Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Day 277 August 12th 2007, The sound of noise - Datong to Wutai Shan


Setting off from the mountains would surely provide a break from all the noise, traffic and construction sites that appear to consume the China we have seen so far. How wrong could I be, after the coach wound its way through the mountains for almost 4 hours it started to descend into what looked like a small mountain town.


Above: I was surprised to learn that this chap hadn't heard of catalytic converters

The official Chinese Tourist Agency in Datong had booked us into what I would describe as the most appalling hotel I have ever come across, the rooms were underground, a barred window let some light in from the street above and the beds didn't even have proper mattresses on them. Add to this the bathroom that has never seen bleach and we were outta here pretty quickly. Before we could get into the taxi the hotel receptionist unleashed a volley of abuse, realising that we were ignoring here she turned on the taxi driver, who thought it best to laugh at the whole scenario.

We then looked for another hotel, dodging traffic on the 4 lane road running through the town, amongst the building sites we eventually found something more suitable. So much for the quiet Buddhist Mountain hideaway we had expected.

Highlights: Taxi getaway from our first hotel

No comments: