This morning, Jenny ran into our rooms screaming because she was startled by something outside. Our hostel was getting raided by a tribe of Tibetan macaques and they were swarming the rooftops. We rushed out by the outhouse where about a dozen of them were scrounging around for tossed food. Emery and I broke off bits of biscuit and fed some curious males. One of them harassed a man for a water bottle and twisted the cap off with his little hands (didn't drink the water though) then for no apparent reason, got angry and aggressed Emery so we backed away. Another macaque was trying to climb into the dining hall kitchen but fortunately, the bars prevented him from succeeding. Scott got so creeped out at one point that he shoved Jenny in front of a pair of macaques. No one got hurt so it was just really funny.

We hiked up another 12km today. Ate some excellent potato skewers for lunch; they were perfectly crisp and golden on the outside and soft and well-cooked on the inside. Jenny caught a live chicken at one of the snack counters and performed a "magic trick" on it: spit twice on each side of the floor and spun her hand around the chicken's head. Along the way, we taught each other cuss words in different languages and laughed at each others accents (mostly Jenny's, we all still crack up over how she mistakes "concubine" for "cucumber" and how the word "fart" comes out as the f-word). Jenny also kept trying to fool Scott into saying bad things about himself in Chinese. I don't think anyone's going to forget what a wang ba dan is.

Arrived at the hotel called Leidongping and met up with the rest of the group. The atmosphere was noticeably colder. I could see my breath in the air. Most of us didn't feel as prepared for the chill as we could have been so a hot shower in the filthy communal bathroom felt heavenly. We were promised separate bathrooms, which were available on all floors but the 6th floor--our floor. Saw more macaques on our way to one of the crappy mountain restaurants. Our tour group met two Canadian travelers who walked in for dinner. Jenny proposed a rowdy game Chopsticks, which inadvertently required ripping up the tablecloth and soiling a chair with shoe grime.

It started raining that night. Emery and I made it back to the hotel before it began to pour. We curled in our beds and enjoyed our electric blankets that night.


Shared Expenses
palanquin baggage carriers 90Y
lunch on the mountain snack counters 65Y
dinner at restaurant nearby hotel 50Y
more snacks 51Y

total = 256Y approx. $38US

* Monday, May 4, 2009