So the big day arrived. Time to stop relaxing and procrastinating and get out into the hills a little. After a quick breakfast at the hostel and a brief chat with some of our hostel buddies (a lady from New Zealand who works for Ice Breaker, the guys who made my merino wool t-shirts, and her dad who teaches English and lives in China) we hit the trail with a map in hand – what could possibly go wrong ? We started off in the general direction of the mountains and found ourselves walking through small farms and around new streets. There are lots of new building clusters in this area with a similar feeling to a complex in SA but without the walls, guards, electric fences and sewers.

Coming across a movie set turned tourist attraction we knew that we were at least heading in the right direction. No idea what the movie was, but the ‘set’ looked more like a mini fortified village. The ticket cost and general cheesiness prevented us from going inside and we carried on to the trail-head where we acquired tickets and a pamphlet. One of the guards insisted that we read the information carefully – it outlined security and other risks on the mountain along with tips on what to do in case of an emergency or getting lost. We had been told that there had been muggings in the past on the trails and had left everything valuable behind so we were not too concerned.

We soon realized that getting lost or into any kind of trouble on the mountain would take a superhuman effort. The ‘trail’ is a 2.5m wide, perfectly paved stone concourse complete with handrails, warning signs, toilets, rest pagodas, water taps and fire hydrants ! We were all alone as we climbed stairs up and up toward the contour path passing only one guy who was pulling weeds from the side of the trail. It took around 90 minutes of hard step-mastering on the mossy path through thick forest to reach the contour path – I can see why most people take the cable car but chatting all the way made it easy.

After a short rest on a convenient bench we strolled off along the path. It was wonderful. The trail wound it’s way along the mountains offering stunning views of the town and lake. Sections have been carved (reasonably aesthetically) into sheer rock faces and the trail cuts back into gullies as it approaches waterfalls with the greater mountains towering possibly 1000m overhead. Light rain encouraged us to stop under misty and cloud covered mountains to have a little lunch before heading back towards the chairlift. We took the hard way down – a muddy, slippery and dis-used horse trail that weaves it’s way down under the path of the comfortable looking chairlift. After trekking downhill and through a vast mountainside graveyard we successfully navigated our way back to the hostel. An excellent five hours out in the hills – we deserved the beer.

The proprietor and head chef at the hostel is a French guy who has been in China forever and he sold us on a ‘Special’ dinner menu. At 7pm we were on the benches with most of the hostel’s guests eagerly awaiting sups. It was excellent and simple. A cheese platter with real cheeses (including pecorino, brie & rocquefort) real breads, a salad that I even found delicious and a fruit salad for desert. We have not had real cheese and bread since Russia and I was shocked that he had been able to source it here. Combined with his home-brewed witblitz and the lively company (we preferred the quieter Belgium couple as opposed to the Poms and Israelis) it was a fantastic dinner, an unexpected treat.

[Pictures: None – we didn’t take the phones on the hike for fear of being mugged. Will upload pics from the camera soon]

– Posted from my iPhone via Wifi