Back Down To Earth
Left Guilin yesterday for Changsha. Pretty easy trip and was not a problem getting to my hostel. Changsha is my base for the Zhangjiajie park. Known lately as the Avatar park because they had filmed a lot in the park. My problem is Changsha is a 4 hour bus trip to the town near the park. Not possible to make day trips, so I booked a night in a hostel close to the park. Haven't given myself enough time to do this properly, but given I can't change the date of my Tibet tour, I really have to stick to schedule and do as much as I can. My hostel in Changsha is a real dirty crappy place, but it will do
Mike Rose
97 chapters
Terrific Tianmen Mountain.....
September 24, 2017
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Zhang Jia jie, China
Left Guilin yesterday for Changsha. Pretty easy trip and was not a problem getting to my hostel. Changsha is my base for the Zhangjiajie park. Known lately as the Avatar park because they had filmed a lot in the park. My problem is Changsha is a 4 hour bus trip to the town near the park. Not possible to make day trips, so I booked a night in a hostel close to the park. Haven't given myself enough time to do this properly, but given I can't change the date of my Tibet tour, I really have to stick to schedule and do as much as I can. My hostel in Changsha is a real dirty crappy place, but it will do
for the couple of one nighters I am doing there. I stayed the night and woke up early to catch the first bus to Zhangjiajie. Again everything went as planned and I arrived at my hostel around 1:00 pm. Got some advice and dropped my things in the room. Off to Tianmen mountain. Grabbed a number 4 bus and off to the cable car to take me up the mountain. What a zoo! Crazy amount of people trying to get up the mountain. Took about an hour of lineups and up the mountain I go. What a ride! Cable car was about a half hour trip. Took us pretty near right to the top of a beautifully rugged mountain. Met a Brazilian and American guy on the way so I hiked with them for
the afternoon. A lot of the hiking around the top is via a trail that is attached to the sides of the cliffs of the mountain. Some parts they put glass bottoms so you could see straight down. Fantastically beautiful place. Hiked for about 3 hours on top. Day was a bit hazy and misty so at times it was hard to see too far. The amount of work the Chinese have put in to create this place is incredible. As it approached dark, we decided to go back down. If you came up with cable car then you had to go back down by means of an escalator (bored through the mountain), stairs, and a wild shuttle bus trip to take you back to where the cable car picked you up. Never thought I would take an escalator down a mountain. Chinese tourism is crazy! Round trip was about 5 hours and was really worth the time and money. Was an expensive trip! Tomorrow I have to get up and leave by 6:30 to catch the first bus to the Avatar park. Need to get about 6 hours of hiking in before I have to catch the bus back to Changsha.
Hopefully it all works out!
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It all started with the first grey hair.........
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On the Road again.....
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Eataly and Old things......
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Culture Day
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The Medici Curse
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A Slanted View.......
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Lining up for David
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Holy Cannoli
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Exploring Paradise......
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Verona and Shakespeare......
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South to the home of Pizza and Mozzarella.....
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Sunday is not a slow day in Napoli...
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Pom Pom's for Pompeii
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Totally Different.....
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Hidden Gem of the Adriatic.....
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Kotor below the mountain.....
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King's Landing......
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Surf and Sun .......
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A Pleasant Day of Travel.........
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Rainy day in Croatia......
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Plitvice and Plum Brandy.......
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Whacked Crazy Day of Travel ......
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Fathers Day in Buda (with a) Pest.
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Relaxed Day in a Vibrant City.....
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Vienna the Good, the Bad, and the Lucky....
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Music and Mountains.....
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More of Magnificent Vienna...
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Day and Night in Prague.....
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Sunday in Prague.....
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Lots of Bones........
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Beer is Cheaper than Water......
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Perogies in Poland....
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A Sobering Day.......
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Happy Birthday Canada from Poland......
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A Few Days in Warsaw
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Shall we Gdansk.....
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Long Trip to Lithuania
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Vilnius in the Air and on the Ground...."
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Nida Break......
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Latvian Charm......
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Riga in the Rain....
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Estonian Excitement......
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Taking It Easy in Tallinn
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Pasty No More
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Hel(yeah)sinki
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Helsinki Highlights.....
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Sad Day as Katelyn Goes Home....
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To Russia With Love......
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Peterhof the Russian Versailles
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St. Petersburg Crazy........
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Moscow or Bust
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Moscow's Finest.......
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Moscow Winding Down...
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Gorky Park......
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Trans Siberian Railway........
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Baikal in the Rain.....
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Russia Ends, Mongolia Begins......
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Mongolia Camping Trip..........
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Busy Beijing
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Beijing and the Great Wall
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Great Wall Hike
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Great Wall Hike 2
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Back to Beijing and Summer Palace...
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Walk around Beijing
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Ancient City of Pingyao
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Warriors of Xi'an
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Panda-mania
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The Fun of Travelling
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Lijiang a Breathe of Fresh Air......
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Tiger Leaping Gorge-ous
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Stone Forest
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West Mountain of Kunming......
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Hot and Humid Guilin
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Rice, Rice, and More Rice......
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Terrific Tianmen Mountain.....
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Avatar Park in China.....
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Yellow Mountain in the Sky.....
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Tranquility in Chaos.......
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Modern Urban China
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Tibet or Bust
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Tibetan Temples and Taboos.....
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Treading in the Footsteps of the Dalai Lama...
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Tibetan Countryside......
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Everest
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Nepal Travel Hell........
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Trekking into the Top of the World.....
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Life Between Treks
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Annapurna Beauty
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Pokhara Relax Days
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Jungle Adventures
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End of Nepal
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To Thailand for Rest
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Beach Life
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Week on the Beach
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Christmas in Paradise
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Few days of Cool
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Fun in the Sun
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