When we went to dinner with our new friends in Beijing, we asked them to put together a dream itinerary of their vast and intriguing country. Though some of the places on their 8-destination list like Xi’an and Chonqing were familiar, others were completely new to us. The first surprise, Dunhuang, proved too remote for our timeframe, as it would have required a 2-day train ride each way from Xi’an. The spectacular caves there filled with centuries of Buddhist art will have to wait for our next visit. The hardest place to pronounce on the list, Jiuzhaigou (sounds roughly like Jew-zai-go) did make the cut, however, as it was a mere 12-hour bus ride from Chengdu. Given only a few pages in the various Western guidebooks, Juizhaigou is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists, and with good reason. Touted by the tourist board as “fairyland on earth,” it is an oasis of fresh air, majestic mountains, and crystal waters in an otherwise polluted and crowded landscape.
We were tempted by the raving of the Chinese over an area largely ignored by foreigners. When we discovered there was a Sheraton resort in the remote setting, the deal was sealed. We called and booked two rooms for three nights using Tom’s frequent guest points. Even if the scenery let us down, we could take long, hot baths, sleep in soft, fragrant beds without our sleep sacks, and swim in a heated indoor pool. And there probably wouldn’t be any cockroaches (don’t even ask).
The bus ride, which had been touted as smooth and relatively painless, was neither. The bus was clean (at the start) and no one smoked, both good. What was bad was that it came equipped with shock absorbers specially engineered to reach alpine heights with every bump in the road, and there were many bumps. Sitting in the back we watched some spectacular scenery pass by, but found it hard to appreciate as we cracked our skulls against the ceiling with each pothole. The serpentine ascent into the mountains was laden with switchbacks which added to our discomfort and left a few members of our party green in the gills. Fortunately the driver stopped frequently for bathroom and snack breaks so we could stretch our legs and gulp large doses of fresh air.
The Sheraton did not disappoint and neither did the park. Admission was steep but included a pass for a bus that shuttles visitors between the various landmarks. We gawked and gasped as it drove us past turquoise colored lakes (there are 114), thundering Read the rest of this entry »
