14th April 2019 (Sunday)
[To have a better view of the wide landscape photos, you are encouraged to download them, zoom in so that the top and bottom of the photos touch the edge of your computer screen and then scroll them left and right to get a 180° perspective of the landscape]
I lost three hours yesterday after I getting into the wrong bus to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. On the way back to Wulingyuan entrance gate from my Golden Whip Stream trek, I was musing whether I should go to10-Mile Natural Gallery or to Huangshizhai the following day.
This morning, I woke up to a wet street. It must have been raining heavily last night. The air was foggy. I had originally thought of checking out from the hostel and leaving the baggage at the hostel but the distant between the bus station and the hostel was about 750m long. It would be a hassle to come back to the hostel just to collect my baggage for the following trip to Zhangjiajie City. After pondering for sometimes, I changed my mind and opted to leave the baggage at Wulingyuan Bus Station left baggage counter, though I was not sure whether there was such a facility there or not.
Arriving at the Wulingyuan Bus Station, I was not sure whether I should go to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Senlin Gongyuan) to Huangshizhai or just bid for time before leaving for Zhangjiajie City. It was about 7:30 a.m. and the sky was still foggy. There was no point going to Huangshizhai to look at fog from the mountain top. At about 8:00 am, the fog seemed to have dissipated a little and I decided to go ahead to Huangshizhai. I checked with the left luggage counter and the price for storing my backpack was ¥5. She told me the closing time was 5:30 p.m. but I told her I would be back by 12:00 noon.
[To have a better view of the wide landscape photos, you are encouraged to download them, zoom in so that the top and bottom of the photos touch the edge of your computer screen and then scroll them left and right to get a 180° perspective of the landscape]
I lost three hours yesterday after I getting into the wrong bus to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. On the way back to Wulingyuan entrance gate from my Golden Whip Stream trek, I was musing whether I should go to10-Mile Natural Gallery or to Huangshizhai the following day.
This morning, I woke up to a wet street. It must have been raining heavily last night. The air was foggy. I had originally thought of checking out from the hostel and leaving the baggage at the hostel but the distant between the bus station and the hostel was about 750m long. It would be a hassle to come back to the hostel just to collect my baggage for the following trip to Zhangjiajie City. After pondering for sometimes, I changed my mind and opted to leave the baggage at Wulingyuan Bus Station left baggage counter, though I was not sure whether there was such a facility there or not.
Arriving at the Wulingyuan Bus Station, I was not sure whether I should go to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Senlin Gongyuan) to Huangshizhai or just bid for time before leaving for Zhangjiajie City. It was about 7:30 a.m. and the sky was still foggy. There was no point going to Huangshizhai to look at fog from the mountain top. At about 8:00 am, the fog seemed to have dissipated a little and I decided to go ahead to Huangshizhai. I checked with the left luggage counter and the price for storing my backpack was ¥5. She told me the closing time was 5:30 p.m. but I told her I would be back by 12:00 noon.
The bus left for Zhangjiajie at 8:33 a.m. and arrived at Forest Park at about 9:05 a.m. It had started to rain again, and it was getting heavier. The fog was creeping in again. I decided to wait out at a restaurant and ordered Jiaozi at ¥ 10/ steamer tray.
When it looked like the rain had thinned out a little, I walked to the park. Then, the rain came back. As I walked towards Forest Park entrance gate, I decided to register a SIM card at a shop with China Telecom sign which I saw yesterday. However the shop vendor said that I needed a Chinese ID and proceeded to show me that it would be scanned on an ID reader. I went away disappointed but she took pictures of my passport cover and profile page. What were they to be used for?
I continued to walk along until the boom gate and turned back. My plan to visit Huangshizhai had to be aborted in view of the foggy sky.
When it looked like the rain had thinned out a little, I walked to the park. Then, the rain came back. As I walked towards Forest Park entrance gate, I decided to register a SIM card at a shop with China Telecom sign which I saw yesterday. However the shop vendor said that I needed a Chinese ID and proceeded to show me that it would be scanned on an ID reader. I went away disappointed but she took pictures of my passport cover and profile page. What were they to be used for?
I continued to walk along until the boom gate and turned back. My plan to visit Huangshizhai had to be aborted in view of the foggy sky.
I returned to where we were dropped off from the bus. Where was the pick-up location? I noticed passengers inside a bus at a parking lot. I went to check. I asked a driver with the Wulingyuan Bus Station sign in Chinese on the windshield and he confirmed it was going to Wulingyuan Bus Station.
On reaching Wulingyuan Bus Station, I went to collect my backpack. The bus to Zhangjiajie City was parked at bay no. 2. Just as I got on board, the bus started moving out. As usual, the bus stopped at the bus terminal exit to allow a safety inspector to board the bus to check and ensure that passengers put on their safety belts.
Arriving at Zhangjiajie Bus Station, I went in search of Hostel Geographer. As usual, I used my Garmin to guide me to the coordinates provided by Booking.com. I walked along the street where it was supposed to be located but there was no Hostel Geographer in sight. I took out my Hostel Geographer reservation to check the facade of the building but it did not match the building there. I walked to the main road to check whether there was another side street in the vicinity. There was none. I asked around and nobody could help. Again, like the coordinates given for Destination Youth Hostel, the coordinates given by Booking.com could be wrong. I just couldn't find it using Garmin. I tried using OSMAnd. The coordinates provided was wrong too. It was supposed to be on the left of the train station (coming out from the station) or to the right of the bus station (coming out from the bus station).
Arriving at Zhangjiajie Bus Station, I went in search of Hostel Geographer. As usual, I used my Garmin to guide me to the coordinates provided by Booking.com. I walked along the street where it was supposed to be located but there was no Hostel Geographer in sight. I took out my Hostel Geographer reservation to check the facade of the building but it did not match the building there. I walked to the main road to check whether there was another side street in the vicinity. There was none. I asked around and nobody could help. Again, like the coordinates given for Destination Youth Hostel, the coordinates given by Booking.com could be wrong. I just couldn't find it using Garmin. I tried using OSMAnd. The coordinates provided was wrong too. It was supposed to be on the left of the train station (coming out from the station) or to the right of the bus station (coming out from the bus station).
A motorcycle taxi rider seemed curious and stopped. I approached him. He was of no help too. In the end, I had to hail a taxi. The taxi driver called the phone number in the Booking.com reservation print-out. After a lengthy conversation with the hostel, he drove me to a parking area close to the hostel. The fare was ¥8.
Reaching there, the taxi driver called again. He told me someone from the hostel would come to fetch me. He did. At the reception counter, I told him that the coordinates given by Booking.com was wrong and he might want to contact Booking.com to correct the coordinates. The coordinates from Booking.com (and OSM Map) was N 029° 6.435, E 110° 28.710 whereas the actual location was at N29° 06.598' E110° 28.431'.
Reaching there, the taxi driver called again. He told me someone from the hostel would come to fetch me. He did. At the reception counter, I told him that the coordinates given by Booking.com was wrong and he might want to contact Booking.com to correct the coordinates. The coordinates from Booking.com (and OSM Map) was N 029° 6.435, E 110° 28.710 whereas the actual location was at N29° 06.598' E110° 28.431'.
After checking in, and having put away my things, I went out in search of Tianmen Cableway Station. I asked the receptionist for the direction and a German guy chipped in to help. Their instruction was not clear but nevertheless, I was able to find the cable car station and the bus station. Hostel Geographer was on the left of the bus station (coming out from the station). It was just a short walk away.
That evening, I decided to visit the train station..
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