China Day 10

October22

Well I guess my China experience wouldn’t be complete if I did have an opportunity to sit in a traffic jam from hell. This morning we had a great day planned. We were going to make the 90 mile trip to Luoyang. We would visit the UNESCO World Heritage site called Longmen Grottos. Then we would do some shopping in the market there, have lunch, then head to Shaolin Temple, where there is a Kung Fu festival going on. Well, my one day off to be a tourist in China didn’t turn out that way. Instead the supposed 1.5 hour drive took us 6 hours! There was fog. Terrible fog and it caused big trucks throughout the night to crash. And these trucks were mangled. I’m not sure why they kept driving if the fog was that bad.

Alas, we were stuck. It was awful. I was so frustrated that my last day in China would be stuck in a van with a smoking driver. As I sat there, on the verge of tears, thinking about what I was missing out on, I realized that no one else was complaining. The only reason they were even in the car at all was because of me, because I was their guest and they wanted to do something nice for me. So I did my best to just relax and try to make memories. It was hard though. I really felt like we were in hell.

We left at 9 and got there at 3 and what did we have to do first. Eat of course. Meet with another entourage of people and eat a big meal with them. We had to leave by 5 because Andrew had a flight back in Zhengzhou at 8 pm.

By 4 we made it to Longman Grottos with only an hour to see a huge site that is 1300 years old, it was tragic that we had to rush through this amazing place. It really was beautiful Buddahs everywhere ranging from 2 cm to 18 meters all carved into caved 1300 years ago commissioned by the first female emperor in China.

If you are ever in Henan Provice, China, don't miss the Longman Grottos, it really was amazing

So after a rushed tour of this place it was back in the car to go back to Zhengzhou. No shopping, no Shaolin Temple, no Kung Fu. I was bummed. Especially about the shopping part. You see I didn’t do a ton of shopping in Shanghai, I only had a few hours to begin with, and because I knew I’d be in Henan and things should be cheaper. Big mistake. So I will be leaving China without the intended gifts I had hoped to buy. Sorry to anyone who was expecting anything special.

Tomorrow begins my journey home. Here’s hoping all goes well.