Lotus Peak

Day 5 will go down as an absolute highlight, and not just because of
the "so cheap" but superbly appointed 5 star hotel we stayed at for
kiwi 100, nor for the deliciously crispy fried eggplant... no, today
was the day we conquored Lotus Peak, a towering pinnacle of rock
jutting majestically through layers of mist in the Huangshan World
Heritage Park.

Nonetheless, the day started rather miserably with a 5.30am wake-up
call (what's the point of 5 stars of luxury if your gonna get up at
that hour?) Groaning and cursing, the adventures (we are aware that
some of our avid readers have expressed some misgivings at our use of
the collective pronoun and third person. I do this to give at least
some sembleance that this is a joint effort and that Mei at least
sometimes stops chowing down beef stew long enough to contribute a few
words other than "so cheap"... whoops, I kinda gave things away ;)
shouldered their packs (I mean, Rock shouldered both packs) and headed
for the bus to the park enterance.

Here I have a confession to make. We joined a tour party! That's right
folks, your in trepid independent travellers were decked out in gay
bright red hats, handed kindergarten nametags, and herded with a
megaphone! I'd like to console myself with the comment that according
to our hosts it was too dangerous to travel by one's self. I'd like to
claim it was cheaper to travel in a group. But alas, the truth is we
took the quick and easy path... (I'll let Devan finish the quote)

However, feelings of guilt soon evaporated as the bus headed for the
mountains. Anyone who's seen traditional Chinese watercolours knows
that Chinese mountains are totally different from their western
counterparts - instead of your stock standard triangualr peaks, Chinese
mountains are a fantastical array of contorted rock formations rising
out of a tangled carpet of twisted pines and bamboo. And then there's
the mist that adds a mysterious and altogether timeless feel to the
whole place. As the bus rolle up the harpin bends to the park
enterance, the tourists could only gape in awe at the vista before them
(unfortunately, until I find a USB port, we're the only ones gaping...
:)

The first leg of the climb was a brutal 2 hour ascent to the midway
point up the cluster of mountains. There was a gondola option, but we
recovere our pride by takling it on foot, leaving the rest of the group
far behind in 15 minutes. The sweltering 30 degree heat and humidity
turned the 5.5km trek into a brutal re-enactment of the Long March,
with red hatted tourists falling right and left, or selling out to the
coolies with their wicker chairs. But we soldierd on and arrived
triumphantly and hour ahead of schedule.

Unfortunately, as we recovered, the mist thickened to a virtual
whiteout, robbing us of any further spectacular views (but saving my
faithful readers from any more crude attempts at poetry :). The second
leg of the climb was epic - a batlle against the howling wind and
almost viscous mist to the 1800m high summit of Lotus Peak. Sections of
the "path" were a dead on replica of the Stairs of Minas Tirith - more
a ladder hewn out of solid stone than a stairway. For several brief
interludes the fog cleared, and when it did the view would have taken
my breath away, had the brutal climb not already done so.

The top was more a relief than a triumph, and the mist meant anything
more than a cursory photo was pointless. However, the journey down
proved just as challenging, if not more so, with the near vertical
stairs often winding their way through shoulder high caves.
At the end of the round trip of 5 hours we gratefully settle back in
the gondola for the much needed break and lift to terra firma.

After that, the exhausted party piled into the car for a weary 5 hour
drive to Wuahn, stopping only for another superb meal of juicy fried
eggplant, crispy duck, and spicy lamb legs. we finally brought an
exhausting 18 hour day to an end when we rolled up to Mei's mum's place
in Wuhan just before midnight.

(Also, some photos from Shanghai up. Unfortunately not being able to
photoshop the images down to a less obscene size means the upload
processes is ludicrously slow. We'll have to drip feed them over the
next week)