We spent several hours on the bus on the morning of June 5th, drifting in and out of sleep. We were lucky enough to have sunny weather for our trek, which we set out on around 10:30 am. The start of the trek was quite easy, beginning along a road fairly low in the mountains. We ended up picking the wrong dirt pathway to go down, only to have a hunchbacked old Chinese man try to explain to us the right way to go. Unfortunately, the language barrier made it quite difficult, and it was awhile before we could make any sense of his kind gesture. We eventually made our way to a magnificent viewpoint, where we found an old Chinese woman who claimed that we had to pay to take photos. Typical. We bought some bananas from her instead (though she seemed much more interested in selling her marijuana), and took advantage of the nice rest stop before what appeared to be a long climb ahead. At this point, my stomach was no longer just a bit unhappy. In fact, I happen to have been graced with what some may call 'the runs' just as we had made our way into what was essentially the middle of nowhere. There were very few toilets along the trek, and those that were present were simply a hole in the ground - something I had already become far too familiar with in China. I must say, despite having been toughened up over the semester by various washroom standards, going from Japan to China is a rough adjustment. For those of you who have not experienced Japanese and Chinese toilets, allow me to explain. In Japan, what you're sitting on feels less like a toilet and more like a spaceship. It's got a whole panel of options, with everything from fake flushing noises to deodorizers to heated seats and oscillating dryers. They quite simply put the traditional Western toilet to shame. In China however, one remembers why the Western toilet provides such an enjoyable experience in the first place. Chinese toilets generally come in the form of a 'squatter', which consists of a hole in the ground that, if lucky, flushes. They are an extra treat to use when the stalls aren't separated, but rather everyone simply lines up along one giant trough and does their business right beside everyone else. Along the first day of our trek however, I was lucky to see any designated toilet area, and I was quickly brought back to my camping days. Thankfully, my stomach held up for most of the day, as the first day was quite intense. Once we left the banana lady's rest spot, we set up a very steep and narrow path that snaked along the mountainside. I can recall thinking numerous times in the hot sun to keep hydrated, as fainting could result in a very long tumble. Despite my stomach not liking the water, I forced it down. We had read online about the Gorge trek beforehand, and the consensus seemed to be that the most difficult part was to come in the late afternoon during a portion known as The 28 Bends, which was a series of switchbacks that was a favorite hangout for donkey owners, waiting to charge exorbitant fees for the use of their animals to make it the rest of the way. We were determined not to succumb to such offers, despite how tempting they may be. We trekked for several hours, and as we got higher and higher, the scenery got more and more amazing. What started out as a distant mountain range high above our point of departure became a much closer sight. The mountains were unbelievable, with clouds surrounding their peaks and snow scattered along the slopes. They made for great views and made the trek well worth the challenge. We stopped for lunch at the usual spot for Trekkers, where I struggled to stomach to noodles. I felt little to no hunger, but there was no denying that our bodies were expending serious calories and fluids, so I did my best to replenish my stocks. We were told that the 28 bends started soon after lunch, and soon enough, they were upon us. Except they weren't, because on what we had counted to be bend seven, we arrived at a rest stop where the words "prepare yourself for the 28 bends" were spray painted on the wall. It was almost comical. After running to the squatter at the rest stop and buying some more water, we set off again, and this time were told we'd get to the bends in 15 minutes or so. When we finally reached the bends, it felt like we'd been on them for the last two hours. A glance up the mountain would reveal fellow trekkers not so far away but many many meters above, so it quickly became better simply not to look up. Once we did finally reach the bends however, they seemed to go by rather quickly (speaking in relative terms, of course). Making it past this crucial step made us feel invincible, but thankfully for the remaining few hours of the hike, we were mostly on flat or downhill terrain, and didn't have to test this feeling. We had done it - nothing would stand in our way now. We we did arrive to the Halfway Houde (the hostel where Trekkers typically spend the night, we were ecstatic. The view from the rooftop patio was incredible, and there were a bunch of people from all over the place enjoying beers and each other's company after a long seven hours of hiking. We met a couple of girls from the UK who had joined up with a Canadian girl from Regina along the hike. We spent the evening with them, playing cards and trading stories about exchange (the British girls had been on exchange near Shanghai while the Canadian was in Hong Kong at CUHK). It felt like we had just joined an exclusive club of climbers, like we had just climbed Everest or something. It was cool. Next morning was an early start as we had to make it down to the pick up point for the bus by 3:30 pm as only one bus went back to Lijiang per day. Unfortunately, my stomach was not nearly as happy this time, and I was having to stop every ten minutes or so either to find a bush or to wait for the pain to subside. It was not ideal. Despite this unfortunate reality, the views were as nice or even better than the ones from the day before. We passed by waterfalls, natural clay formations, and the mountains that seemed so distant when we set out the day before looked like you could practically touch them today. Thankfully, the hike today was mostly downhill and only a couple of hours' walk, so we had plenty of time, despite my sluggish pace. A highlight was when we were not far from our destination and I decided that I needed to find another bush, only to almost get attacked by a snake. I quickly crab-walked to another much more open area, and as luck would have it, a group of trekkers created a hill nearby, just in time to catch me in mid-squat. Perfect. We did make it down to the pick-up point, where we enjoyed some card games and chatted for a few hours before the bus was scheduled to arrive. We had the option to climb down to the base of the gorge, but I did not have it in me this time. When we boarded the bus, there was one seat left next to me, and an extremely large man ended up tripping down the aisle and effectively fell on top of me. It was quite hilarious after the initial shock, despite the fact that it resulted in a rather uncomfortable ride home. After arriving back at Panba Hostel in Lijiang, it was time to say goodbye to Millie and Amrita, who were off to Laos for the next five days. I had such a great time traveling with them, but now it was time for me to catch the night train to Kunming before flying to Bangkok the next day. The hostel staff arranged for a Chinese guy who was also catching the train to help me find my way, and we ended up having quite the conversation via his translation app on his phone. It was quite amazing actually, because he had virtually no English knowledge, and my Mandarin is quite poor. Despite these facts, we discussed school, our homes, where we were going, and made other small talk. I do love technology - especially while traveling. You never feel lost, you can book things as you go, verify prices to avoid scams, and talk to people that five years ago, you simply couldn't (unless you happen to carry a Mandarin-English dictionary in that backpack, of course). So cool. After boarding the train, I did my best to go to bed early, and although I rolled around for quite some time, I eventually drifted off as we chugged along towards Kunming.
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