I felt great after the hike and the Zhaos almost passed out in the car. The driver commented on how exercise was good for the health implying how the Zhaos need more health workout. I think the Zhaos were just very tired and as a result has been very unpleasant to be around.
We stopped by the Heavenly Bridge Hot Spring. At the toll gate, the collector was a nice old man who made the point to tell me that there are evil, bad people out there and complimented me on how I was kind, nice and not one of them. He was a sweet old man.
The bridge wasn’t much to show for in my opinion. The hot spring for me was a draw. I wanted to go in but Mrs. Zhao refused to participate. She even said it was dirty backwash water and that she didn’t want to have anything to do with it. She implied it was dirty because it was run by Tibetans who were dirty. This really offended the driver. I decided the safest thing at that moment was for all of us to leave the place before any outbreak. Our driver told us there were two hot springs for the Tibetans and in rituals used over the New Years. They come to bathe here twice a day in a ceremonial ritual for purification for seven days. There are many things within Tibetan culture that are quiet closed within Tibetans. It is sacred to them and they refuse to be open about it fearing slander and destruction.
For dinner I went back to the veggie kabob stand in Old Town. I learned that the vendors pay a rent of 200 yuan a month for their stand.
