Chun Hao picked us up at 0600AM and dropped us off at the same hotel that was the pick up spot for our trip to Jozhaigou. We boarded the bus and took a seat toward the back for a different perspective. I was exhausted from a night of heavy drinking, and passed out soon after I sat. 

It must have only been a few minutes later, but I woke to shouting from the front of the bus. Drunk with curiosity, I stood with everyone else and moved closer to see what all the commotion was about. In seconds, the driver took off, passengers out of seats, and door open. As he tried to make his escape and close the door, a crashing sound struck us all. It wasn’t contact with another vehicle, but the sound of glass breaking after an angry man threw two rocks through the door of the bus. The bus stopped and the man took off running. No one gave chase. We continued our journey with a broken window.

After about 2.5 hours, we arrived in Le Shan, home of He Ru and the world’s largest Buddha. We de-boarded and walked about 20 minutes to the entrance. Even early in the morning, the heat was heavy and we accumulated beads of sweat with each step we took. As we made our way up the mountain to the top of the Buddha, our tour guide only stopped briefly to describe the other, smaller Buddhas that had been left form ancient times. She seemed rushed and talked very fast. Not that I could understand her anyway - it was all in Chinese. Anyway, I don’t like to feel rushed.

We saw the Buddha, which was indeed big, but not well maintained. The world’s second largest Buddha, which I saw in Japan, was much better kept. Check the pictures I took nonetheless, as it is a sight to see. After checking him out, we made our way to some shaded shelter, where the tour guide, a young, semi-cute, but a little to rough thing talked fast and furious about something.

She could only be stopped when one of our travellers interrupted to complain of a bottled tea he bought that was past its expiration date. It seemed he wanted her to do something about it. But, in her mind, the vendor who sold it to him had no relation to her, so he should take care of it himself. She obliged nonetheless, attitude in hand, and they approached the vendor together to exchange the tea. As he came back to the table he noticed once again that he was given an expired tea. He complained again and the vendor approached our table.

Now everyone was involved - the guy, the guide, the kid sitting next to me, the grandmas at one end of the table. Everyone hand an opinion of some sort. It was pure comedy.

After the show, we boarded the bus and headed down the road for lunch. I went outside to use the bathroom (I should say “WC” - Water Closet, as it is called here) to take a piss, but the faucets weren’t working so I couldn’t wash my hands. No worries, I thought, my immune system is really being tested here anyway, so I was just about to make my way back into the restaurant. A young Chinese guy that was also using the WC gave me a funny look and said, “Do you want to wash your hands?”

I confirmed and he told me to follow him. He was a dish washer or cook, I’m not sure which. An employee nonetheless, so he took me to the kitchen and allowed me to use their facilities. He then introduced himself and said, “Welcome to Le Shan.” As I made my way back to the table, all 8 people were waiting for me, along with a full bowl of rice, to begin dining. Too nice, these folks, I thought.

After lunch, we drove a ways to our hotel near Emei Shan, where would visit the next day. We arrived around 1630PM and, so tired from the past 24 hours, I slept through dinner and into the next morning.