Day 6 — Yellow Dragon Cave ...

6:59am seemed like a perfectly acceptable time for a HUGE marching band with drums and trumpets to be banging out the tune of happy birthday directly outside the guesthouse window. It continued until well after 9am. So much for sleeping in ... rather it was a 'two cups of coffee' kind of morning.

The weather was overcast and threatening rain. My knee was still sore but I had decided to trek on and ignore the pain. The two of us grabbed tea eggs and Youtiaos for breakfast and ate them on the 40-minute bus ride over to the Yellow Dragon Cave. The local bus cost 12RMB/59NT/CAN$2.19. After that, we hopped on the dirtiest bus ever, the number one, which cost 2RMB.

Things of note:

Although the cave is part of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the entrance fee is not included. The ticket was 103RMB/510NT/CAN$18.74 and totally worth it! Once inside, there is another section called the Labyrinth that costs an extra 15RMB — pay it! This part of the cave was one of the most impressive parts. I could only say 'wow, wow, wow' the whole way through. 

Unfortunately I couldn't get my flash to work (not sure why) so my images turned out a bit blurry. (see album on the sidebar)

The two of us spent three to four hours dawdling through this unbelievably impressive cave. It is no wonder UNESCO says it's the most beautiful cave in the world. Thankfully, it wasn't terribly busy, only in certain parts.

Again, our surroundings were out of this world yet people kept feeling the need to comment on the 'laowai' or foreigners. We noticed a lot of group tours where people were following someone with a microphone, head down, only to stop and look around when the guide told them to do so. It seemed such a shame and a waste of a mind blowing natural phenomenon.

The best part was going into the Labyrinth. Many were standing outside of the entrance, complaining about having to pay extra and fortunately, many refused. The two of us were the only ones down there and it was so quiet that we could hear ourselves breathe. It has got to be the quietest place in China.

On the way back on one of the local buses, some random passenger asked the bus driver to stop so she could pick up some fruit from one of the many tables selling fruit along the side of the road. She was picky about which three batches of grapes she wanted to buy and then began to price haggle, keeping the whole bus waiting for over five minutes. Really? WOW! Talk about selfish.

After getting back to Zhangjiajie City, the two of us ventured over to the train station to make arrangements to go back to Nanjing only to find out that it wasn't going to be easy. There were no plane tickets or train tickets so we were stuck booking a bus and then the high speed train. It was going to be at least a 15-hour journey back. We were stuck going first class on the high-speed train because there were no second-class tickets. Also we couldn't leave until Monday. Tickets going back on the high-speed train first class were 466RMB and the bus was 120RMB.

For dinner, we went back to the same restaurant as the night before. We ordered Kong Xin Cai and a beef teppanyaki style dish. It was spicy and delicious! As we were eating, I noticed that Dog Hot Pot was on the menu. Ugh.

What I did love about Zhangjiajie City was that the restaurants would clear the tables from inside and put them on the sidewalks outside. Most restaurants also set up small tables and hot plates that offered barbecued bits and bites. Everyone eats out on the busy, loud streets. It's great!

Knowing we were in for another day around the city of Zhangjiajie, we decided to end the night with a few cold beers. We weren't sure where the next day would take us but we decided it would be an easy day!