September 23, 2010
Emei/Baoguo, China
Hanna's Friend...Until He Peed on the Floor of the Train.
After an action-packed train ride from Chengdu (yes, the kid above really is the peeing culprit), we arrived in the one-street town of Baoguo which sits at the foot of Mt. Emei. We quickly found the Teddy Bear Hostel. Let us quote from their website:
“When we are young, clumsy bear, beautiful bear mum, handsome bear dad, cuttie bear baby, mischief naughty bear bro and silly lovely bear sis are all our best friends. They are our guid-angle, watching us growth. Teddy Bear is the happiest memory of our childhood.
Now we have gorwn up, jobs has exhaused us, love has torn us. We are fatigue and tiredsome. But Teddy Bear Hotel is everyone’s home, although it is not as luxury as 5 star hotel, but we could have the most cozy time here.”
Unfortunately we didn’t have the “most cozy time” there. Sure, our five-bed dorm room was spacious, and two German teens already in there were quiet and respectful. The remaining traveler? A Chinese girl in her late twenties. We battled with this girl during our two nights there.
The first tussle arose because of the air conditioner. If air con is available, we use it. Who likes sleeping in a hot room? On the first night, the German guys were asleep already when we headed into bed. Being the respectful travelers we are, we tiptoed around and drifted off to sleep in the breezy room. About an hour later, the girl comes in and immediately shuts off the air conditioner. Did she think about the four other people in the room? Of course not. We each woke up then drenched in sweat, so Mike quietly turned on the air con again. When we woke up in the morning, the unit was off. This was strike #1.
On the morning that Mike climbed Mt. Emei, he woke up around 5am to the sounds of the shower. The girl was up already (perhaps she was climbing too?) and in the bathroom. Mike noticed that the girl had turned on the overhead lights, so he shut them off to ensure good sleep for everyone else. (He also turned on the air conditioner which the girl had obviously shut off for the millionth time.) He was planning on getting up around 5:30am anyways to make a 6am bus, so he got dressed and then slipped out the door. The girl was still in the bathroom as he was leaving. It makes total sense to take a really long shower at 5am.
As the bus was about to pull out of the station, the girl comes running from out of nowhere. She was planning on climbing the mountain yet almost missed the bus because of her hour in the bathroom. Hanna said that soon after Mike left in the morning, the girl turned on the lights AGAIN and turned off the air conditioner AGAIN. We hated this girl.
Fun fact: did you know that admission (half-price because of Mike’s student status, of course) and the round-trip bus ride to Mt. Emei cost US $22.37? That’s more than half the money we spent that day alone. Emei is expensive compared to China in general.
And now….bonus pictures from Mt. Emei:
Mike's View for the Day: Never-Ending Stairs.
Yes, Even Horses Made the Trek.
Field of Clouds.
Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Oreos, and Buddha.
Looks Harmless Enough, No? Don't Joke the Monkey.
Mike forgot that he played travel guide and just found this short video. Hopefully it gives some context for the terrifying bridge-of-monkeys experience:
After a year on the road, this is still one of Mike’s favorite days.
Around the World in Eighty Liters 