And furthermore

I have safely arrived in Shanghai. All is well.

A few moments of reflection:
In Suzhou I was in a restaurant and the music started up with The Blue Danube waltz by Strauss. I have now visited several different spots along that river (or the Donau as it is occasionally known), as well as the statue of the composer. It gave a nice circularity to the journey
Stuff that seems obvious to me (because of the context I have) is not obviousto everyone: one onion-shaped tower top can look much like another, and I can tell one is in Bavaria, another in Moscow and another in Samarkand, but it isn't the case for everyone. Mind you, I can only tell the difference because of the sequnce of the photo sometimes...

The Long Way Down

Oh boy. The tragedy is that the two peaks seen as most challenging were closed to the public. I had already bottled out of one and was (to say the least) hesitant about the other, but I like to think I would have given it a go. But I couldn't. I could have gone with the "let's not and say we did" approach, but I have some trace of self-respect. Just a smidgeon.

Nonetheless, this was hard. No question going up this path would have been tougher than the route I took, and far harder than going down it. The photos I put in here are a tiny, tiny handful. They may look a bit similar to you, but trust me, around each corner a different world of vertiginous beauty awaited.

However, I need to put the difficulty in perspective. On my way down, I met a Frenchman and an Aussie coming up. They each looked like they might break into a sweat if they needed to run a marathon later on that day. The Australian was even carrying a rucksack. But they did claim it was a hard climb.

But before all that was dawn. A very tourist thing, admittedly, but hey, as I've said before, I happen to be a tourist. Lots of Japanese there, although I like to think they caught the cable car (most people do, apart from the terrifying porters - little old men, with calf muscles that would put Arnie to shame).





And then vista after vista. Despite the ongoing pain, the exhaustion, the sweat and the dirt every step was a gem.

On Top Of The World

Well, I did it. There are many things I'm doing in China. Some are are things I'm doing because I'm in a particular town. Some are in towns I'm visiting because the thing is there. And a small number of things are why I did this trip the way I have. Okay, it isn't my main reason for coming to China, but it is certainly something that drove me to keep free time available. And I kind of went out on a limb to make this happen. The logistical issues nearly made me give up. You can't buy tickets for different towns and even checking schedules and availability can be fraught. I did get help, but even so there were a lot of dice thrown and they fell in my favour.

I took a train to Nanjing from Suzhou because I had worked out the connections were much better to Huang Shan from there. I had been led to believe there was a daytime bus to HS, but not from the bus station I went to, and they had no information about others, so I walked back to the railway station and caught the slow day sleeper train. Thankfully (although not surprisingly, given off-peak) I found a room at a good hotel there. Bought my ticket on to Shanghai for tomorrow and caught a bus/taxi combo to the foot of the mountain. There I eschewed (love that word) the cable car in favour of walking the 7km to a hotel (that I hadn't booked, but I was by now almost swaggering with confidence). Lesson number 476 from this trip: if the Lonely Planet guide describes something as "hard" then they are referring to young, fit, slim people rather than overweight desk jockeys. There was a clue I should have picked up on, in that the Great Wall walk I did was described as "can be traversed without too much difficulty". Even allowing for the fact that they meant summer rather than snowed and slippy, I should have known better. Nonetheless, I have made it to the top of Mount Huangshan. And (for the first time) it is supposed to be misty. When I get my own machine back online I'll put some piccies up, but they won't match the reality, especially after the exhausting climb. My, but this beer tastes good (even though know it isn't - it reminds me of one of the worse Finnish beers).

But I feel worthy and good and the sights are splendid. Going down simply must be easier (it is described as "harder" going up compared to today's run) and then I get a break in Tangkou before I catch the night train to Shanghai. I will then do very little for a bit, I think. Even though a day trip to Hangzhou is appealing.

Suzhou piccies

Today went much better (although I'm now getting a bit sick of the constant pimping of massages)

Sorry for the limited updates. Internet and blog running a bit odd. Enjoy the pictures of this very pleasant and friendly place. It is a garden city, and I am now beginning to understand the fascination held with odd-shaped rocks. Eventually there would be pictures of the whimsically-named Garden of the Humble Administrator and the Lion's Grove Garden, as well as Tiger Hill, but the technical issues limit my ability to do so. Make the most of what you get.
Humble Administrator:

A big bonsai:

It is known as (yet another) Venice of the East

In the Lion's Grove:


I dunno. Internet's a funny thing.