Bushwhacked: Part Deux
I was a little nervous when the sun started going down and we still had a long path to clear, but luckily we met up with the trail again in time to arrive at our quarters before dusk. The quarters I mention were actually just an abandoned building in which we pitched our tents. The building had obviously been vacant for sometime, though an old (and drunk) Chinese man still found his way in to harass us for a while.
Anyhow, I realized that Chinese people seem to have a different concept of hiking than do Americans. The thinking basically seems to be, "Let's do what we normally would have done today/tonight, but let's do it on top of that mountain!" We stopped at least every thirty minutes for a break, and each stop featured more food than I would have taken for the entire trip and food that I would have never thought would be good for hiking, eggs and yogurt included. Several people's backpacks must have been devoted solely to carrying food, as our dinner feast consisted of more food than any other group would have brought along for a week of hiking. Wine bottles, several large pots and pans (for cooking egg drop soup and whole chickens, of course), bottles of baijiu: none of them were too heavy or cumbersome for this group of Chinese people. Had it not been for the mold and mounds of garbage and cigarette butts in the abandoned building, it would have been just like eating in the warmth of a Chinese home or restaurant.
After several of the Chinese became thoroughly under the influence, we retired for the night, into a tent that was obviously made for Chinese people (it wasn't for children, either). I'm about 6'1", and I believe the tent was no longer than 5'10". This made for quite an awkward and uncomfortable night of "sleep". I was relieved when I heard some rustling in the morning, and just as I had suspected, enough breakfast food had been brought to feed an army. This was definitely the first time I've ever had hazelnut coffee on a hiking trip.
After finally getting going in the morning, we walked down the easy way (why we didn't just walk up this road instead of creating a new path in the first place, I do not know). Stopping every thirty minutes, again, we made it down to the bottom in about four hours, whereas someone hiking with non-Chinese people may have done it in two hours, max.
I am thankful to be back in my room and showered again, but this definitely stands out as my first real integration into Chinese culture. Because none of the Chinese people spoke more English than the words "OK" and "Hello", I was forced to use my Chinese whenever I wanted to communicate. In the process, I feel like I doubled my Chinese vocabulary. As long as a trail is already present, I welcome the opportunity to do it again.
I will post pictures as soon as the website allows me to do so.
Anyhow, I realized that Chinese people seem to have a different concept of hiking than do Americans. The thinking basically seems to be, "Let's do what we normally would have done today/tonight, but let's do it on top of that mountain!" We stopped at least every thirty minutes for a break, and each stop featured more food than I would have taken for the entire trip and food that I would have never thought would be good for hiking, eggs and yogurt included. Several people's backpacks must have been devoted solely to carrying food, as our dinner feast consisted of more food than any other group would have brought along for a week of hiking. Wine bottles, several large pots and pans (for cooking egg drop soup and whole chickens, of course), bottles of baijiu: none of them were too heavy or cumbersome for this group of Chinese people. Had it not been for the mold and mounds of garbage and cigarette butts in the abandoned building, it would have been just like eating in the warmth of a Chinese home or restaurant.
After several of the Chinese became thoroughly under the influence, we retired for the night, into a tent that was obviously made for Chinese people (it wasn't for children, either). I'm about 6'1", and I believe the tent was no longer than 5'10". This made for quite an awkward and uncomfortable night of "sleep". I was relieved when I heard some rustling in the morning, and just as I had suspected, enough breakfast food had been brought to feed an army. This was definitely the first time I've ever had hazelnut coffee on a hiking trip.
After finally getting going in the morning, we walked down the easy way (why we didn't just walk up this road instead of creating a new path in the first place, I do not know). Stopping every thirty minutes, again, we made it down to the bottom in about four hours, whereas someone hiking with non-Chinese people may have done it in two hours, max.
I am thankful to be back in my room and showered again, but this definitely stands out as my first real integration into Chinese culture. Because none of the Chinese people spoke more English than the words "OK" and "Hello", I was forced to use my Chinese whenever I wanted to communicate. In the process, I feel like I doubled my Chinese vocabulary. As long as a trail is already present, I welcome the opportunity to do it again.
I will post pictures as soon as the website allows me to do so.
posted by Mysteries of The Orient at 6:37 AM
1 Comments:
This story is hysterical!
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