14th

Today we just wander the streets of Emeishan. We visit a few temples and shrines. The park area is very lush and green. It seems that every second shop is a restaurant followed by a mini mart. Business must be very competitive.

So far we havent had a bad meal yet. All the food has been good, with lots of hot chile.
By the end of the day i am ready to snap. Even though there are big signs up stating not to use your car horn, they all do. Even in front of the police. And most of the time they have replaced the standard horn with very loud air horns.

We wait at a busy intersection and watch and wait for an accident. It really seems that they have no respect for any other road user at all. Even as a pedestrian crossing at a proper pedestrian crossing you have no rights. They just come barrelling through with horn blazing and you have to jump out of the way. I have to wonder if any of them have a license.

We wind the day up at a nice outside eatery right next to a beautiful river setting. The twice fried pork is delicious and so is the scrambled egg with tomatoes.

Our stay at the Teddy Bear hotel is ok, but getting any sleep is a problem. There is just so much noise.

15th

Today is a big day. We are going to the top of Mt Emei, the reason why we are in Emeishan. We take the bus up to the highest car park at 2,400 metres above sea level. Its a 40k, 2 hour drive through some of the most heavily wooded rain forest we have ever seen. The cloudy mist is so thick i dont know how the driver can see.

We arrive at the car park and begin the accent to the top. The top of the mountain is 3100 metres above sea level, so we have to climb 600 metres up by stairs. It will be about 5,000 steps. The mountain is cloaked in a thick mist which gives it a very mystical feeling. Just hope the cloud/mist is not covering the very peak of the mountain

There are so many people making the accent from little toddlers to 80 plus year old people. Its hard going with lots of rest stops. My heart rate is pushing over 140bpm. We came across a group of wild monkeys along the path. Everyone stops to get some pictures and give them food. Very funny to watch, but we take care as they can get aggressive. Last thing i want to happen is get bitten by one. One person gives the monkey a can of open beer, but the monkey does not know how to drink from it and tosses it aside.

Every time we stop to rest we become the centre of attention. We seem to be the only white people climbing, and people are wanting their picture taken with us. Mostly young girls and guys. We do notice lots of other people taking our picture when we are not looking. Its like they havent seen a white person before.

On the way up in the bus we sat next to a young girl and guy, which we meet up with on the path near the top, I make the comment to Alan that they are the ones we sat next to on the bus. The girl hears my comment and says "yes, and you are so handsome". Well she must be talking about Alan, not me! She asks very nicely if she can have her picture taken with both of us, which we oblige.

Cannot believe the mentally of some people. As we stop to rest we see people completely exhausted having a rest and then light up a cigarette. How dumb.

I am starting to think the top of the mountain will be covered in cloud, as we have no sign of blue sky. With leg muscles burning in pain we keep pushing past the slower people. Finally the mist starts to clear and i see a glimpse of blue sky. We are nearly there, only a few hundred steps to climb.

Finally we reach what we think is the summit where we stop to eat and have a rest in a restaurant. We are both dripping in sweat and our T shirts are soaking wet. After eating we continue along the path only to be confronted with more steps to get to the top. As we round the corner to the Golden Summit we finally see the Massive statue of Samantabhadra. What a sight! Truly breathtaking.

Now the sky is beautiful and blue with only wisps of light cloud. After taking pictures of the statue we are forced to climb more steps to the very top. Well what a sight. We are looking deep down into the valley below which is covered in clouds. The lookout is called "The Sea of Clouds". It is stunning.

Many pictures later we have to decide whether to walk down or catch a cable car. Well for me its a no brainer, the cable car wins. Its only $9 for the 5 minute ride down to the car park where the shuttle bus will be waiting.

The ride down the mountain in the bus is like an amusement ride gone wrong. The driver is a nutter and he seems to think he is a racing car driver. Many elderly people on the bus have to use their vomit bags. There are some many corners and switchbacks along the 40 kilometre road, plus it is not that wide and there are many near misses with oncoming vehicles

What a day, one i wont forget for a long time. The achievement of the climb and the stunning views will stay with me forever.

Unfortunately we forgot the sun cream and we are both a little sunburnt. At 10,000 feet above sea level and clear blue skies, i suppose we should have thought about taking sun cream with us.

Tomorrow we leave for Chengdu by bus.