I am back in Chengdu now. I went to see the Grand Buddha, which was nice and very grand. and i was able to upload the pictures from Emei Shan. I forgot to tell you about the trail! It was under constrcution for parts and they take the stones up the mountain via man. So all these little chinese guys have sticks on their backs that make a kind of back pack. the stones are roughly 3'x1.5'x4" thick. i would guess around 20-30 lbs. and they carry 2 or 3! on their backs! UP the mountain! and then, what really kicked me, talk about taking 50 years off your life - they smoke on the way down! i didn't know whether to be impressed that their lungs could handle such a beating, or to be dismayed and quite shocked. it was a combination emotion. The engineer in me kicked in - and i didn't even want to know how many people had been hurt, maimed or died making that trail. They have donkeys that take the bricks for the walls up. so you hear the clock clock of their hooves and their owners yelping at them the whole way. i don't know what they are saying but i like to think it was 'move your ass!' get it? ASS? HA. And when the owners see you on the trail they shoo you off immediately so the donkeys won't run you over. entertaining i would say.
So, still tired and have dark circles under my eyes. i tried to take a picture for you but decided i didn't want that kind of thing floating around the internet. it was ugly :) today i will watch movies and eat and sleep and hang about the hostel until i feel more recovered.
I am missing home so badly right now. China is a difficult country to travel alone, and I miss all you people SO much. Kisses.
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