山西之旅，Part 4 - 应县木塔，云岗石窟

Sunday afternoon at 大同 was marked by sand, sand, and more sand. Never before have I encountered such an experience…sand in your eyes, sand in your ears, and if not for the masks, sand in your mouth too. Min was so kind to provide us with wet tissue along the way, and every wipe showed how much dirt was accumulated on our faces. Yikes.

This is 应县木塔, built entirely out of wood. Upon entrance, tourists are only allowed to climb till the 2nd level, for fear that the structure would collapse. Kai Qin and I didn’t join the rest, but later heard that if you paid another 100rmb, you were allowed to go right up to the top. Boo, money talks.


















View from level 2...














山西’s speciality is 刀削面. If you recall, this was what mama loved at PKU’s noodle shop. At the end of our lunch, I safely conclude that 刀削面 is NOT for me.














Recommended tofu to go with the noodles.














Our final stop was at 云岗石窟.















































There were 45 caves, each housing statues from the Buddhism faith, carved around AD 450.














































Some statues were small, and some were huge…Can you see me?


















Wind wind go away...come again another day...































As I wandered ahead on my own, I overheard a converstion between 2 men, about how the eyes and colours of the statues could still be seen a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, the opening of this place to tourism = camera flash and vandalism, plus of course, the exposure to the winds and sand. Sad...

More carvings...



































Admiring the view around…sandy smokey view…














By evening, the strong winds at 云岗石窟 had given me a throbbing headache, and I was in no mood to talk at all. The rest, on the other hand, enjoyed our dinner tremendously!


























































This dinner wrapped up our 山西 trip, and our nice driver sent us back to PKU on a comfortable 4.5hr ride.

My first backpacking trip, and perhaps also, my first trip out with friends…a fruitful one.

gRacE =)