Yellow Mountain: Part 2

On the third day, we ended up waking at 4AM to watch the sunrise at the highest point of the mountain. My entire body was sore/numb from walking so much the other day. When we woke up to walk to the spot where we would watch the sunrise, it was pitch black! Luckily, I brought a LED flashlight, so we were able to surmount the various staircases and obstacles we had to pass through. When we reached the destination, everything was surrounded by clouds. I could even see mist/ clouds form in the light from my flashlight! The sunrise was pretty amazing (@ 5:06AM) ..though it got really cloudly, so the sun was blocked. Fortunately, the sun finally pierced through the clouds at 6...see photos :D.

Afterwards, we hiked down a bit to eat some breakfast at this restaurant. For $100 (which was half-price since we were part of a tour group), we got five bowls of porridge, five eggs, five pieces of cake, and five pieces of bread. As untasty and expensive this breakfast was, we begrudgingly ate it, knowing that we would need all the energy for the long day ahead. Slowly hiking, as our bodies were quite sore from the day before, we climbed from one peak to the next and saw the clouds below us fly by. We ascended another peak and passed by lots of cool "natural" designs/ rocks in the mountains. There was one called "squirrel jumping to the heavens" and another of the "tortoise and the hare." We took the cable car back down the mountain and visited another small waterfall.

It took us quite a while to trek back down to the bus station. When we did, we were driven to see some "specialty shops." The first was a tea store...the tea was quite interesting...one smelled like chicken soup (go figure!). Next, we went to an Eastern Medicine Store, where they sold various herbal medications and gave us a leg massage. (Sidenote: got in an "argument" with a bus driver, ask me for details) Next, we went to lunch at a restaurant located in the lobby of our hotel. Then, we took a bus and started the journey back to Hangzhou.