Mt Emei and Chengdu Hotpot

Day Two Plan:

With the weather seeming  pleasant, so I was looking forward to heading to Mount Emei, the highest of the 4 sacred Buddhist mountains of China. Once there, I would explore the giant gold elephant-styled temple, and probably come back with an amazing pics like this one to the right (not my pic). Meanwhile, I would enjoy the smog free air outside of Chengdu.

The high speed train journey out to Emei was pleasant, at least once I actually got on the train. The newly built rail station in Chengdu was a a massive and chaotic environment. And nothing beats China when it comes to line cutting, shoving, and overall lack of organization when it comes to boarding public transportation.
It took about 4o minutes of train travel, half the time it took to actually get the ticket, and I was in this rural district. A short walk from the station and I was then on a bus heading up to the mountain’s base and the park entrance.

On the Road to Emei Base

Chengdu’s new high speed rail station is a full city block under one roof.

Riding on these small independently-operated busses is almost as frightening as taking a taxi. Most are old, worn, and end up smelling like a bag of farts & onions in a matter of minutes. Our driver was blasting some Chinese Club Tracks while tearing up the mountain in minimal visibility, slowing down for nothing. Why brake when you can use a horn, right?

 

 

So begins the climb… in worse and worse visibility. It starts out casual with a decent amount of hikers, and as the elevation climbs the the visibility dips, it’s eventually a blanked of white and just random noise off in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to make the best of the “scenery.”

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, at the summit, visibility is minimal, gold elephants are everywhere. Buddhist music playing over the loudspeaker. Occasionally someone would pop out of the mist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hours later, back at the train station, a bunch of these creepy monkey statues are scattered about. Yeah, that’s some dirty polluted rain going on.

Back in Chengdu for some Hot Pot

Even if it’s late at night, you can count on Chengdu’s Hot Pot restaurants to be open.

What is Hot Pot?
It’s a family-style soup that is cooked at your table, and you order anything you want to add in it, which is delivered to your table row, then you add it to the pot, cook, and eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where I was staying. 29th floor of an apartment complex.