Emei Shan........Emei Bloomin' Shan't!
30 October - 1 November
Shan means mountain. Emei means eyebrow. Emei Shan is one of the '5' sacred mountains in China (the other four being lip; cuticle; lobe and ugly red birthmark in the shape of a pointy hill). Emei Shan - Mount Eyebrow.
The next 3 days will be spent at some Buddhist monasteries. Quiet in the peaceful twilight, our first night's abode The Badguo monastery. Arrive late and tiptoe to rooms, whispering farewells to new friends and travel bud's so's not to waken the monks from their slumber.
5am......BONGG! - monks begin their.....BONGG! morning chants.
BONGG! - CHANT! - BONGG! - CHANT!.............For Bongg's sake!
Still dark 2 hours later on a bus then cable car + walk up to the peak of the 'Brow - The brochure said we'd see 'breathtaking'; 'spectacular'; 'enlightening'; 'spiritual' views.
We saw ........ Fog.
There is a 50ft high gold statue to Buddha (inc elephants) at the top - Fog so thick I almost walked into it! - Nuff said.
Our guide instructs us all to wish from the peak, stumbling in the general direction of what must be a sheer drop I fire off my desire that a few ailments be cured.....being compulsive.....(Stupid compulsion!!!!) I then thieve a quick second which I regret 2 hours later where near the mounts base soaked thru my 'bird' flu is givin me the chills but the Sun is laughing it's rays down on us.......
Stroll the afternoon away through parks past temples and flora and streams and monkeys.....a really lovely place even if the malaise is occasionally ruptured by spine-wretchingly good nosegobs. Our walks destination is a remote monastery on the mountain called Hongchongping which probably means 'ATTENTION! THIS MONASTERY IS A LONG WAY FROM CIVILISATION AND YOU WILL NEED TO BE EXTREMELY FIT TO CONQUER THE VAST NUMBER OF STEPS (1200) THAT NEED TO BE CLIMBED TO REACH THE DAMP AND RATHER UNPLEASANT SMELLING ROOMS THAT YOU WILL COLLAPSE INTO SHOULD YOU EVER REACH THEM (WHICH IS UNLIKELY BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF STEPS THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN WARNED ABOUT SEVERAL TIMES) IF YOU DO REACH THE TOP OF THE STEPS YOU ARE GUARANTEED A CRAP NIGHTS SLEEP AND YOU WILL THEN NEED TO GO BACK DOWN THEM ALL AGAIN TO LEAVE! - oh & THE SQUAT TOILETS HERE ARE ACTUALLY BLACK HOLES AND EVERYTHING DROPPED INTO THEM REAPPEARS IN ANOTHER DIMENSION AS SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN ANYWHERE YOU COULD IMAGINE.....'
Almost crawling at the top I lurch to our exceedingly damp room (v.good for the cold!) and enjoy the chill + peace + quiet. Meal at the monasteries local joint the 'Hard Wok cafe' (BRILLIANT! - I dont know who thought of that, but I bet they dont pay her enough!) is fun and we stagger back tired looking forward to a long relaxing nights sleep at about midnight.
5am......BONGG! - monks begin their.....BONGG! morning chants.
BONGG! - CHANT! - BONGG! - CHANT!.............For Biggidy Bongg's sake!
Shan means mountain. Emei means eyebrow. Emei Shan is one of the '5' sacred mountains in China (the other four being lip; cuticle; lobe and ugly red birthmark in the shape of a pointy hill). Emei Shan - Mount Eyebrow.
The next 3 days will be spent at some Buddhist monasteries. Quiet in the peaceful twilight, our first night's abode The Badguo monastery. Arrive late and tiptoe to rooms, whispering farewells to new friends and travel bud's so's not to waken the monks from their slumber.
5am......BONGG! - monks begin their.....BONGG! morning chants.
BONGG! - CHANT! - BONGG! - CHANT!.............For Bongg's sake!
Still dark 2 hours later on a bus then cable car + walk up to the peak of the 'Brow - The brochure said we'd see 'breathtaking'; 'spectacular'; 'enlightening'; 'spiritual' views.
We saw ........ Fog.
There is a 50ft high gold statue to Buddha (inc elephants) at the top - Fog so thick I almost walked into it! - Nuff said.
Our guide instructs us all to wish from the peak, stumbling in the general direction of what must be a sheer drop I fire off my desire that a few ailments be cured.....being compulsive.....(Stupid compulsion!!!!) I then thieve a quick second which I regret 2 hours later where near the mounts base soaked thru my 'bird' flu is givin me the chills but the Sun is laughing it's rays down on us.......
Stroll the afternoon away through parks past temples and flora and streams and monkeys.....a really lovely place even if the malaise is occasionally ruptured by spine-wretchingly good nosegobs. Our walks destination is a remote monastery on the mountain called Hongchongping which probably means 'ATTENTION! THIS MONASTERY IS A LONG WAY FROM CIVILISATION AND YOU WILL NEED TO BE EXTREMELY FIT TO CONQUER THE VAST NUMBER OF STEPS (1200) THAT NEED TO BE CLIMBED TO REACH THE DAMP AND RATHER UNPLEASANT SMELLING ROOMS THAT YOU WILL COLLAPSE INTO SHOULD YOU EVER REACH THEM (WHICH IS UNLIKELY BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF STEPS THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN WARNED ABOUT SEVERAL TIMES) IF YOU DO REACH THE TOP OF THE STEPS YOU ARE GUARANTEED A CRAP NIGHTS SLEEP AND YOU WILL THEN NEED TO GO BACK DOWN THEM ALL AGAIN TO LEAVE! - oh & THE SQUAT TOILETS HERE ARE ACTUALLY BLACK HOLES AND EVERYTHING DROPPED INTO THEM REAPPEARS IN ANOTHER DIMENSION AS SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN ANYWHERE YOU COULD IMAGINE.....'
Almost crawling at the top I lurch to our exceedingly damp room (v.good for the cold!) and enjoy the chill + peace + quiet. Meal at the monasteries local joint the 'Hard Wok cafe' (BRILLIANT! - I dont know who thought of that, but I bet they dont pay her enough!) is fun and we stagger back tired looking forward to a long relaxing nights sleep at about midnight.
5am......BONGG! - monks begin their.....BONGG! morning chants.
BONGG! - CHANT! - BONGG! - CHANT!.............For Biggidy Bongg's sake!
posted by nidpor at 2:31 PM
3 Comments:
Bing bang bong!!
Hi guys, hope you are having a great time on your travels, hows the beard going Neil?
Stay safe, look forward to reading about your adventures again soon.
James and Sarah xx
James - You are the BESTBEST man!
Nice post. Emei Shan a mountain that rises from earth at a height of approximately 3,099 m. This is most heighten mountain from the Four scared Buddhist Mountains. Mount Emei Sunrise and Cloud Sea is the most tourist attraction place.There are almost thirty old temples located on Emei Shan. People come here with messed up mind but then go with the open mind.
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