Today is a travel day. We’re saying good-bye to Chenzhou, and heading back to Beijing, via Changsha. This means a 4-hour bus ride, followed by a 2-hour flight, so a bit of a haul. As I am typing this, the girls are quiet, plugged into my ipod and listening to a play list I created for the trip.
The countryside is so beautiful: mountainous and green. As we head north, the mountains will gradually give way to rolling hills, dotted with rice fields and low red-brick farm houses. I like our bus driver. We can’t communicate with him in words but he seems an affable guy. David accidentally ate a hot pepper at lunch the other day (not a lover of spicey food is he) and it brought a broad smile to our driver’s face, and made him laugh heartily.
Yesterday we went to a Buddhist temple, poised high on a mountain top overlooking Chenzhou. The vista was simply breathtaking, mountainous forest all around, blue sky. It was unbelievably hot as we trekked up the last few steps, but pleasant enough in the temple, cool even, and the breeze refreshing on our damp skin as we gazed around, drinking in the sights. The boys took hundreds of photos, and I leaned on the stone wall, listening to the intermittent sound of the gong, wondering if I could fly. I think the incense was getting to me.
In the afternoon we took the girls to a hair salon across from the hotel. Possibly the highlight of the trip for them, and unquestionably the best 10 RMB I have ever spent (which, incidentally, translates to about $1.50). The stylists washed, dried, and curled their hair, while the girls smiled and giggled and delighted in the attention. The curls dropped the instant we walked outside, but they loved the idea that they looked like ‘real’ Chinese girls.
The food here has been incredible, particularly in Hunan, and ridiculously inexpensive.
It’s late now, I am road weary and ready for bed. We’re back in Beijing and settled into our hotel. Pearl Market tomorrow along with an evening show, followed by the Great Wall on Sunday. Airport on Monday. Our adventure is slowly drawing to a close.
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