Day 6 - July 24th 2002

Waterfall - 0600 (0645)

My friend awoke earlier than me today and managed to catch the sunlit mountain before the clouds veiled it from vision. Our room faced the upper slopes and we could see the peaks of Chang Bai Shan and a small tributary flowing rapidly downwards.

It was quite chilly outside as I strolled along the terrace surrounding the hotel's restaurant. The spiciness of the kimchee and low temperature of the few items remaining put many of the young tour members off breakfast and they sat around listening to today's hectic schedule.

First we were roused so early to make the climb to a nearby waterfall (長白山瀑布). Though the first slope uphill was quite flat and wide (a road actually), altitude took its toll and made us all breathless.

We passed by a small hut used for cooking eggs. No fuel was used. Only the 80 degree spring water flowing from nearby sources was needed to cook the eggs. It was certainly an economical, low cost investment. The springs spewed steam across the landscape and tainted the ground a rusty red.

The vegetation at this altitude is renowned for being twisted and distorted in form. But I only managed to find one specimen of the species.

The falls came into sight soon enough and we all began to rush to places fit for photography.

No, the falls aren't that small. The falls shown above are to the left of the main subject and are insignificant to the environment. People scampered about and took turns overtaking the giant rock to pose in front of the falls.

Chang Bai Shan - 0830

Having spent more than an hour near the sound of falling water, we headed down the steep steps towards our coaches back at the hotel. After the toilet breaks and small scale shopping, we boarded the coaches and traveled to the 4 wheel drive station nearby. The Mitsubishi jeeps vroomed by us as we organised ourselves into groups of 6 ready to head up Chang Bai Shan.

Upon entering the vehicle, we advised the driver to drive carefully and advised him of the tips that were available on completion of the journey. Regardless of our cries, he sped up the narrow road. We clutched onto our seatbelts as the hummer hurtled towards mount doom. Previously, the guide mentioned that the chance of seeing a lake was less than 50%, so my hopes were not too high. I watched as the thermometer display dropped to 5 degrees and wet fog engulfed our vehicle. As suddenly as he stepped on the gas, he stepped on the brakes and we stopped inches away from the edge of the cliff. Leaving the jeeps behind, we had half an hour to clamber up the slope and back down again. The slope was a 45 degree incline of volcanic ash. I tucked away my delicate camera and clambered uphill. It seemed everyone was having a hard time. It was like the long march in a cloud.

Unable to see anything at all through the dense fog, vendors imposed upon us 'crystal' 'of Chang Bai Shan' and photographs allegedly digitally untampered.

The trip down the slope was even more spectacular and unfortunately, I did not bring any skis with me this time. People just sat and slid down the slippery ash. So I followed suit. Some others had the honour of vehicular transportation.

Drivers, stressed out by the half an hour limit, hustled us into the jeeps and sped off once again after receiving half of the careful driving fee.

Subterranean Forest - 1000

Once down the mountain, he stumbled across the road onto our busses. We traveled - slowly this time, along the highway towards a mysterious Underground Forest (地下森林).

Cries of exhaustion exhaled form the back during the journey and continued as we changed our good shoes for the ones purchased late last night. We crawled down the steps of the busses and followed the tour guides into the lush green vegetation. We used our raincoats to shield us from the deadly natural surfaces in the forest because the tour guide warned us that hazardous vegetation grows on all surfaces.

It was really really tiring already. We were losing the will to keep clean from the mud on the floor. Shoes were becoming dirtier and trousers found it hard to escape the mud too. The signs that appeared failed to bring up our spirits.

We reached the scene after a one hour trek. It offered a fresh cleansing breeze and the wideness of it all lifted our spirits mightily.

It took us a while to see that the forest actually grew below us - at the feet of the surrounding mountains. (Ah, so that's why its called the underground forest). Looks fake doesn't it?

We stumbled back across the path whence we came and disposed of our shoes along the roadside. They will probably be taken back by the needy and worn for a long long time.

The Journey Home - 1300

No kidding, we were tired. We hobbled across the gravel to the restaurant. Beer and dog meat was served. Aah. We waited for the coaches to return from the repair shed and boarded - unknowing the severe consequence of doing so. The planned journey was 6 hours. It was quite something already. We endured and we endured, but the city lights never met our eyes. We waited again we waited 3 hours before the hotel came into sight. It was 2100 already. What was the use of arriving at a 5 star super duper hotel? Dinner was good. Beer was served again. We headed up to our rooms and WOW! 2 queen sized beds dominated the scene, a did a personal office area and living space. It was indeed unfortunate to be unable to relax in such luxury for a longer time.

---< end of day 6 >---