(We're in a Typhoon in Shanghai, and now able to access the blog... I noticed a few posts didn't go through because I had too many photos, so here they are.)
We had our first shore excursion after lunch. We left the ship and walked quite a distance on old pontoons to get to the base of the dock. There we encountered a huge stairway up to some shuttle carts. Cathy, our tour guide, led us through a gauntlet of vendors selling literally anything – water, fruit, creepy things to eat, trinkets, etc. We then went through a huge gatehouse and were faced with the first obstacle – a huge staircase up the mountain. Off to the side was a shiny new escalator, but it was not in service “come back next year”!
So the basic summary is climbing a few hundred steps, find a temple, climb some more steps, find another temple, and keep climbing. It was quite a workout but an incredible visual feast. There were bridges to walk across (all of them symbolic), temples to heaven, hell, wealth, health, happiness, etc. I personally don’t pray to idols or Buddhas, but I figured walking across a bridge wouldn’t hurt, so I choose the wealth one over the health one (I have to pay alimony somehow).
When we got to the end, there was a huge pagoda and from the far side of it’s base, there opened up a beautiful vista up the Yangtze towards Chongqing. Then it was time to head back down (anyone who thinks walking down stairs is easier than up should try this – your muscles scream at the end). And of course at the end was the gauntlet of vendors and beggars to navigate.
One new friend is Huang Yi (Xiao Ling’s husband) who is also an avid photography hobbyist. I’m starting to understand how my companions must feel because you never know when you’ll turn around and find his lens pointing at you. My favorite of the photos is the one I caught of Xiao Ling’s mother praying. Unfortunately, I’m posting to this blog via email or Danielle and there is no way for me to label the individual photographs, so just sit back and enjoy.
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