Trains and Temples

(Veronica Moy - teacher at Dover-Sherborn Middle School)

Picking up where Deanna left off, we waited as patiently as possible for our train to board. This proved to be difficult since each new and exciting day has been so physically and mentally demanding - which is good, as it challenges us to reach beyond our comfort zone and learn about the culture we are immersed in. By 10p, we were all desperately looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Once the station announced our train’s arrival, there was a mad dash to the front of the line. Although this is common to see at a Southwestern airline, everyone already had designated seats for the trip to Dali. Our group, the self-proclaimed Bad Luck Bears, was lucky to be one of the first to pass through the security gates, but our progress was only to be hindered by a series of stairs our luggage wanted nothing to do with. Why the Bad Luck Bears? We have made it our personal goal to break any and all records set by previous groups. Although we have had some fairly poor luck at the beginning of the trip (flight cancellations courtesy of Nemo, sickness, lost luggage, etc), I have been impressed by the group’s flexibility, good humor, and easy-going nature.

When we finally found our section of the sleeper train, I think we were all surprised by what we saw. We were imagining something more along the lines of the trains J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter gets to ride in on his commute to Hogwarts. It wasn’t quite like that. The only similarity to the train at station 9 ¾ was that there was a snack cart that went around. The downside was that there were no chocolate frogs. As for our train, our sleeper was divided into 10 compartments that fit up to six people. However, we didn’t sit side-by-side. Each compartment wall had three bunk beds neatly stacked on top of each other. Since there are only five in our cohort, we had a man share our compartment who had to listen to us ramble on into the wee hours of the night. Though the train lulled many people to sleep, several of us weren’t able to get our much-needed visit by the sandman. This was an experience that we were all excited about and will never forget.

Once we arrived in Dali, we found Aaron, our guide for this portion of the trip. I had to ask him to adjust the day’s itinerary since several of us didn’t get the best sleep possible. After breakfast, a three-hour break, and lunch, we finally made our way to Chongshengshi, or the Three Pagoda Temple. We spent the better part of two hours hiking our way to the top and stopping to admire the beautiful temples and scenery. Situated in the heart of Dali, the layout of the Three Pagoda Temple was carefully planned to achieve the optimal feng shui. With the Er Hei Lake in the front and the Chongshan Mountain in the back, we reached the highest point of the Temple and were rewarded with a gorgeous bird’s eye view of the town. Although the walk up took up to two hours (and a painful sunburn), we made our way back down within 10 minutes and headed towards the old city wall and Foreigners’ Street.

It is interesting to note here is that Michael, Patty, and Deanna have been garnering a lot of attention due to their appearance. Vendors will target them, following them down the road if they show any interest in what they are selling. Locals will stop them to take pictures with them. As for Brandon and me, they pretty much leave us alone and ignore us. Our Asian American features have proven to be helpful only in this aspect. The downfall is that wherever we go, we are the ones that are addressed in Chinese. Our inability to respond or comprehend everything said to us is fairly baffling to the locals.

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed the first round of posts from the Bad Luck Bears. We look forward to telling you more about our travels!