Thursday 7 September 2017

Travel update

Hello lovely visitors, thanks for dropping by.
Today I have a post of a more personal nature to share, as so many of you have asked for a travel update....

I had an amazing two weeks in China, first teaching at a conference for primray school teachers and then a week holiday at the foot of one of China's 4 holy mountains, Emei-Shan about 2 hours by bullet train from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, SE China.

The photos are all from that second week as during the conference I was so busy I never got round to taking photos, though my lovely students must have taken hundreds (literally) of selfies with me, - I felt like a celebrity lol...

Here goes:
At the foot of the mountain (to walk to the summit is a full two days' hike, which in temperatures of between 35 and 40 degrees and about 100% humidity, we did not attempt)... As this is a holy mountain there are at least 20 Buddhist temples along the way. We hiked up to some of the closer ones, but planned to take a bus and cable car to the summit.
Entrance to the temple at the foot of the mountain, elephants are a big feature in many of them.
Front view of the entrance with a huge bell (similar to many we saw in Japan during an earlier trip this year)
One of the many, many Buddha statues surrounding the temples. This one was simply carved out of the surrounding rock face.There were also many Buddha statues, often covered in gold cladding, inside the temples but the lighting was never quite right to get a reasonable photo.
The roof of another temple as you can probably see
Chinese food in China is very, very different from the Chinese take out we knew from home. Having it for breakfast lunch and dinner took some getting used to!
Everything was kept spotlessly clean though, and people are super friendly, and like I said, always keen to take a photo of these strange looking Europeans.
We met these ladies on one of our hikes close to the top of the mountain, hubby took a quick photo of them as they were photographing us. I even had to pose with a special hat I received as a gift :o)

As it so happened, we never actually made it to the top of the mountain, as it was covered in a thick layer of cloud and completely overun with (Chinese) tourists.
These beautiful monkeys were everywhere near the summit, but as you can see it was so misty up there we could barely see 10 metres ahead, it was also a lot cooler.

I'll leave you with a few photos of my travel notebook, I had prepared at home. (I had to do a lot of doodling as I only had few craft supplies accessable while travelling).




Pfew, if you are still with me, thanks for your visit. While in China I was unable to access any social media sites including blogger because of their strickt censoring laws, but now I am in Australia, I'll try and visit you whenever time allows...
xxxxx

21 comments:

Jennie Atkinson said...

It all sounds wonderful Astrid. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. xxx

Brenda Brown said...

Your photo memories are wonderful Astrid and what an incredible experience up in the mountains. Love your pages, such a fabulous record of your trip. Enjoy Australia xxx

Maryann Laursen said...

Wouw what an amazing expirience it must´ve been to teach there, and what an awesome journal, you´ve made over the trip too., it´s such a valued memory later in life. I knew, you wouldn´t be able to do much, while there, as I have a craftfriend from the USA, who was stationed there with her husbond for 2 years some years ago, and they told some truly weird things from there about these things too, so know all about, hopw strict they are there. But great you had a good expirience and a wonderful time, that´s all that matters. Now you just enjoy your beautiful family in Australia and have fun.

Valerie-Jael said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Love the hat! Thanks for haring the great photos. Hugs, Valerie

Margaret Mifsud said...

What an amazing time you must have had Astrid. Teaching in China must have been awesome and I love the photos of your travels and the little book you are recording it all into. Absolutely fabulous!! Have a wonderful time in Aus with your family. Shame we were not able to catch up but, maybe next time!! Enjoy your family time!! hugs xx

Monika Gulyas said...

It was a great adventure in China!!! I love your photos!!! Your special hat was really cool!!! You looked like a mother nature :-) Have fun in Australia too!!!

Annie said...

Lovely photographs Astrid and I so love your hat xx It must have been amazing up in those mountains and the temples are so beautiful.
Look forward to hearing all about it when you return to UK in November
Sending my best wishes

Annie xx

froebelsternchen said...

Oh you show some great photos - seems it was a very nice trip and you enjoyed! Yes we are the "longnoses" to the chinese people.
Love that term!
Happy time downunder and I really like your travel pages!!!

oxo Susi

brenda said...

Thank you for sharing photos of what have been an amazing trip Astrid, a location that remains on my wish list still.

B x

Marisa Job said...

Great pictures! Glad to hear you had a great time!

Meggymay said...

You have shared some awesome photos Astrid. The scenery looks beautiful a shame about the mist, but I'm sure that didn't spoil in any way your visit to that lovely location. It was good to read you are having a super time. Your journal book will get full of memories as the days pass by.
Yvonne xx

Redanne said...

What a wonderful experience you had Astrid and I loved seeing all your beautiful photos. Recording in your journal will give you many happy memories for years to come! You look beautiful in your wonderful foliage hat! Hugs, Anne xx

Dorthe said...

Astrid, this must have been so very amazingly special, so much I`m sure to settle in your mind , now you are in Australia , must have been so exiting also to teach there, for you . And I love the Buddha statues in pink , I gather they are painted. You dear looks so lovely with your nature hat , thank you for showing. And thank you for showing pages from your private journaling, with all the wonderful details you created.
Hugs, Dorthe

pearshapedcrafting said...

What a great time you have had so far! Pity about the mist, but seeing those lovely temples and statues must have made up for that! Love how you are filling your journal ! Chrisxx

Carol said...

Oh my thank you for sharing your journey - the journal is such a lovely way to recall events xx It looks such a fascinating country x Have a lovely time in Oz Safe travels xxx

Helen Wallace said...

How exciting to share vicariously in your travels and to read of the customs of China. Keep safe and enjoy.

Let's Art Journal said...

What a wonderful adventure! It's looks an amazing place to visit and the walk to the top of the mountain must have been spectacular with all the temples and views along the way 😁. Your photos are wonderful and it was interesting to learn about the Chinese culture, wildlife and people - thank you! I so enjoyed joining you on your journey and I hope you are having a lovely time with your family in Australia too! J 😊
p.s. thanks for visiting my blog, our visitors have left and I'm now catching up on everyone's posts. I'm glad to see you had such a wonderful time in China, what an amazing experience! J x

Jackie PN said...

Thanks for sharing your photos and about your trip with us. Sounds like it was a wonderful time! I just love all the Buddha staues!
hugs,Jackie

Marjie Kemper said...

This must be an amazing experience and adventure. Loved your photos!

Words and Pictures said...

So lovely to get a chance to catch up with your travel adventures, Astrid - thank you for sharing these photos. It makes me wish I'd had more of a chance to get out of the cities - the forests and mountains look beautiful. And great to get a peek inside your travel journal too... the sketches and doodles bring it all to life.
Alison x

sanpiseth40 said...

Loved your photos!


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