Beautiful Longnan County

25.08.2015

I had a few hours of sleep and had to catch my next train to Longnan in the morning. Outside the hotel were some noodle places, I tried to ask for takeout, but it didn't work, so I went straight to the station instead. A man was selling hot soy milk, boiled eggs and steam buns. Breakfast of champions.

I got on the train and two stops later, I was in Longnan. A nice girl was speaking English to me, but I was too sleepy for any kind of conversation.

I caught the bus to town and got out where everyone else did. Some students were standing around looking for a bus, so I asked if they knew how to get to Guanxi fortress. Luckily, that's where they were going as well. I followed them onto the bus, and then into the fort, but they kept their distance, so I did too.

The fort was pretty interesting, but I think it's really a castle, because it was meant for one guy and his family and servants.

I liked the run down atmosphere so much better than the pristine state of many of the historical spots that I have visited in the past. It was super hot again, so I grabbed an ice cold beer for 50 cents and sat down to eat peanuts and wait for the bus.

The students were also waiting there again. I offered them some peanuts, which they declined, but they became a lot more friendly after that.

They said this was the best fort around and I shouldn't bother with the others, but I should instead go to Wudang Shan.

When we arrived back in Longnan, they showed me the bus there, which was 1.5 hours away. I figured I wasn't going to Zhuhai tonight anymore after that.

I thought it would be an easy hike, so I didn't bother putting my bag away somewhere. It took about an hour to get up, then another to get down. Should've left my bag with the ticket man.

It was another beautiful hike, and I liked the unkempt look of everything, again. The steps were a normal height, not like the tiny ones I usually see, designed for delicate high heeled shoes. While there were some women hobbling around taking photos with their boyfriends, they disappeared once I got to the sky walk at the top.

There was also a suspension bridge spanning a small canyon, but it was closed, to my disappointment. Later I reflected that I should be happy it was closed, because they found the problem before it collapsed under my feet, right?

The skywalk though, was worth the climb. My student friends gave me something that I can only describe as tofu jerky ??? so I sat down in a little cave at the top and enjoyed my snack, all alone.

On the way down, I bought a popsicle flavoured green bean (?!) and pineapple. I only waited by the side of the road for about 10 minutes before I saw the beige bus come toward me down the road. I waved it down and headed back to town, in desperate need of a shower and a sleep.

Somehow, I found a brand new hotel for 70 yuan, bought some yogurt, fruit and breakfast, then drifted off to an uninterrupted sleep. Finally.

The bus to the castle