5 AM, I wake up totally out of it, not a clue what’s going on and it was a day I was supposed to go to Huangshan mountains. Turns out my three roommates are also dragging themselves out of bed. A couple were Polish, pretty quiet and not exactly the life of the party. Anyway, they were all heading to the mountains too.
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So, I packed my stuff like a zombie. Good thing I did a final check of the bed, otherwise I would’ve left my camera battery and charger behind – disaster averted!
Checked out with this ancient guy at the reception. Seriously, he moved slower than a sleepy snail. Zero hurry. I felt like I was stuck in slow motion forever.
On My Way to Huangshan Mountains
Finally escaped and dashed to the bus stop. Naturally, the exact bus I needed (the 102) drove right past just as I got there. Typical! Waited for the next one, paid my 2 RMB (bargain!), and hopped on. Looked out the window and saw people doing graceful Tai Chi in the parks and hotel squares. Pretty cool sight to start the day.
I started dozing off on the bus. The next thing I knew, about an hour later, the nice lady who’d been at the hostel woke me up. She was a lifesaver, even helping me buy my next bus ticket. People can be so kind sometimes!
Got to the next station, and guess what? Had to wait another hour for the bus. When it was finally time to find it, it was like a puzzle. I asked around and they just pointed to “Gate 5.” Like I was at an airport! The signs on the screen and my ticket looked totally different, only the mountain picture was the same. So confusing!
Found the bus and got on. The seat numbers were bizarre – one side then the other, totally not standard. Tried to get some sleep, but the seats were so uncomfortable I woke up with a killer stiff neck. Managed to doze off a bit more, but sleep was pretty difficult after that.
Chatted a little with the Chinese guy next to me, and then the Iranians behind me. They were telling me how tough life was for them there – apparently faced a lot of hassle when getting into China. Apparently, they were associated with certain groups of people who threatens the society and often leads to the death of many due to their looks and nationality.
Famous Mr Hu
Anyway, just as we arrived in Huangshan town, a guy pops up. “Mr. Hu!” he says, which sounded more like “Mr Who” to me. Turns out he’s the legendary guy from my Lonely Planet guidebook – supposedly the only person in town who speaks good English. Mr Hu was super friendly. He actually drove five of us from the bus stop to his restaurant about 4km away, totally free! He hooked me up with internet, booked my next bus ticket, and I grabbed some really cheap food there too.
While chowing down, I met another group of Iranians. Get this – they were astronomers and engineers! And guess what else? They were chasing that total solar eclipse too, but missed it by going to the wrong town (the very one I almost went to at the last minute!). Small world, huh?
They suggested we all hike up the mountain together and camp overnight. Sounded like an adventure, for maybe two seconds. But honestly, I was completely wiped out and I wanted to take the cable car, but they were on a super save mode and wanted to climb. I thought I might give a try to climb as well. I heard you could hire a brigade of Chinese to cary you on the stairs – it is called a Sedan Chair. That would look funny though, me weighting almost 90kg being carried up the mountain.
Change of Plans
Anyway, the five of us grabbed a taxi to the mountain entrance – cost us 60 RMB. But then we got to the ticket counter. Ouch! 230 RMB (~ $45) just to get in, plus another 80 for the cable car. The Iranians looked like they’d seen a ghost. Long story short, they decided it was way too expensive and weren’t going up. Suddenly, I was standing there alone at 3:30 PM, looking at this pricey mountain I didn’t even want to climb anymore. I felt stranded and scammed as I wasn’t willing to pay 310 RMB at that time! Though years after I am going to regret that decision. At that moment I felt totally stranded and alone!
I got really annoyed. Said goodbye and decided to just head back to town. Finding the right bus back was a whole other mission. I kept asking for the ‘city centre,’ but they just pointed me to this one bus. So I just got on.
Back to Huangshan City
As I sat down, all the Chinese women on the bus started staring and giggling at me! I was totally confused. Then it hit me – I was the only guy on the entire bus! Felt pretty special, I guess, being the honorary male passenger!
The bus took these absolutely terrifying winding roads downhill. Seriously, going up in the taxi was bad enough, but the bus felt even scarier passing other vehicles on those narrow curves!
And of course, the bus didn’t take me where I expected. I got dumped off at some random tourist center miles away from anywhere useful. Now I was really lost and getting seriously frustrated. “F***ing China!” I probably muttered to myself. Couldn’t even make a simple international call on my SIM card – felt completely cut off.
Then I remembered Mr. Hu! Called him up (thankfully he could explain where I was to the taxi driver!). He totally rescued me again. Asked him if he could change my Shanghai bus ticket back to today so I could finally leave. He sorted it out.
Life Without Smartphone – Internet Cafe
Needed to quickly get online before I left. I ran to an internet cafe nearby. Asked for 20 minutes, but the lady demanded I pay for a full hour (5 Yuan). I tried explaining I only needed a short time, but she just repeated “5 Yuan” like a broken, annoying parrot. To make things worse, she gave me a flickering screen and a mouse that barely worked. So frustrating when you’re in a hurry and just need to check something fast! Muttering “Bitch” under my breath in frustration, I stormed out. Ah, those there the times, when almost no one had internet on their mobile yet and had to go to cafes to browse.
Ran back to Mr. Hu’s place, he wasn’t there, but someone pointed me to the bus. Finally, finally, I got on the bus heading back to Shanghai. Six hours to go, hopefully arriving around 11 PM. What a day! But that’s a story for another day.
Years after I do regret the decision of not going up, but I hope one day I will get the chance to do it again.
