So, knock on wood, but Guiyang has defeated the odds and we have had a full week without rain. Curses to mother nature if she reads this and mocks me with rain tomorrow. Anyway, it has been so incredibly nice here the last week. I woke up to sunshine, I've slept without my sweatshirt AND without socks on. Now how exciting is that!?
So we were all looking forward to Saturday because we had made plans to visit Qianling Mountain Park. And boy did Saturday not disappoint. The day started with French Toast. Yup, we made French Toast in China because we are that cool. We each got something different and created a feast of sorts with sliced apples and orange juice. It was super fun and just seemed so incredibly normal.
We then set off on the bus to the park. We had to take the bus to one stop, and then find a taxi to get to the park. There is a way to get to the park using several different buses, but we figured why not "splurge" on a taxi...it only cost about twice as much as the bus. Getting a taxi is always an exciting adventure in China because you basically just wave your arm out and wait for one to stop. But usually a driver will stop to pick up more passengers until their car is full so its pretty difficult to find a completely empty taxi for all four of us!
We made it to the park without a problem, paid the small admission fee (5 RMB) and went on in. Even at first glance its amazing. There were so many things to see, trees, flowers, ponds, lakes, people. And the place is huge. It is made of two different mountains (Qianling and White Elephant) and then the spaces around and between the mountains too. There is also a famous Ming temple (Hongfu Temple) that you can ride cable cars to, but we decided to save that for another time.
Wondering the park, we found everything from musical entertainers (some better than others) and little amusement park type place with carnival like rides, caves, beautiful buildings...and monkeys. SO MANY MONKEYS. The park is actually kind of famous for it's monkeys. They are so acclimated to humans that they walk right on up to you and take food from your hand, steal your bottles, and reach into your pockets.
We were warned by the school to not get too close to the monkeys. I guess you can say we tried to listen...because once a monkey decides he wants to come up to you, there is no stopping him. But I am very proud to say that I am the only one who did not lose a bottle to a monkey. Probably because they thought I was one of them.
I almost don't even know what else to say. I mean, what can you say about monkeys. Some were huge and ugly. There were quite a few babies that were tiny and adorable. Some seemed extra mean, they can peel oranges in lightning quick speed. The are cute, but mysterious little buggers. They also can be a little evil. They can sense the fear in you and just take one little step your way and send you running and squealing for the hills.
The park also had a little zoo inside it. This was the first time something in China actually upset me. I've heard the stories of how the zoos can be kind of cruel places, but I guess I wasn't fully prepared to face the reality of the situation. Some parts didn't seem too bad. But other parts really just left me feeling disgusted. There were two poor bears out in the baking sun with basically no water. A lion was cooped up in a cage smaller than what the monkeys had and his back legs were chained together. And the bottom of his cage was just covered in scratch marks as if he wanted nothing else then to escape his prison. And though he would surely eat me alive, I wish I could have freed him. Parts of the zoo were kind of cool too. There were beautiful peacocks. Ok, I guess that's kind of it. I really only liked the peacocks. They were exquisitely beautiful.
We got lunch in the park, potatoes and noodles. They were delicious. We also walked down and then climbed back up one of the mountainous areas. That was a real treat for my bum and legs. Tons of people (usually around our age) stopped us and asked to take pictures with us which was just beyond hilarious. Its like we are celebrities here.
One thing I will never get over is how cheap everything is here. My entire day expenses are as follows:
apples (for breakfast): 7 RMB
bus rides (to and from park): 2 RMB
taxi (to and from park split 4 ways): 5 RMB
lunch at park: 5 RMB
dinner downtown: 7 RMB
drinks throughout the day: 6 RMB
That's 32 RMB. Which is roughly $5 in the US.
How mind boggling is that. An entire day of entertainment and food and transportation for $5. I swear things are way too expensive back home. The only thing here that is more expensive is anything import. Like peanut butter. And cheese. Man do I miss cheese. (oh, and I guess my crazy expensive towel...check the last blog if you don't know what I mean). I don't even know what I'll do when I get back home and can't even get a decent meal for $5.
So basically, I'm never leaving China.
Oh, and beware of the monkeys.
No comments:
Post a Comment