M-whY

At 6:00am, someone shook me awake.

"[Exchange ticket,]" announced the stewardess. In China, paper tickets are exchanged for plastic cards upon boarding, and are returned to you before you get off. Tickets must be presented upon exiting the train station.

"[What stop is this?]"

She mumbled something I couldn't make out and moved on.

"[What stop is this?]" I repeated to a fellow passenger. I don't remember what he said, but it wasn't mine.

Last night someone had told me we wouldn't reach Emei station until 8:00am anyways, so I wasn't too worried. When another stewardess passed half an hour later, I asked her again, just to confirm.

"[When do we reach Emei?]"

"[Emei? We passed it five minutes ago.]"

"[What!?]"

Well, it wasn't that big a deal. Worst case, I'd get off at the terminal in Chengdu and catch a bus. Backtracking would cost me four hours though, and I figured if I got off at the next stop, I might be able to save some time. There had to be transportation to Emei.

The woman that collected my ticket didn't seem to care that I had gotten off at the wrong stop. Outside, I approached a ricksaw operator.

"[I want to get to Emei.]"

"[This is Leshan.]" Leshan was another popular mountain for tourists to visit. (On a side note, the Lonely Planet insists there is no train service to Leshan. It's unbelievable how many inaccuracies they've printed...)

"[I know. I got off at the wrong stop. I want to go to Emei.]"

She laughed, and motioned for me to climb on. She cycled me through the quiet streets - it was still early and only a handful of people were busy at this hour - and dropped me off at a corner where a shuttle was waiting for passengers. Four yuan and an hour later, I was at the main bus station of Emei town.

Emei town and Emei mountain are separated by 8kms, for which there is no public transportation for. I didn't know this of course, wandering around looking lost until someone told me the best way would be to just hire a taxi. I was dropped off in front of a hotel that was a friend of the driver. I tried explaining to at reception that I just wanted luggage storage, and was planning on spending tonight at the summit. Sichaun people have their own dialect, and while she had no trouble understanding me, I could barely comprehend her.

"[It's expensive to stay at the top. Stay here instead,]" she suggested, slashing room prices by as much as 75% for me. A 240 yuan per night room for only 60... but I had already made up my mind.

She finally caved in and stowed away my main pack, telling she'd waive the storage fee if I stayed here when I came down. I then walked down to the Mt Emei transport hub, only a couple blocks away. In theory, it's possible to scale the peak by foot in a day, but I didn't want to take the chance. I wanted to reach the top by today. I purchased a ticket that'd take me to as far up as roads reached. The ride normally took two hours, but today, with road construction and traffic jams, it took three. From Leidong Terrace, steps led to Jieyin Palace. Nearby was the cable car, which brought me up to the Golden Summit, 3077m above sea level. Like most structures on Mt Emei, Golden Summit Temple had deteriorated due to neglect, looting, and war. A restoration effort is taking place, in attempt to restore some of its original splendor.

A scenic monorail took me a bit higher, to Ten Thousand Buddha Peak. Mist swirled around me as I ascended to 3099m. From Ten Thousand Buddha Pavilion, I looked down at wisps of clouds hovering above silhouettes. Fog limited visibility prevented any chance of a sunset viewing, nevertheless, I was glad to have made it.

A week ago, I had the privilege of deciding just where I wanted to be on my birthday. With the pandas of Chengdu? Floating down the Yangzi? I definately didn't want to spend it in transit on a bus or train. In the end, I decided on Mt Emei, for no particular reason other than for a pun. Most people become over the hill at age 40 or 50. I just wanted to be able to say I peaked at age 25.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!