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Everybody sing along now: "I'm on the top of the world, looking down on creation, and the only thing that I can see..." is South Korea. |
What a day! We went to Korea. Well, sort of. I saw Korea but I didn't get to put my foot in the country. Today was a culture day. We took a 4 hour bus ride south of Yanji to the Changhai Mountains. Along the way I was able to check out the Chinese countryside. What a contrast to city life. As many oxen pulling carts today as bicycles. Once at the mountain we started by going up, thank goodness not by walking...or that was what we thought. We exited bus #1 - the bus that took us to Changhai - then walked to bus #2. Bus #2 took us to a row of four-wheel drive Jeeps. Six of us
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"Hot Spring Eggs" are a local favorite. The hot springs have temperatures over 140 degrees! |
fit into a jeep that climbed the side of the mountain with such speed I swear I was at Six Flags over Yanji! Our tires screached around each corner as Janie encouraged the driver to go faster. He turned the radio higher and kept going faster. Poor Kara in the second car was fearing for her life with the wild driving and was feeling quite queezy on top of the mountain. I was worried at one point but noticed that none of the green guard rails looked dented...yet.
It was silly of me to think that any Chinese destination would not include steps. As soon as we exited the jeeps we were let off to a set of very steep stone stairs that needed to be climbed to get to the top of the mountain. Not wanting to be a wimp, I climbed away and saw a very breathtaking view of China and Korea. The Changhai Mountains border Korea. It was such a lovely sight. So different from the cities we have seen during the past month. The rock was rather soft. Much of it was pumice. And you couldn't miss the Fulbright group today as each of us was given a hot pink hat to wear so that the guide could keep track of us.
After the mountain we went to the waterfall. The walk through the woods was spectacular. The highlight was a hot spring. "How hot was it?" you ask.
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Several of our group looking fetching in their cheap yellow rain gear and striking pink hats. As they say in China: "Eye yah!" |
It was
so hot that they were boiling eggs in the water to sell to the hikers. The weather was rainy for a brief period of time, otherwise it was a perfect weather day. There was a slight breeze and it was cool outside. It was actually kind of nice to wear a coat for the first time in China. A break from the 98 degrees in the cities. Being north was helpful as well. After a 4 hour ride back, the group agreed to skip dinner tonight. We had some business to attend to with an ill traveler, and then there was Gail, who fell just before boarding the bus and is now icing a fat lip. Hopefully I can report on some tasty meals tomorrow.
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