3 days ago we went to Yellow Mountain (黄山) in Anhui Province. I can honestly say it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The whole time I was there I could not believe it was real and kept thinking this kind of thing you only see in TV, movies, and at animal kingdom in Disney World.
Our trip started with a 6 hour bus ride to Huangshan city where we went to the Lotus Valley and learned about Native Chinese "indians." They had people dressed like them hooping and hollering swinging through the trees over your head as you walked the paths (there were no safety nets so if they fell they were done for) and then we watched them dance and perform a ritual. They made us all hold out red prayer flags and the shaman drew holy water over them and then we wrote our names and tied them around something (a tree, pole, etc).
Second day started with an "international" breakfast and then the trip to the mountain. We took a cable car (the biggest in China apparently) partly up and hoofed it the rest of the way to the peak. When you get to the top all you can see is smokey fog, as they call it the "Sea of Fog" and it literally is just an ocean of fog under you. This day I really got to know my fellow travelers and talked with them a lot while we trekked. I realized that day I'm just like dad. I talk to the nearest person and whoever I can and make good friends instantly when traveling haha. After Yellow Mountain we made the trek back down and went white water rafting. Extremely fun day!
Last day was full of rain and rain and more rain. It was pretty miserable cause I was constantly wet. On the way home I made more friends with the people on the bus and we watched from the windows of the bus as the homes in the valley under the road (the highway was a big bridge through the valleys/hills/mountains of Anhui) were in the process of being flooded. 4 people died according to the newspapers :'(
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