Jiuzhaigou... More time to Post...

Other than that little bit of chaos about Jiuzhaigou I have not yet had time so adequately speak of the events of the past few days. Well, I have returned to Chengdu a day ahead of schedule and now have some time to fill you in...

Before I start. The final count of people on the Bus that lit on fire was 104. I do not know how that is split up between injuries and fatalities. Either way, if you have the time, take a moment for them for they have taken their last.

Morning came the night after seeing the Pandas and my alarm was set of go off obscenely early. In the end I did not need the alarm as my ability to sleep is diminishing and I spend the last hours in bed waiting for the alarm that never needed to come.

I was on my feet, through the door, checked out and on my way to the bus. I was on the bus and before I knew it we were on our way out of Chengdu. I am not meant to sit. Actually, whenever possible I am supposed to avoid sitting, but since I am travelling and since there are certain realities involved with that I sucked it up. We were on that bus for the better part of thirteen hours.

I will throw in a note here that I find interesting. I took the Public bus to Jiuzhaigou because foreigners are currently not allowed on the tour buses because they pass through sensitive areas regarding Tibet on the way to the park. I think on the Public bus no one checks is why it was still ok. I could also have flown... but the cost... gah. Public bus it was.

It was a beautiful ride. You can see the devastation of the earthquakes that have ripped apart Sichuan Province. There are broken bridge, houses, roads, and mountains all along the ride. Construction crews are everywhere trying to repair the damage and restore the road to a functional status. The two lanes of traffic are often confined to one lane since there are materials or workers using the other lane.

The scenery in itself was amazing. To see the mountains was one thing, but to see how the people lived as you moved further away from the cities. There we were able to see how people live in Rural China. That is how most of the people live, and it was a great privilege to see. There were people farming, and tending to animals. People carrying their harvested goods and their children in baskets on their backs. There were people herding their animals, in including the goats that blocked our bus on the road, and the donkeys that too blocked our path. The villages were filled with traditional buildings, traditional clothing, and traditional people. Chickens roamed free, and on the far side of the river fenced in only by the great hills were cows and horses. It was absolutely amazing. In some touristy ares one might think that the traditional clothing was for the sake of the tourists, but when you saw these people you knew that they did not care about the tourists. All they cared about were their families and their basic needs.

I was still very popular in these areas, as every time the bust stopped people would stare at me and shout out "Hello" but I was more thing of interest to be ignored then a celebrity as I have been on this trip.

This trip was meant to be an excruciating eleven hours long, but there was a traffic jam that held us up for two hours. We were able to get out of the bus and wander into one of the villages. The bus stopped at other locations where we could get out and take a look around, but not for long. There I had the extreme... pleasure... of seeing the most disgusting toilets of my life... Actually, they were just little half stalls over top of a sloped trough so that you could squat and Hakuna Matata.

On those stops there were often locals selling food by the side of the road. I did not get any, but when we were on the bus the guy next to me offered me some nuts he had bought. I refused, but he gave me the nuts anyways. Later he offered my an orange fruit of some kind. Again I refused, and again he gave me the fruit. Both the nuts and the fruit were amazing.

It was also on one of those stops that I was approached by a student. He spoke English and seemed to have a plan to visit Jiuzhaigou. I, having no plan, opted to stick with him and when we arrived there was now a group of us. They dropped me off at my hotel, and told me where to meet in the morning.

6:30 am rolled around and we met outside the hotels. We went to the park and paid outrageous fees to get in. We were on a bus and we spent the entire day journeying around this natural preserve. The final group we ended with was myself, the foreigner, the Student from Beijing (who can speak very broken English, this is important later), the PhD Student moving to Chicago for school (who can speak excellent English), and the old guy (60) (who spoke no English whatsoever). It was a good crowd and we were able to see many things.

At lunch I was given two steamed buns from a random Chinese Man who was sitting beside us. He thought the food I had looked like a snack and was not substantial enough to be a meal so he gave me the buns. I refused, but as we have already seen that did not matter. The PhD Student explained to me that my food was snack food, and if Chinese people see you eating that for a meal they will give you food because they do not feel you have enough.

That I thought was amazing.

We later went to a village in the park where we wanted to sleep for the night... sleeping in the park is not allowed, but sometimes you can rent a room at a villager's house. We did manage to get rooms sorted out, but not for the following evening. Sure... that would be fine.

We left the park and met for supper. On the bus we met someone who grew up in a nearby village. He said he would take us to his family's restaurant for Toasted Lamb. We arrived at the village early, but that was fine. Our friend from the village gave us a tour, which was absolutely amazing. He took us to their temple, and showed us around. The temple might have been closed, but when the monks saw that our guide was a local they did not might. It was incredible.

After the tour we went to his family's restaurant for supper. I did not know it at the time, but evidently they do a full cultural meal where they show you tons of cultural stuff. We paid a very reasonable fee and were told not to tell the other guests. We were treated like family.

When we arrived since we were still early they let us dress in their traditional clothing. All of the guys were in robes with one arm out, and they gave me a great big hat to wear. The PhD student was in a more feminine robe and was adorned with their traditional jewelry. The photos are hilarious, and I think me and the Old Guy enjoyed them the most.

After that we went in to wait for the rest of the guests. The room had skinny tables set up like the walls of a courtyard so that performances could go in the middle. We were off to the side in a table just for us. There were no knives or forks, and not even any chopsticks. In this Tibetan way of eating you use your hands, and only your hands. We were able to eat some snacks while we waited. There were some kind of vegetable/flower/thing, as well as cracked wheat, cracker things, and something like flour. There were peppers (hot hot hot) to put on everything, after all we were in Sichuan, and milk tea to go with it. The flour stuff could be put into the milk tea to make something like dough that you could eat. Normally it was done only in festivals, but since we were early they showed us how to do it. The Old Guy tried it later and made a huge hilarious mess.

We were also given cups of a yellow wine. This was the special wine and we were the only table to be given it. This wine has 54% alcohol, and most definitely can offer a little kick.

Everyone else arrived and regular black/red wine was brought for everyone (including us). The women explained something in Chinese, and then the Head of the Village came in. He toasted to us. We all stood, held our cups of wine (the crappy wine) above our heads, and then drank. This is not a little, take a sip... but a drink the full cup. Cup down. There were more toasts, and the father of the family also came out for a toast. In one of these the Old Guy grabbed his yellow wine and we toasted that. Wow. That was interesting.

Then there was food. I do not know what meat we had first, but we ate it with out hands. There was the singing and dancing of the three daughters and the son of the family. You can tell they were singing themselves, because when the power went out, which happened a lot, they were not hindered by a lack of microphone.

It was also interesting that if you did not drink your wine one of the daughters would come around to you with a shot of the yellow wine and make you drink it. I escaped that round.

They brought the Lamb around before carving to let us see. There were two Lambs, each cooked and laying on large cutting boards. Moments later, individual plates were brought to the tables.

As we ate the real games started.

They would bring people from the crowd up and make them dance or sing. More than once there would be a singing competition where one of the daughters would sing a love song and the participant was meant to counter with another song, and so on until the participant stumbled. Then they would drink and sit.

At one point they grabbed a bunch of people from the crowd. They grabbed five people, including the Old Guy. He looked at me and threw me in there in his place. First all of us, all of us guys actually, got in a line and faced away from the first guy. One of the daughters showed him a dance. Then the next guy, in this case me, turned around to face the first. The first tried to repeat the dance to me. Then I turned and tried to repeat it to the next guy. Like the telephone game this got worse and worse until the final guy was meant to perform. Good times were had. We were split up and they went though each guy for their own game. Some had to sing, some had to dance. No matter what they did, each guy would have to drink a shot... or more... of the yellow wine before being allowed to return to the crowd. For this activity I was last.

Before my turn the PhD Student send over the Student from Beijing. Let's get this straight. She speaks near perfect English, but she sent the other student because she thought it would be... and I quote "funnier." Great.

So we told the people a little about me in English and the loved it. No one knew what I was saying, but it was funny. In Chinese the Student from Beijing told them I was a student and I was from Canada. At least that is what I think he told them.

Before I knew what was happening one of the daughters grabbed the ends of my scarf (oh yeah, we were all given scarves on entry), and pulled me from the room. I waved and shouted "Bye" to the crowd and they cheered for me. On my way out I saw a bull made very similarly to a two person Chinese Dragon enter to keep the crowed entertained.

Behind the scenes I traded my runners for some Boots, and then was wrapped in a great cloak, and hatted like a Tibetan Herder. The bull came back and I burst out into the crowd. My foreigner gone Herder appearance brought great amusement among the people, and I was able to pose for them with many great stances. When they were satisfied with my poses and my photo was taken about a bazillion times the daughter returned to me. She asked me something in Chinese. Evidently she wanted me to go on the ground on all fours like a bull or cow or buck or something. I did. Then when she tried to sit on my I gave more of a bucking bronco approach to it. She screamed. Everyone laughed. At attempt number two I sat long enough for a photo. Back on my feet she said something to me again.

My translator said something indecipherable, but said that I should say 20. So I said 20, and he translated. Evidently she asked how many cows does my family have, and hers has one thousand. I was not looking good with only twenty. Then she asked me something else. My translator asked how many legs to bugs have (again... meaning cows)... I showed six on my fingers to much the hilarity of the crowd. They gave me a little bull that I could take with me as a memento for playing the came. The daughters said the stuff that they always said before toasting. They went on their knees, as is done by the women in such traditional circumstances. I looked at the goblet with the yellow wine in it, raised it high, and threw 'er back. Cheers all around. They wiped wine off my forehead, which they put there in the toasts, they then tried to wipe off my beard. I grabbed it and pulled to show them it wouldn't wipe off. The daughters shrieked and the crowd laughed.
This next part got interesting since my translator was clearly inadequate. The PhD student explained to me later. Evidently I appeared to be quite attractive as a husband and the daughter wanted to marry me. She tried to grab onto my back where I would then carry her away to her room. But, based on shoddy translation I could not figure out what she was trying to do, and because of my height she couldn't get a great grip so because this was not working quite right she just pushed me out of the room. I managed to look back and yell "Bye" and the crowed cheered. There I resumed my formally glorious appearance of World Traveller.

It was when I sat that the PhD student explained that it would be funnier if the Beijing Student translated, and she explained the rest. It was much funnier after I understood what was going on.

There were more songs and then we were told a fire was ready outside. We went out and were all able to dance around the fire as evidently they do. What an experience. It was an amazing night.

On a less good note, when the sticks in the fire burned they snapped in half and a pile fell from the brazier. I helped to throw them back in the fire and managed to burn myself slightly. There is where it gets less good. I did not actually notice that there were embers touching my skin until it started melting through the callus on my hand. I did not then notice that there was an ember on one of my fingers. I could not feel the pain until they started burning. This, as it would appear is one of the drawbacks of being on general pain killers. Sure, I cannot feel misquote bites, that is good, but then I cannot feel pain when I need it. That is bad. For example. Last night I discovered that I have an infected toe nail. I do not know when it started, or how, but only that I cannot feel it. Great thick puss poured from the infection, and yet, no pain. I can only feel my back. That is all the pain there is anymore. But, there is nothing I can do about it, so despite the pain I will continue on.

I will continue on, and I will enjoy every minute. That night, and since then. I have.

We were home and in bed, then up, then we bought bus tickets. Now we decided not to stay in the park but to go to the small city of Songpan to see some other historical stuff. We went to the park, and because we decided not to buy bus tickets (because they cost a lot) we had to walk in.

We walked in and we took the bus out. We got our stuff and after a very very fast lunch, which pissed me of we went to the bus station. I was pissed off at lunch because the PhD student asked if I could use chopsticks. I said yes, since I could use them before I left, and because I have been in China a while now. So the food came. I began to eat, and at least this time she did not tell me that I was using the wrong hand (as she had the night before). They were almost done, and I had barely eaten. They were talking about me, which was quite obvious. When they noticed that I noticed, the PhD student said that they were mentioning how much difficulty I was having with the chopsticks because they were almost done and I had only eaten a little. I was greatly irritated, because my ability to use chopsticks is fine thank you, but I prefer not to fill my face with heaps of second-rate noodles on a hurry... gah... The only other thing regarding my foreigness that has irritated me thus far on the trip is the signs in the Jiuzhai Village. Both of the hotels that I had seen have signs on their computers saying that Internet is free, but foreigners are not allowed. They must go to the Internet cafes outside. That pissed me off, and was one of the reasons I was glad for our group to break as we parted ways.

Waiting for the bus to go to Songpan a driver of a sedan came and spoke to us. He wanted to go to Chengdu that night and wanted passengers. The rate is the same of the bus, but the trip would be much much faster because he was a car. We would also stop when we wanted to see stuff and take photos. The group agreed.

It was a faster trip, but evidently some people do not know how to sit in a car. Three of us in the back seat, but there was on person on one half of the seat, and the other two of us on the other half. Which I made some adjustments on, but with my inability to spread out and inability to speak the language my pain shot through the roof.

We stopped at Songpan, and we stopped at many other villages. We stopped so we could get photos atop a cow, but other than that we drove on and we drove fast. Our driver was amazing, but it is amazing that I was not ill. Absolutely amazing.

As for the pain. 10. Pain at a 10 is something I have rarely experienced, but for the last hours of the trip it took all of my focus, and all of my praying to God that I might endure. My strength was completely devoted to not screaming out in agony, and my mind was devoted to infinite loop conversations. I would tell myself that we had already driven for so long and that there would not be much left. And then I would tell myself and one minute had passed when it had been ten. That two minutes has passed when it had been twenty. In such a way I could endure.

The PhD Student was asleep and the Beijing Student was awake beside me. He told me they would drop us off at the bus station. We were not dropped off at the bus station, and because of this I had to pay 20 yuan for a Taxi instead of 2 yuan for the number 28 bus. Because they had decided to come home early, I had to pay 120 yuan for a full hotel room, instead of the 50 yuan to stay with a villager in in Jiuzhaigou, or 60 for a hotel in Songpan. This pissed me off.

It was good though, as long as I can eat the expense that I am in Chengdu early. I can sort out my travels, and I am post my photos. I was able also to find the infected toenail so that I might address it sooner rather than later. It has been polysporined and bandaged for now, and I will bandage it again later.

Today. Today I am relaxing. I will get some more money, since the entry fee to Jiuzhaigou was several hundred more than I expected, and if I am lucky, I will go to the Sichuan Opera.

Photos will be posted today.


Written in Chengdu