Tue 10 April: Near death at Black Dragon Park

Tuesday 10th

Another early call and the rucksacks seem fuller than ever if that is possible. . . This morning we get the great news - it makes Subway sandwiches look a real treat - today we are going to stop and make our own packed lunches. . . - gasp horror! Cue 32 people queuing up to collect slices of 'Bingo' processed cheese, processed ham and what later turned out to be 6 month out of date wagon wheels (not really but they did taste like that) We arrived at Black Dragon Park in lots of clothes we had been told it would be cold and wet. . . Of course no trip would be correct without the obligatory toilet stop first - grim is not the word! It took every bit of strength Lisa possessed not to fall in - And I was not any more impressed - little did we know that just 20 metres away was a new toilet built specially for westerners - made of marble can you believe - thanks for telling us . Black dragon park really is spectacular - beautiful ponds with the mountains towering above-

 and yes there was evidence of cold - the ponds were thickly iced over - with workers using pick axes to try and break it up ready for the main Chinese holiday in a couple of weeks where they will spend the day frolicking in small boats on said iced over pond. . . The lunch didn't actually taste that bad - which was a good job given the afternoon ahead of us . . .

The afternoon started at the temple celebrating the black dragon that gives this region rain . . . Hundreds of feet above lay a new gleaming road - with a goat path leading up to it - but hang on a moment we haven't seen any goats this week- before this thought has settled Michael or guide has begun whizzing up the path at what can only be described as warp speed. . . . Ten minutes of this and I was having a mild asthma attack (aka a good sit down and a rest) and we eventually reached the road. . . To my horror there was no bus waiting there for us . Instead a short walk down the main road and then we were back on the wall - at least what was left of the wall - a tiny ledge with a sheer drop either side and a gradient downhill of 45 degrees - scary scary scary. . .

 Add to that lots of loose stones - at least we could see the bus now - several hundred feet directly below us - however we knew there was cold beer on board - and a marble toilet to visit!! I slowly learned not to shut my eyes when the drop was really scary and Lisa learned not to look over the sides! I am happy to report that we all made it down safely - although we had taken too long for the Chinese - the marble toilet was locked up and we had to content ourselves with a beer-

And so on to Jinshanling lodge - the rain finally arrived so we were an hour late arriving - it looked quite quaint but quickly we discovered there was no water, the electricity was interesting to say the least and rumours spread like wildfire about bed bugs. Harry another guide set us the challenge of teaching us to write our name in Chinese - apparently my name means Peaceful and Calm - something I am sure my children will find hard to believe - and Lisa means Beautiful Beautiful !!! Will our resident doctor was a bit horrified to discover his name meant small woman and NOT Big Warrior as he hoped - oh how we laughed!!!

The beds were more concrete than ever so the end of the day was not met with great optimism for sleep - Gubieku tomorrow!!