Day 3: The Big Climb! :D

Rise & shine to our BIG climb! :)

Despite having done our research on how to get to Huangshan and what to expect, we were still a little clueless as to what was in stored for us. 

Here's a pictorial journal of what we did and saw on our 2 days 1 nite up in this magnificent mountain.

We had to take a bus from Tangkou to the cable car station. :) Bus tickets required. 

Cable car station. Tickets required for the entrance and cable car ride too. Thankfully Lin has a co-worker in Beijing whose dad used to work for the Park and he gave us four complimentary entrance tickets. :)

Others were much earlier than us... humph! *.*

The cable car took us to White Goose Ridge where we began our hike. Our backpacks were heavily laden with our mini rice cooker, food and water. We read reviews about the expensive and mediocre food. So we brought our own supply. :)))

Huangshan on a clear day. :) 


We weren't sure of our stamina and took many breaks throughout the hike. It was stop, snap & snack. :) We had to snack cos our backpacks were too heavy. :)))



Lin & I aren't mountain people. But we felt we needed to conquer Huangshan as it's China's number one mountain and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The walk in the mountains was very pleasant. :) We didn't hire a guide. When we were unsure of the direction, we simply ask the other hikers around us. ;)







While many admire the scenery,  peaks and pine trees, I was drawn by these petite flowers. :)



There's always the option of a sedan for those who are tired. :)))



Ann wasn't feeling too good, and we left her and our backpacks at the new Xihai Hotel and continued our hike to Cloud Dispelling Pavilion. 

No monkeys but squirrels along the way! :)



It got a little foggy and chilly...



Cloud Dispelling Pavilion is where, if we are lucky, we would be able to see sea of clouds. Apparently that was the inspiration for Avatar.  Humph...there wasn't any clouds...



We spotted a number of budding artists though. :) Huangshan is a continuous source of inspiration for them. :)




Lovers wishing for eternal love come here as well to affix locks on the railings of the mountain. :) We overheard a lady chiding her other half for wanting to remove one of the locks and breaking up others' relationship! :))) 





The climb near the edge of the mountain was nerve wrecking. *.* I couldn't take any pics as I was on all fours. *.*  If one misses a step, that's the end of one's story. Lin & I have height phobia and we couldn't scale higher up Huangshan as much as we like to. :( Hence we gotta forgo seeing the sunset and sunrise. :( 

It has been said to enjoy Huangshan, we have to look downward. But for Lin & myself, we were looking anywhere but downward!




Haiz, we headed back to Cloud Dispelling Pavilion for dinner instead. :)



Pineapple rice atop with pork floss. :) Our mini rice cooker works wonder eh? :)))

Our dinner view was excellent! :) View of the mountain tops. :))) No sea of clouds still...

We didn't bother waking up to see the sunrise though it's a mandatory thing to do in Huangshan because Lin & I have height issues and because the chances of us seeing it was only 60%. Hence we didn't wake up at 3:30am. :))) 

Ann was feeling much better after a much needed sleep. :) Time to head back down. :)

Brush Pen Peak

Our baggage were lighter as we cleared most of our food & water. :) But why were we still struggling??? :)))



Out of no where came the clouds. :) Too much clouds.... :)))



Low visibility



It was actually quite romantic... :)))



That was all we could see on the second day. :)))



We regained visibility only when we were back at Yunggu cable station.



Colours again! Woohoo! :D



That was our Huangshan adventure. ;) Ann had sore calves for the next few days! We were spared because of climbing stairs in our new house the last couple of months. :)))



Oh a pic of the bus terminal. :)