Ctourus -- 7-day Tour of Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China
Day 6 - Wulingyuan of Zhangjiajie, November 11, 2017
We started off our day with a visit to the silk factory in the morning right after breakfast. And, yes, we bought another silk comforter and sheet set even though we still have two other sets sitting in our closet at home, not even opened yet. We felt obligated to buy something on this kind of trip and thought we might as well get something that is practical. In fact, we were prepared and did not mind spending money that we felt comfortable and cost effective.
Bao Feng Lake
After the silk factory stop, we were taken to Bao Feng Lake nearby. Bao Feng Lake is a fresh water lake in the Wulingyuan scenic area surrounded by beautiful mountains and calm waterways. Surprisingly enough, we were taken straight to the boat dock on the tour bus instead of hiking up the narrow path like our last time here. I remember it was a tedious hike and I really did not want to go through that again. Thank goodness for the well-paved highway that is now built and in use. So there is a choice now, you can either hike up or drive up.
Arriving at the boat dock.
Boarding the beautifully decorated tour boat. This boat was able to hold two tour groups, one on each side.
Leaving the boat dock.
The young female tour guide on the boat in the middle with the two photographers from the two tour groups. She was able to provide fun and entertaining descriptions as we enjoyed the beautiful sights.
Getting to one of the 'song boat' where young Tu Tribe man or woman sings their 'love songs' to tourists passing by.
This first one was a guy and he sang quite well albeit a little too short.
This second one had a Tu girl. I believe they were suppose to be love songs that express their admiration and love towards each other.
It didn't take long for us to be back at the boat dock.
Now that we are back at the entrance, I could see the path where we took the hike up on our last trip here. Actually this was the easy part until we hit the mountainous steps. So glad we did not have to do that this time around.
The waterfall near the entrance.
After lunch back in town, we were taken to a foot-massage stop. I generally do not like to participate in massage sessions of any kind even when it is offered free of charge like this one. I just don't like people touching me, period! When we went on other tours, we had no problem sitting in the back of the room and listen to their sales pitch while others enjoy their foot-massage. With a kidney transplant patient and a couple of people who had strokes in the past in our group, we really did not want to join in this massage session. Who knows what they will trigger if they hit certain pressure point by mistakes? Especially right after lunch. We all know that you are not suppose to do any kind of massage after a full stomach. Several of us declined the free service but still went inside for the presentation. We knew what to expect so nothing came as a surprise as they presented us with different herbs and ointments for sale. To tell the truth, if I have a physical condition, I would consult an educated, experienced, highly-qualified physicians that I can trust and not just any Tibetan doctors off the street. This was exactly the case here. They tried to convince us that we need their special medicines to 'fix' our problems. Oh well, sorry! Then, the real surprise hit us when we got back on the bus. Our tour guide Jacky threw a fit and got really upset. He said that he was really 'unhappy' that we did not participate in the foot-massage and that he had to pay out of his pocket for the money lost. We were all dumb-found by his change of attitude but we did not want to argue with him there and then. So the rest of the afternoon became quite awkward after this episode even though we all tried to pretend nothing had happened.
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and the Glass Bridge
Supposedly, this glass bridge strung across the canyon is the longest glass-bottom bridge in the world.
It was opened to the public on August 20, 2016, so it's just a little over a year old. It measures 430 meters in total length and 6 meters in breadth, and is suspended about 260 meters above the ground. It is such an interesting sight that both local and foreign tourists were attracted by it.
When we got there, we were told that we need to stay together, in line, and not let anyone cut. It was pretty crazy with massive lines in every directions. People would try their best to cut and even make new lines on their own. Fortunately, they were caught in time by the people in charge and sent them back where they should be.
After the long wait snaking through the line, we finally picked up a pair of shoe protectors and were able to walk on the bridge, in the rain.
Long lines waiting to get on the bridge inside the big hall. The lines continued outside and then into another building.
The Glass Bridge over the canyon. It wasn't as scary as I had expected.
I assume that it will be more 'exciting' if the weather was better and that we could see through the glass panels.
Looking down at the 'Grand Canyon'.
Right underneath.
Oh yeah, and they were selling those red ponchos for $30 RMB.
Quite an amazing architecture.
After a few photos, we were done and walked back to meet the others at the parking lot. It just bothered me a lot the way Jacky reacted after the foot-massage session. It will eat me up if I didn't get it out of my system. When they dropped us back at the hotel, I pulled him aside and asked to speak with him in private as we got off the bus which later also joined by my brothers and my husband. I told him that he had no reasons to talk to us in such manner and that we have cooperated with him in every aspects on this tour including buying at the different shopping stops. This foot-massage thing to me is a medical behavior where direct physical contacts are involved. We should have the rights to say no to anything that involves someone touching any parts of our body as a medical procedure. The main thing was that he did not explain to us beforehand that we 'must' participate. It would be too late if something happened to anyone of us because of the massage. After a lengthy talk, he kind of backed off and apologized. Later on, those of us who did not participate gave him back the money that he said had to pay out of his own pocket to make up the loss. He had been OK on this tour except this incident. Until this day I don't know if this has anything to do with what happened to us two days later. That part of the story will come soon.
We decided to take a walk around town that evening after dinner. It was raining on and off the whole evening, but we had fun walking around this small town and did a little souvenir shopping before calling it a day.
Tomorrow we will be going back to Changsha.
No comments:
Post a Comment