. And probably helped create it. There were other tourists there, but we were the only Laowai and the only ones treated to the tea ceremony, at no charge.
The cavern was pretty cool, literally and figuratively. A guide narrated in Chinese, relating legends regarding the various formations which Gandalf translated as best he could. We were underground about 45 minutes. Afterwards, we got lunch and headed back to town.
The bus both ways is really “local.” As we passed by villages & farms, wayside travelers would flag us down & climb on. They’d also hop off whenever we drove by wherever they needed to be. I suspect that most had never seen Laowai on a bus. When we got back, we had another celebrity stint at “English Corner,” then a dinner of roast duck and blood duck at one of the better hotels in town.
Jiuyi villager, Olver boys with Gandalf, cavern entrance, tea ceremony.
Today we were out by 8:00. Dan had persuaded Gandalf to stay & accompany us to Jiuyi (“Joey”) Mountain, which is actually a small village with 9 mountains and a variety of attractions. We took a few 3-wheel cabs (4 yuan each) to the bus station, then a 45 minute ride through rural countryside and mountains. The mountains look like the stuff you see on Chinese scrolls: karsts of limestone protruding from the plain & covered with scrubby trees. Pretty wild! Our pics can be found in the Ningyuan album, http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=172067316/a=102868539_102868539/t_=102868539.
We had a few options when we got to Jiuyi Mountain: (1) tour another temple, (2) go to Monkey Mountain, with the warning that the monkeys would try to strip us of cameras & wallets, (3) climb a mountain in 36˚C heat, or (4) tour a nice, cool cavern. We opted for (4).
After paying an entrance fee, we descended some stone steps to a concrete slab where tables had been set for tea. The proprietor – through Gandalf – explained that the tea was grown & dried on the premises, and the water came from a spring that fed the cavern. And probably helped create it. There were other tourists there, but we were the only Laowai and the only ones treated to the tea ceremony, at no charge.
The cavern was pretty cool, literally and figuratively. A guide narrated in Chinese, relating legends regarding the various formations which Gandalf translated as best he could. We were underground about 45 minutes. Afterwards, we got lunch and headed back to town.
The bus both ways is really “local.” As we passed by villages & farms, wayside travelers would flag us down & climb on. They’d also hop off whenever we drove by wherever they needed to be. I suspect that most had never seen Laowai on a bus. When we got back, we had another celebrity stint at “English Corner,” then a dinner of roast duck and blood duck at one of the better hotels in town.
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