Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China
November 18, 2013
After saying goodbye to Luoyang (and to be honest good riddance) I rolled into Zhangjiajie at about mid-day on the over night sleeper train. The main reason I have come here to Zhangjiajie is to visit the National Forrest park. I hadn’t even heard of it or seen pictures until I bumped into those two lads from the USA back in Beijing and they showed me pictures of the place and I knew I had to get there to see the place for myself. As the train inched closer there was a dramatic change in the scenery and you could tell the park was going to be something special.
Don’t get me wrong the Grottoes at Longmen was well worth the effort but there just wasn’t something right about Luoyang and having spoken to a few Chinese since I arrived in Zhangjiajie they have all said that Luoyang isn’t the best place for a traveler to go and has a bad reputation for hassling travelers.
So Zhangjiajie has been like a breath of fresh air and a totally different experience. Instantly you could feel the difference from the locals. It is a much smaller place and although yes you still blatantly stand out as Jonny foreigner you can have a laugh with the people and you don’t feel as massively uncomfortable as I did in Luoyang. Bags dropped off and a quick shower later and I headed out for some food. I’m not one for restaurants and such like and I much prefer the street food and sitting with the locals, getting used to the culture and their customs. Wandering down the street from the hostel I spotted a tiny entrance to what seemed like a little back alley and took a wander in as it looked very busy and bustling with activity. Once down the little alley it opened up into an indoor food market. The smells were amazing, different foods lingering in the air, at times punching you in the nose so you had to pay attention and find out where it was coming from and what it was.
Massive rows of meat hanging from hooks, row after row of spice stalls, various cooked meats, vegetables, you name it they had it. I parked up at a little stall that seemed to be doing noodles and various meats, everything from Pork to chicken feet and attempted to order what I thought was a bowl of Noodle soup with some kind of spicy sausage in it. I ended up ordering two things as they were completely separate. A nice bowl of steaming noodles arrived with some kind sauce on top and a small plastic bag of chopped up sausage with garlic and oil. The folks at the stall were really friendly, the guy cutting the meat gave me some chewing tobacco to try which seems really popular in Zhangjiajie and the other people eating there had a good laugh at my own style of chopstick etiquette. It was cheap enough though and very tasty, washed down with a cheeky beer all for less that £2.
Back at the hostel I did a bit research into the Forrest Park and grabbed a map showing the various routes around the place. The hostel I’m staying at has a sister hostel up in the mountains so I arranged to stay up there tomorrow night. I also got chatting to a couple of the locals staying here. One seemed quite well off, immaculately dressed in a suit and a little out of place in a hostel and the other lad is a student hitch hiking from Beijing to Tibet. I shared a bit local tea with them which is really strong, or at least they make it strong and was then joined by a couple of Russian girls who they both seemed to know already who have been teaching Russian in Beijing for the past 6 months and are doing a bit traveling before heading back to Moscow.
They were all headed out for some food and I was invited along so being a Yes man it was rude to decline the kind so we all headed out. Mr Lei the guy who seemed well off knew a restaurant he wanted to go to which was pretty close so we arrived in some semi swanky looking place with those big round spinning tables with hot plates in the middle.
Neither myself nor the Russian girls knew what we wanted so we left it up to Mr Lei to order for everyone. What seemed like a massive banquet arrived with dish after dish being put onto the hot plate or spinning wheel. In China when in restaurants it makes much more sense to eat as a group as you get a taste of all sorts as opposed to eating alone and only getting one massive dish to yourself. Once we had devoured what we could Mr Lei paid for our bill. I tried to give some money but apparently its customary that if someone offers to take you out for food that they pay the bill and it is rude to refuse. Happy days a free massive tea at a swanky Chinese place!! Being a Yes Man does pay off at times.
After that it was time for an early night as I have to be up early to catch the bus to the Forrest park as its several hours hiking to get up the mountains and then on to the next hostel.
