This weekend, a few friends and I took a trip to 峨眉山 (Emei Mountain), one of Sichuan’s jewels as far as touristry goes. Being one of those important Buddhist mountains (there are plenty of them here in China), it’s more or less a beacon for pilgrims and tourists alike. And at 3,077 meters, it’s no slight undertaking. We were roughing it, just like real, tried and true backpackers – that is, if you consider having a bed to sleep in, not needing to carry all our food on our backs (myriads of mountainside cafes to be found), and being armed with iPods to be roughing it.
Since we were pressed for time (darn those classes we have to attend), we cheated a mite. Our starting point was not the true bottom of the mountain; instead, we shaved off three hours of hiking by catching a ride to 中山段, or what they consider to be the middle of the mountain.
Thus began our epic ascent of Emei Shan. The scenery was lush and green and beautiful, but once again we were blessed (ha!) with suboptimal weather. Apparently it’s not just Chengdu that’s cloudy all the time.
If I haven’t mentioned it before, keep in mind that Chinese nature trails have very little that’s natural about them. They tend to be paved and involve a lot of stairs – heaven forbid we should actually walk on an incline, since the world is flat after all. The one exception to this is Tiger Leaping Gorge, which far too soon will be no more.
So now picture a large mountain and an ascent that consists entirely of stairs, continuously and without pause. Now imagine climbing those stairs for nine hours non-stop. If you have an active imagination, you may come close to visualizing our first day on Emer Shan – and when we stopped that night, after all that, we had only made it two-thirds of the way up the mountain.
On the second day we made it to the top. The original plan had been to watch the sunrise from the summit, but we were too far away and it was much too haze in any case. After hiking for three solid hours, we cheated yet again and took a cable car to the Golden Summit. Despite the cheating, I was thrilled to have made it to the top. But what am I going on about? Back to the monkeys!
EXHIBIT A: Sofia mistakes one of the foul fiends as “cute”
During a brief pause en route at a temple, Sofia espied a monkey. “Oh, it’s so cute!” the poor, naïve Sofia proclaimed. She wanted to document it’s misleading cuteness on film, so she put down her backpack (at which point big red “WARNING!” signs started flashing behind my eyes) in order to remove her camera. Nasty monkey #1 seized the opportunity to seize her backpack – he darted over and started unzipping it. Of course Sofia objected and so attempted to regain control of her backpack, at which point the not-so-friendly monkey bared his teeth and started climbing on her instead. Fortunately, being at a temple, we were not alone; one of the inhabitants (human, this time) grabbed a long pole and shooed the monkey away.
EXHIBIT B: Darn you if you want to take a bathroom break
At a different temple, Jessica decided it was time to make use of the facilities. She entrusted her backpack (WARNING! WARNING!) to Sofia, who safeguarded it to the best of her ability. Regardless, a big monkey waltzed on over, walked into the bathroom, and made for the backpack. Once again, upon recovery of the backpack in question, Jessica got climbed on. The residents scared the monkeys by throwing bricks at them and then, since monkeys always come in droves, they threw two packets of crackers at them. This resulted in all the other monkeys (maybe four total) chasing the one with the goodies. Suffice to say, I went to the bathroom with my backpack on.
EXHIBIT C: The great banana caper
For our one night one the mountain, the three of us stayed at 洗像池, or Elephant Bathing Pool, an old monastery. Our accommodations were rustic at best, but a bed is a bed no matter how you slice it. The next morning, as we started our hike for the day, I was munching on a banana – and you know how monkeys go bananas over bananas (ha ha ha! Groan). Sure enough, two of them started stalking me. I ran behind Jessica, but to no avail – the banana-sighting was official. I was absolutely not going to give them my banana, so Sofia suggested throwing them the peel. I tore off one section, threw it, and upon the blank stare from the monkey, said, “Go get it!” Which he did. But there was still one hungry monkey prepared to pounce, so I peeled off another strip and tossed it at him. He caught it. And ate it. The three of us ran for cover in a nearby café, where the owner was lying in wait with a slingshot at hand.
Three girls, three monkeys, three incidents.
Monkeys sure are nasty buggers.
Photos:
1. One of our first views of Emei Shan
2. Sofia and Jessica, my fellow hikers, on the trail (or steps)
3. I'm not sure this one requires explanation.
4. Another stunning view of the beautiful Emei Shan!
5. One of the nasty buggers, mother and child
6. Victory! A view of the Golden Summit
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