Okay, so, the day before my birthday (my Dad's birthday! :D ) I rallied the troops and embarked on a mission to climb a mountain. Mount Hua Shan to be precise. This photo was as fresh as they'd look for the next few days.
Everyone getting a trucker's tan on the way to Hua Shan
Bye bye mr sunshine. Next time we'd see him would be a lot different.
Arriving at the base of the mountain at 9pm, this is what greeted us. X_X
Beryl...
...Dan...
...and Aya, all contemplating the climb ahead.
We started climbing at around 9.30pm. At first it was just a moderately steep pathway, then began getting steeper and steeper. A few hours in and the stairs started. It was an awesome experience. Walking along in the pitch black, beautiful stars above, everyone with their flashlights, walking along fairly well maintained pathways. It was hot as hell though, the day had been 39'c, and very humid, and the humidity had definately stuck around for the night. Every 20 minutes or so you'd come to a little shop selling overpriced water (still a moderate 50p a bottle, but thats pricey for China.) We'd stop for a rest and then carry on. A few hours in, it started to get hard work, and Dan (our pack mule) had met his match. Fortunately we came across a small hotel for him to shack up in. So, he bought an entire room (with 3 beds, so he could have it to himself and lock the door) for a tidy sum of £5 (not bad for the side of a mountain) and we went on without him.
One of the many mountains of empty red bull vitamin drinks we found on the way up
Beryl starting to feel the pain
Tim and Aya feeling the burn... it was a very strange sensation. Absolute exhaustion, the heat, the body-clock telling you its 2am, you should be in bed, the altitude, etc.
Another red bull mountain
I didnt take many photos on the way up, because there was no light, and because I was too exhausted / concentrating on not falling. But this picture gives you an idea of some of the climbing. This is probably about 65-70 degrees, and lit only by an LED rope light. You better hope the person above you doesn't fall...or fart!
Looking down at where we'd started... getting high!
Finally, after a total of 6 hours of climbing, we made it to the peak. I can't describe how gruelling the climb was without sounding totally melodramatic, but... it was HARD. I don't know what was keeping me going towards the end but I was literally on all fours stumbling up the stone staircases... my ~8kg of camera equipment, flashes, food and drink didn't seem like the best idea.
4:30am at the top of the mountain. It was pretty cold up there, especially considering the heat at the base, and WINDY too. Beryl had a little sleep in my arms, I gazed up at the stars for the usual its-my-birthday-im-another-year-older thinking.
The crowd awaiting the appearance of Mr Sunshine.
Beryl and one of our climbing friends waiting for the sun :)
Getting lighter...(note the lonely, bright star still shining through the twilight)
It was like a concert with all the cameras and cell phones being held up
This guy was videoing the whole thing...seemingly from the comfort of his bed!
A cold Beryl waits for the sun
and there it is! There was a cheer as the sun poked it's face up. Everyone was tired, everyone was cold, everyone was exhausted... but something so mundane and clockwork as the sun rising in the sky had lifted everyone's spirits.
As it raised higher, everyone stayed focused on the sun, in an almost hypnotic state. It was pretty beautiful, a great way to start a birthday.
Very peaceful places, mountains.
A very tired me is happy to see the sun rise. :)
Keeping warm! :)
The padlocks are placed on the chain to make a wish. The mountains around looked almost fake in the sunrise light.
A cold, windswept beryl seemingly on the edge of the world.
A view of the peak, 30-40 mins after sunrise.
some beautiful sights to behold
Just in case you were tempted...
The "No tossing" sign had me confused, until I saw the cat!
Tim and Aya :)
Myself and Beryl :D
More padlock goodness
Tim in photo-taking mode
We then started our descent down, grabbing some snaps on the way...
Looking back up to the peak
One of my favourite photos of the day. :)
A very, very exhausted Beryl poses on the downhill. Going down was pretty tough, our legs were shot and could barely do what they were told. Trying not to fall in a moment of absent mindedness was difficult, but having £400 of camera around your neck is a good way to keep yourself alert!
Some interesting rock formations
Great scenery
Breath-taking
Another favourite photo of the day
Fortunately we found out we could take a cable-car down for about half the distance. Unfortunately I HATE cable-cars, and this one just about took the biscuit. The view as you left the cable-car station, seemingly just a straight-down plummet.
My irrational fear of cable cars had me sweating worse than I had been during the humid night climb
Stomach-churning
One of the pathways from above
Phew, I survived the cable-car ride. :)
Then, in the foyer of one of the tourist buildings, a reminder that, ITS MY BIRTHDAY. 25th of June reading out on the electronic calendar. (and 8:43am! :P )
Following that we rendezvoused with Dan who'd had an interesting night with some creepy crawlies. We then got the slowest bus ever back to Weinan. Got home, had a 3-4 hour nap, then woke up in search of food. Met some people for a birthday meal, then headed to KTV for some Karaoke. (photos courtesy of Rob!)
Singing...something. I can't remember now, and I don't think I knew then. I'd just came from the top of a mountain, and my head was all over the shop.
Shout out to everyone who came. In no particular order: Myself, Beryl, Rob, Cheer, Tim, Aya, Dumi, Christie, Geri, Geri's BF, Fangfang, Sun Mao, Harry and Pinky.
Myself and Beryl choosing some songs
Then... cake! Wooooop! Big thank you to Aston for buying me this tasty tasty birthday cake. This was actually one of my TWO cakes! Shout out to Dumi for cake number two, pictures of which will come soon!
I believe this was a rendition of "Wake me up, before you go go"... i can't remember. I'm sporting cake on my cheek because Beryl is actually five years old. :-P
Some of us then headed to Grammy. Which I've featured before, but is this crazy nightclub / cabaret / dont-know-what.
A man sang...
...I cheered.
Women danced provokatively...
...I covered my eyes!
The place also does these strange money-making games where you basically go on stage, pay some money, and do something where odds are stacked against you in an attempt to win something. I of course, got talked into it. (Thanks, Rob! :P )
I think I had to roll either 3* 3. or 3* 6 to win. Needless to say, I didn't. I think i got 3,3,4. But... at the time, I believe I crunched the numbers to be 1/106 of winning.
Then there was a weird hat-jugging act
Then some contorsionism
Then some acrobatic stuff
Then some more provocative dancing... this time; with chairs!
and that was a suitably crazy ending to a crazy birthday. It was an awesome day, and thanks to everyone who made it so. I'll have a blog post about my presents and such soon, but this blog post was hard enough!
Peace!
