Teresa Tang Karaoke

Knowing when the morning ceremony for the monastery was I got up earlier than that to do my own ceremony so that I can be done in time to join the monastery one. As I headed out the door to join the monastery ceremony, I noticed the grandmas were all up sitting in their bed tucked in the blanket reciting their own ceremony. Everyone was vigorous and dedicated. It was something they did every day. Not for show, not for anyone else. It was a beautiful sight to see.

I joined the morning ceremony in the main hall, and realized I was the only one in my room who did; I quickly noticed the residents all paid special attention to the morning ceremony because there were guests in the nunnery whom they thought would partake. They were disappointed when only I showed up after putting out their best for the chanting.

During the chanting I realized the style the ladies chanted in were in Shan Ge style. Sung like mountain songs were sung in China, with a high nasal pitch strong enough to break through valleys, mountain, hills, and then rolling back in echoes. I am not used to this sound at all.

I inhaled breakfast, it was a bowl of porridge. I was going to pass on breakfast fearing I would miss the first shuttle down to the gate where I can catch the bus to Tunxi, Xidi, HungCun but the residents wouldn’t have it my way. They like the fact I joined in on their ceremony and was a self starter kind of a person. Well I am much younger than the grandmas and I have been in monasteries so I have a little bit of experience. Well, I didn’t want to miss my bus for the day so I ran after breakfast in hopes that I would nit get sick from all this rushing.

The bus ride out was amazingly beautiful with the mountains of Huang Shan as the backdrop and old farm lands with wooden barns to set the scene, it was a place for an artist to stop and do some art. It was beautiful, as beautiful as nature inhabited by humans with modern convenience could offer.

It was raining outside and I contemplated on whether or not I would visit HungCun where Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was filmed. I saw the sign for it on the road and the bus driver did not stop where I was suppose to get off. He forgot and I wasn’t sure enough to call out for him to stop. So there went that possible plan that I was still working on. Just like that it was decided without any deciding.

The bus was ride was a joyful one with beautiful scenery on the outside and Teresa Tang’s karaoke being played on the bus. We all sang the classics. We were like little children on a school bus out on a field trip. It was fun.

When I made it back to the bus terminal at Tunxi where my backs were in the Youth Hostel, I passed by a bus that was heading directly to HangZhou and it was leaving in half and hour. At that moment I made a convenient connection and decided to head straight to HangZhou and be done with AnHui.

I ran to pick up my pack and ran back to the bus terminal barely in the nick of time. As I approached the bus, another driver pulled me over and said his bus was the right bus and I was boarding the wrong bus. I was confused. In fact all the other bus drivers were lobbying for their bus. Then a female ticket taker flagged me down and asked me what bus did I really want to get on. I told her the express non-stop bus to HangZhou by means of the highway. She instructed me on how to get the right bus ticket at the counter by giving them the code for the bus. I mean, who know the code off hand? It’s not even listed anywhere. The people at the ticketing counter are not usually the most helpful. They are merely functional and don’t have the time for questions.

I think the ticket taker lady really saved the day. It was a good thing because I afterwards while on the bus, in the parking lot, I saw how others got snagged and was on the other bus to Hangzhou that was not the express and would not take the highway. What did that really mean? It meant it will drive for hours picking up riders until the bus was full at all times, all the way to Hangzhou. Being on the highway means you can’t just stop to pull over to pick up a rider. Plus there wouldn’t be pedestrians on the highway.

The express bus was new, clean, and heated. I had peaked at the other buses, they were old, stinky, and dirty. After getting on the right bus with the right ticket in my hand I asked to sit in the front seat and was approved by my neighbor. I quickly dumped my packs off and ran to the empty back seat while the bus rolled off. I looked to the right, I looked to the left, I looked to the front, I looked to the back and double check for visual clearance for privacy because I needed to take off layers of stinky wool shirts that I had been wearing for the past week. It was the only place I could change on the bus. The bus was heated and it would be much warmer in Hangzhou than Huang Shan was at 5 degrees and dropping each day.

I arrived in Hangzhou in the evening. I must have looked really tired because everyone who I came across handled me with extra care. Either that or people are gentler and nicer here. Hangzhou is known for its leisure and culture.

I was able to finally check into the Youth Hostel off West Lake after walking in the fog and rain. It took me a long time to figure out the entrance to the hostel is through an alley, a back alley.

I met three English teachers from Wen Zhou college who had a Thanksgiving buffet for 100 yuan in Hangzhou. Tonight, their mission is to find Mexican food in Hangzhou. I passed on their invitation to join. I decided to wash up first and check out the Historical Cultural Street.

The Pureland Grandmas

After finally getting dropped off at the gate I dashed up to Rou Shen Dian where there the hall of flesh body masters of the past are kept. I wanted to bow to it. It was dark and I asked for housing at this monastery. I was told that I could pay for a hotel room that is in the hotel that is in the monastery. Something didn’t feel right and I proceeded to leave.

Upon exiting I saw a group of grandmas from Henan and asked them where they were staying for the night. They told me they were staying at the Pureland Nunnery for 10 yuan a bed a night. Sun had set, it was drizzling, and the fog had rolled in. Many of the elders were still up the monastery. I decided to head up to light their path for their way down because they didn’t have flash light to see where they were going. The grounds were dark by now, wet and slippery. I guess I was suppose to be there to light their path.

On the way out of the monastery to where we were staying I showed them the cut away that they didn’t know about. They had come from the back of the mountain from a day of pilgrimage and didn’t know their way to the nunnery in the dark and rain. I showed them the way since I had just come from the front gate and did cut through the open play ground and could make out where the fence openings were even in the fog..

Upon entering the nunnery an old nun was bowing the Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance. She consulted me on identifying a character. I was least of all possible qualified people she could consult. But looking around I realized I was the most literate of all in the place. The characters were in standard form not the current modern simplified form the main land Chinese were raised on the last 50 years. I can tell the texts were printed in Taiwan. It was nice to see someone taking the time to bow to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance.

The room was simple with beds covering the room. All the women somehow let me have a bed all to myself. Their explanation was it would be warmer for them if they curled together. I think they were just being polite. But really, I was the young one and I should be yielding to them. But for some reason they were all yielding to me as if I was the senior elderly in the room.

There was hot shower water in the nunnery. I could not believe it. I was so happy to have a place to sleep for the night in a monastery, and on top of it all, a hot shower! What a gift, all for 10 yuan.

I could see the residents of the nunnery were really intent on being disgruntle about the presence of the guests. Wanting to make sure we understood how much of a trouble we were and how much we were taxing them and that we should know better how to serve ourselves and not the other way around. Well, I can understand all of it. First of all, we really didn’t know where things were and how to get to where so we needed to be guided and ask silly simple questions repeatedly, especially from a group of grandmas who had a short memory and was hard of hearing, and moved very slowly. And if guests are too much of a hassle then guests should not have been invited in, the door should not have been open for overnight stays.

In the evening I recited while everyone else chatted in the room and watched me recite. Then I meditated with my ear plugs on for an hour and half. It was a good thing to meditate before going to bed.

I Could Fly?

I woke up this morning feeling joyful and physically light. I decided it would be the day to dash down the mountain. Chen had two female roommates who moved in with her last night and they teamed up to head down the mountain together.

People had different takes on how long it would take to get down the mountain. I wasn’t sure at all. After two days of seclusion in meditation, I felt I could fly. In fact, I ran down the mountain in just two hours. I had no idea how fast I was going until I was down in the valley at the main gate and checked the time.

While running down the mountain a passed a young man who decided to be competitive and run too. On the way down I saw lots of people who were hiking up that looked like they were in pain. It’s a difficult hike I my opinion and they should have taken the cable car up and then hike downward.

The trail from the main gate up to the central mountain is rigorous. And then from the central area through the Western Sea trail up to top valley is more intense. It is best to start from Eastern Gate up to the Swam Peak, go west to do Western Sea Trail down to Central area then back down into main gate.

I took the main gate shuttle to the bus terminal where I bought a ticket heading toward Jiu Hua Shan “Nine Flower Mountain”. I had missed the direct bus to Jiu Hua Shan. There was only one per day at 6:20am. Being intent on being in Jiu Hua Shan tonight I decided to find ways to make transfer buses that will get me there. It was only 11:30am what else am I going to do?

I was dropped off at the nearest intersection for Jiu Hua Shan by the bus driver who called for a cab to pick me up to drop me off at Jiu Hua Shan gates. This way I would save myself an hour of extra detour to Tai Ping where the bus was headed. It was arranged that I would only need to pay 10 yuan for this cab ride.

As I approached the cab I noticed there was a driver and another man sitting in the shotgun seat. The driver was under the command of the man in the shotgun seat. It turns out this man was an owner of a hotel in town not on Jiu Hua Shan. He wanted my business for the night. He spent his time trying to convince me how I don’t need to visit the mountain. All I have to do is go to this one monastery and it would be good enough. In fact, said he, that most of his clients do this upon his recommendation. He continued to teach me his form of Buddhism that involved offering money here and there and then burning pyramids of incense here and there. Why? Because he also has a connection to an incense shop. Maybe he gets commissions or something. Maybe he owns the shop. He insisted that I need to buy incense and it is cheaper at this shop he recommends.

The man continue to try to derail me from going into Jiu Hua Shan. He took me to a monastery outside of the gates that was working on expansion. He instructed me to make an offering of any amount. The monk at the desk was ready to write my name on the merit and virtue sign in book to log me in when I pulled out the nearest money I had and it was 5 yuan. Seeing my sum, the monk stopped me from signing my name on the booklet. I guess it wasn’t really any amount that was all good. I guess only certain amount was considered meritorious.

Outside this monastery one can pay a sum to have a, no joke, incense bundled in the form of a 6X5 feet pyramid tower outside. I passed on such an activity and the man told me how as a Buddhist I know nothing about Buddhism, blah, blah, blah….. Afterwards, I continued to keep up with my determination to not get derailed by his business intentions through using the name of Buddhism.

Wet Dogs and Cats

I got up at 6:30am and checked out the weather conditions outside. It was still dark grey and misty full of precipitation. The trails were very wet from all the rain. So I decided that I would stay for another day.

People who hiked up yesterday all looked like wet dogs and cats who have been in the cold rain for hours lost. Lots of people got ill. Today is not too bad of a day to head down compared to yesterday. It may snow, but the temperature has to drop to cold snow temperature then the sun will come out. I think will wait and see what will come. I have my EarthWare shoes on because all the national parks in China have stone steps everywhere. There is no dirt trails so I left my hiking shoes with the rest of my stuff.

I used to the hot water heater to steam up some warmth in the room. It is my only method of heating up the room without a real heater. I spent the rest of the day meditating. It was my own little seclusion space. The cold really makes it quite ideal for meditation.

In the evening I went back to the hotel restaurant and by then the staff knew about my order. I made it very simple for them by getting the same dish every meal so they wouldn’t be confused and will be able to learn to make my order catered to my exact instructions. It is eggplant and bell pepper with bok choy. Simple huh! You’d be surprised on how people can get it wrong by adding lard, msg, pieces of meat, onion, garlic, chives, leeks, shallots, or wine to it.

Tonight two Shandong ladies were my new bunk mates. They were very nice ladies who work at a factory. One of them insisted on having the TV on all night to dry her socks. I really didn’t like that or wanted to agree to it. But who wants to hike in wet socks?

Black Snake

Last night went to bed at 12:30am, I was flat out tired. After turning off the lights for the night, the room was pitch dark. Even in the dark I saw a black snake. Yup black on black and I could even tell. I was too tired to bother and soon after I learned it was a mistake to not take care of the matter because I was not going to get any quality peaceful sleep that way. I had to get up and take care of the matter and I didn’t enjoy it at all. But better my way than its way.

Dreaming of Pumpkin Pies

I am dreaming of pumpkin pies, mashed potato, corn bread, and cranberries for Thanksgiving. I got up early like the rest of the people in the room at 6:30am for a view of the sunrise with their tour group. Well, it was still pouring outside, I doubt it’s going to go according to plans. The women from XingJiang told me to go back to bed and stay out of the rain.

I tried to call Chen to cancel our scheduled breakfast at 7:15am to decide if we would head down the mountain or not but her cell phone was off and I just stayed in bed. She came and found me in bed. I told her I didn’t want to walk in the rain but if her schedule was tight and she needed to head down the mountain then we would part here. Plus she’s paying three times more than I am per night so her expense is more. Chen convinced me to accompany her to breakfast only to sit through hearing her talk about how fat she’s going to get by eating. She’s like a size zero in the U.S. She’s not even fat by Chinese standards.

I returned to my room and meditated. I really like meditating on Huang Shan with the sounds of the rain outside. I really enjoyed a day of down time in rest and meditation.

Five Degrees

Today I met a guy named Xiao Xi from Gansu. He was traveling alone and does regular backpacking activities. He handed me his China park pass. In U.S. it would be similar to a Golden Eagle pass for the National Parks. Here his card allowed free entrance on some places and discounts on others and then there are no perks for some too. He did the west trail ascending the harder way, I was going the opposite direction, descending the easier route. We planned to meet later in the Youth Hostel where my packs were.

It was fun to trek 13 hours for both days. But I was ready for a good rest and getting myself properly cleaned up after 5 hours of train ride to ShaoGuan, then another 20 hours of train ride to Anhui, 13 plus hours of hiking, and 4 days later.

At the White Cloud Hotel that is located in Central Huang Shan, I was able to check into my 40 yuan dorm bed thanks to the travel agent. I could not have gotten that rate or the bed without his consent by cell phone through the front desk of the hotel. He and his tour group had already made it down the mountain and was on a bus to SuZhou.

My room was set up youth hostel style with bunks. It had a TV and a water heater. The sink and toilet were shared detached outside the room. There was no access to shower with this rate of accommodation. It is cheaper than last night’s, the window here closes, the blankets weren’t damp and mildewy, and I don’t have to exit the building to use the toilet.

Chen’s place was in another hotel nearby. Her room had heater, TV, personal shower, toilet with running hot water, and the beds were still bunk style. It was for 120 yuana night, pre-registered through her travel agent in Fujian. It normally ran higher than that on a walk in or direct call without travel agent arrangement. Chen recommended that I stay with her. But there was no availability at that rate so she let me use her showers.

My bunkmates for the night were from XingJiang. They recommend I see it in September after the nut and fruit harvest after the heat and before the cold. They shared their food with me. But I passed on their dry bread and dried meat links.

It is 5 degrees celsius here in the mountain. There are rumors that it may drop below zero and have first of the snow for this year. I wonder if I would catch the first glimpse of snow for the year while I am here. What an amazing sight it would make here.

Where the Immortals Dwell

The tour group that I just helped myself to left this morning at 5:30am to see the sunrise. Knowing how the weather was like last night, there would not be enough clearing to see sunrise at all. I stayed in bed until it was time to meet up with Chen to pair up together to hike the Western Sea Trail at 8am.

Chen came to find me earlier than our scheduled time. We headed for breakfast. We ate a lot knowing it would be our meal. The western trail is unpopular due to the difficulty in hiking it. So there isn’t enough incentive for vendor to have stands there. I packed my “man-toe” and stuffed it with pickled vegetables for the road.

Hiking up the eastern trail to connect with the western trail from here means going mostly downhill this way. This was the way to do it and not the other way around. The experience is full of surprise, mystery, imagination, beauty, and joy. I found myself turning my head around a lot making sure I got glimpse of this turn and that corner. You just don’t know what nature will reveal to you in a flash. Every moment is different and if you missed it you missed it.

This is where the scrolls of ink brush paintings come from. This is what the poets go off on for inspiration. This is where backdrops for stories on immortals and “kong fu” legends.

I went through some caves and at the entrance, it would be pitch dark and then after the turn it would be light but foggy and misty, feels like a holy somebody would be waiting there. And holy music would be played and sung in the background as I approached. There is quite a lot of room for imagination. I really felt like I was in a heaven or something, definitely not in a human realm.

Most people take an average of 3 to 5 hours to do this trail, Chen and I took 7 hours with our long breaks of, “ooooooo, ah………..” lost in amazement and majestic beauty.

Naked Trees

I met a man named Chio, “Autumn” who was a biology teacher and had a distinct scar from surgery on his face. It looked like the marking after a tobacco gum disease surgery. He was hiking alone because his friends preferred the cable car ride up. We paired up to do the East Trail up and hiked for 3 hours in the fog.

I really enjoyed the fog as a back drop to the winter trees, highlighting the forms, lines, details. I found it to be very beautiful this way. With the fog moving in and out it appeared as if each tree was being moved in and out to be showcased. On this trip I have grown an appreciation for the beauty of winter in what it can provide. I have also appreciate what winter can reveal while hidden during other seasons. It is hard to imagine the form, line, structure of the tree when it if fully clothes in leaves. Now in winter naked, I can fully appreciate the patterns, textures, colors, form on the bare tree.

The locals all warned me about the fog that it isn’t the best time to see Huang Shan. But it is the exact reason why I came to see Huang Shan hoping to catch it in misty, drifting, fog. The fog brings it an added element of fluidity. It is playful and dances around the mountain, dressing it however it liked.

I made it up to White Goose or Swan Peak and at that moment the clouds dispersed and a bit of the sun came through. It was an amazing sight. I snapped away. Each second was a different presentation of the mountain by the sea of clouds promenading around the mountains. Within 5 minutes the mountain was covered and had disappeared until the next showing. This progressed throughout the rest of the time here.

My trekking took a halt after 3:30pm when the thick rain clouds moved in. It started to drizzle, although it was only later afternoon, it was dark in the thick fog. It was no longer safe to travel because under this kind of condition, even a flash light won’t get you far.

I checked into the hotel along with someone else’s tour group. The tour guide was kind to just pick me up without charge. He set me up with a bed in a room for 50 yuan a night. The room however had a window that didn’t fully shut. I covered it with newspaper. I went to a different room to find another blanket to keep me warm for the night. The restroom was in the lobby of the hotel. This dorm room like set up was not a part of the hotel but a prepaid place paid for by tour agencies all year around. The money goes to the agency not the hotel.

I also me a lady named Chen from Fujian where Xiamen is . She is a CPA accountant who is traveling alone. She too is a vegetarian. She became a vegetarian for health reasons. She discovered this year that she had an incurable immune system disease that went away after becoming a vegetarian.

Crooked Karma

Although I was extremely tired from the lack of proper rest last night, I was also excited about hiking Huang Shan and decided to dash out to hit the trails without anymore delays. I got on a bus for Huang Shan National Park it took 1-2 hours on the public bus. I had missed the youth hostel bus shuttle to Huang Shan by 20 minutes.

Upon approaching the park area, a couple and a man had gotten off at an intersection for Huang Shan where the main gate was, they both looked at me as if I should be getting off too. I looked at the bus driver and he said he would take me closer to the gate and not to follow the couple who is entering at a different spot.

The bus rolled a few yards forward and stopped in front of a hotel. The door opened and a lady from the hotel greeted me as if she knew I was coming. The bus driver told me to get off here. I said, “this is not the Huang Shan front gate entrance.” Mean while,the hotel lady told me it was too late to enter the park that I should stay at her hotel and take shorter sight seeing spots instead. It was like 8:30 am, I'd call that morning, not early, not late, but plan old morning. The bus driver then said this bus does not go to the Huang Shan gate entrance and I would have to get off here to catch a cab to the entrance. This was totally not what he just said to me earlier a few yards away when the couple got off. The bus driver kicked me off the bus.

I reluctantly got off the bus knowing clearly at that moment I was tricked by the bus driver who had business with this particular hotel. That I should have gotten off at the other spot where the three got off. As the bus zoomed off, the hotel lady continued to try to convince me to enter her hotel. Well, I didn’t buy her sales pitch and I was quite irritated at this point. The hotel lady refused to help me since I refused her business. I don’t have a problem considering staying at her place later but I just don’t like it when other’s try to confuse me by lying to me all to benefit them in total disregard to my plans.

I was stuck on the road again, all alone middle of nowhere, after getting dumped off by the driver. It’s been my karma of getting dropped off somewhere else other than my destination after paying for my fare, after the driver promised he was going where I was going. I stood there on the street trying to clear my head of all that just happened within 5 minutes of verbal exchange wondering how I keep finding myself in this kind of situation.

I stood there wondering whether or not I have been a crook for many lifetimes and dealt this kind of business without integrity. What can I do but have a sense of humor and adventure about it. It’s my karma and it’s my harvest to reap.

I started to walk just because I needed to do something else other than stand and be a sitting duck. I should at least look like I know what I am doing and I am heading somewhere. Then I saw a cab pulled up and three people were quickly trying to get in. I ran towards them and asked if they too are going to the gate. They acknowledged and agreed to let me squeeze with them. The driver didn’t mind at all because he was getting more money with me as the additional rider. I agreed to paying 10 yuan for my ride. There was a free shuttle that ran from the main gate to the other gates. But I missed that didn't I.

This group I carpooled with turned out to be the people I needed to be with because through them and their tour guide, I was able to get the special tour group rate for a dorm bed at 40 yuan a bed on Huang Shan. Everything else was 120 yuan to 400 plus yuan and at these prices it did not necessarily include heater for your room.

So maybe the driver was really my guide who was in the process of helping me connect the right people. I have found this to be true throughout my trip. Whatever seems like an interruption, whatever that seemed like things are not going according to plan, it seemed to always work out for the better, the other better plan.

Visiting Lovers

Yesterday I got to the train station and took the train to Huang Shan Train stop. I didn't get a sleeper berth. I got a seat ticket. The sleeper berths were unavailable. When I got onto cart number 6 exactly what my ticket was numbered for, I decided to head into cart number 5 to check out the other availabilities. I found a row of three empty seats for my 20 hour ride to AnHui, and laid all my stuff down to reserve it for the evening as a bed to rest. It's quite hard to sleep this way. My hips hurt no matter which way I laid. I think my hips are still very tender from the car crash. I can't quite put so much pressure on it.

On the train, I hung out with lots of people and had a great time chatting with the locals. Hey, twenty hours of a bummy train ride, might as well spend it in joy as much as one could on a train. Time flew by as I hung out with the other young people who all happen to be my neighbors. We all ended up sitting together for convenience of conversation, sharing food, and singing songs.

I met an 18 year old girl who just finished high school and is visiting her boyfriend who is on a business trip. Their common dream together is to open a sports shoes shop. She showed me her prized new tennis shoes that she has yet to wear but is keeping in the box it came when she bought it. You can really tell, she’s really into athletic shoes. She and I hit if off quite well and she sat across from the whole trip. I met a 27 year old lady who is visiting her boyfriend also in AnHui who is an accountant. She didn’t open up to me as much and kept switching seats from row to row. She ended back to our area because it was more fun with us. Then there was a guy who was from Huang Shan who is a software game installer, I can’t recall his name so I decided to just call him Leo since his sun sign was Leo. The one thing all three had in common were they were all visiting their lovers.

It was fun sitting with everyone. Time just flew by easily this way. Leo and I inquired into their love lives like inquisitors. Leo would tell us stories and jokes. We would all sing, well it was more like they would all sing current hit pop songs. They spent the whole time trying to figure out where I was from. Leo was even going to trade 5 bedtime stories if I told him where I was from. I fell asleep before he could tell them to me.

Leo and I landed in the train station 7am in the morning. It was actually late somehow by half an hour. Leo walked me to the youth hostel with his girlfriend who stood in the cold for an hour waiting to receiving him. They both walked me to the youth hostel that was on their way to his place. He made sure I made it into the youth hostel and checked in alright before parting with me. That was very nice of him. I dropped my bags at the Youth Hostel for safe keeping at the counter. It's not that safe since they didn't put it in the storage or may be they will later.