Day 116: Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Today we had planned to make it to the bus station early and separate for the day, possibly the night and then meet back in Chengdu. The other two over slept, so we were not able to make it to the bus station at our target time (another reason why I don't mind traveling on my own). There was no way for us to get out of this park, everyone was trying to charge us ridiculous prices and there wasn't a taxi in sight. We decided to walk a little less than a mile to the entrance. Once we got there, we were bale to get a cab. When we got to the bus station, my bus was about to leave. I am off to Lèshān to see the Grand Buddha, a 233 foot statue that was carved into a mountain over 1200 years ago on the edge of where the Dàdù and Mín rivers come together; they are off to see a dinosaur museum... Really? 

Once I got to Lèshān, I had no clue as to where to go. I was told the bus ride was going to take 4 hours, it only took 1. The Chinese timetable is a mystery to me. Of course I was the only westerner for miles so all these men came up to me when I got off the bus trying to take me to the Grand Buddha. Since I gotta here so early, I would have plenty of time to see the Buddha and catch a late bus back to Chengdu. Mind you, I have my big bag and my day pack with me. Over 50lbs of gear to carry around all day, not something to look forward to. When I go my ticket back to Chengdu, I began to talk with the guys again to see how much it would cost. Their English was just as bad as my Mandarine. A Chinese girl, who spoke broken English, came over to help. I asked her to ask them how much it would cost. They said 100 Yuan, which is about $16, way over priced, so I walked away. The girl came up to me and told me that her boyfriend and her were going to go and they could get a non-westerner price from a normal cab. They were able to get a 20 yuan cab for all three of us, about $3. They pointed me in the right direction and then told me which bus to take to get back to the bus station for only 1 yuan, about 16 cents. Like I said, if you can work it right, Chinese transportation is cheap.

Before i saw the Grand Buddha, I wanted to walk around and check the place out. I entered a small outdoor temple with these big statues inside. I think they are deities, not sure though; the only one I could identify was Buddha. 

The bad weather actually worked out in my favor, there were no lies. They had all the lines set up just to take a picture from particular angle; no wait for me.

Grand Buddha!

The walk down the side of the mountain was not only long but very narrow, providing very difficult with two packs, especially when I can't even see my feet.

It was rewarding to be at the bottom and truly appreciate the magnitude of this statue and the skill that went into building it.

The walk up was miserable. After seeing the Buddha, I figured I might as well head back to the bus station. My trip to the Grand Buddha was similar to my trip to the Pyramids in Cairo, completed in couple hours. While it is convenient, I didn't get to full take either experience in. There is a large park full of other Buddhas and caves that I could have explored. Regardless, I got places to be.

It was great to get back to Chengdu and relax, all day with two packs on my shoulders had been killing me. When Joseph, Su, and Tom arrived, we all grabbed some dinner and took it easy for the night