Day 12
Saturday 14th July: Dali J
Bastille day for the French but not for us!
It was raining hard in the morning so we delayed our plans
to go hiking. Destination: Zhongsi Temple. We left about 11.30am and walked to
the foot of the mountain where we were greeted by a lady guard. There, Augustin
asked her about the chair lifts and ensued a series of frustrating
conversations. There are different sites to go to in these mountains. The local
tourism office or equivalent has obviously done a lot to attract tourists by
accommodating paths, buildings chair lifts facilities etc... in order to reach the
peak or a temple or whatever. The lift going to the peak was really expensive,
the other one, the one we wanted to take to go up to the temple or down was out
of order. We were going to hike up and down. However, the mountains have become
a national park and as such there was a paying fee at the entrance. The lady was
adamant that whether or not we went to the temple, walking in the mountain was
not free. Maybe her presence was justified that way: ensuring everyone that
came bought a ticket. So be it! She counted them… twice, punched them, stamped
them and counted them again. Quite the process!
But our 4-hour hike was worth it. Such beauty and peace. As
we climbed, it felt like we were walking in the clouds; smoke emanated from our
clothes; we crossed paths with only a few people. It was lovely.
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