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Holla!!!! Well, we have not updated on here for a while yet we have done so much. We are currently in Hanoi, Vietnam. We left China about a week ago and miss the country very much. I am going to give a quick entry on the last of China as it was one of our favorite places...
After we last updated, Steve and I headed up to Lijiang, China. We checked into a nice Hostel and prepared for our trek at Tiger Leaping Gorge. This is a classic trek, lots of people seem to do it. Took an early morning bus to the town to start our hike and that is where we encountered our first roadblock... the mountain was CLOSED. Apparantly, the low road has had so many accidents from rockslides that they have closed the mountain to hikers (even though you hike the high trail) to work on it. Well, we were sure we could still go and told a little white lie about going to a guesthouse just past the gates and from there just took the path up the mountain. We thought the police were going to figure it out so we hiked fast for the first bit! Anyway, we realized that we were in the clear and proceeded to hike for about 5 hours straight-up the mountain (literally, it was called 28 bends) and were rewarded with the most amazing views. Trekked for a couple more hours to 'Halfway House' where we enjoyed a hot shower, good food and a squat toilet with open views to the mountain!
Now, normally there are up to 100 people a day on this trek. We were lucky to only meet 5 other hikers, or law breakers, the whole 2 days. After our first night, there was only a 2.5 hour hike to the next guesthouse. Steve and I ditched the bags and climbed down to the river, straight down also meant straight up. That evening we enjoyed a few beers (2 for 1) while enjoying the sunset off the mountain. We were so lucky.
This is where it got a little bit tricky. Since we were not supposed to be on the mountain because the road was closed, there was no easy way out. Usually you drive back out on the low road the same direction you came in but the road was covered in about 6 rockslides. Soooo, Steve and I left bright and early with a Chinese lady who was also leaving who would act as our guide. We were not prepared for 2 hours of really scary situations. First, we took a car as far as possible. Then we had to hike but that also meant scrambling over rock slides that were covering the road. Not safe, not smart but we had no other choice. Went over a few then encountered a sight you would only see in China, a guy stringing up dynamite with a cigarette in his mouth and another packing dynamite. Yes, we were lucky enough to be walking on a road that they were blasting in order to widen it. Oh my God!!! It was not OK, and Steve and I just walked as fast as possible with the others making the journey out. We finally made it to the vehicle that was waiting to take us into town... only to see that the driver was the officer was the one who told us we could not hike. Oops!!! Oh well, paid him and there were no worries. Anyway, it made for a great story and the most memorable couple days of our trip thus far. After the trek, we re-couperated in Lijiang for a couple more days, enjoying the sunshine and the old town, hunting out cheap street soup and reading.
Made it out of China alive (hee hee) though not without a very not nice person trying to rip us off on the bus (he made me cry but Steve was the hero!).
We hope the weather improves for all of you in Edmonton, heard it was really horrible. There are lots of Christmas decorations here in Vietnam!!
Steve and Mo
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