Just a few hours from Chengdu is the town of Leshan, known all over China for Dafo - the Giant Buddha. This massive statue is the biggest Buddha in the world, carved into a hillside along the river. I believe it is 72 meters high - around 240 feet high. I took a cheap bus there, stopped at a random entrance and found the park to be full of other features, temples, etc, including a large reclining Buddha before making the 30 minute walk to Big Ole' Dafo. I walked all around the huge head of the Buddha, walked down the stairs for a closeup of his giant feet, and then I even took a boat cruise to get a view of the overall structure, since he's so huge. Afterwards, asking for the bus back to Chengdu, I allowed myself to get convinced that the random guy along the side of the road that happened to also be going back to Chengdu would be a better deal than getting back to the real bus station. As I was getting into the little minivan, I had a feeling that it wouldn't work out so well, especially for only saving about $1.50 on the fare. The van took me and two other passengers around town for a while before telling us to get on a random, larger bus waiting in the middle of town. It turned out that we had been routed to the 'second-class' bus, one that stops for anyone and everyone along the road, in addition to being older and slower. All this just to save a tiny bit of money, which, in the end turned out to cost exactly the same. I gave the conductor my money, allowing him to tell me that he'd bring the change back in a second. Of course, at this point, he ran off and the bus took off. After we got to our destination, I tried to explain to the driver that he owed me a dollar or two, but he played the "I don't speak English" role well, probably because he didn't actually speak English, so I was out my whole $1.50, and I was dropped off in this random bus station in the outskirts of town. I found a taxi to be very expensive, but I was lucky to find the one bus line leaving from that station would take me right where I needed to be in town. Overall, it was another lesson to trust your instincts when something doesn't feel right. All in all, I only lost about an hour and a dollar or two, but it's just the whole situation that made me mad. If only I could see that guy again...I'd say something to him, he wouldn't understand, he'd say something back to me, I wouldn't understand...that would probably continue for a minute or two...ok, I guess that wouldn't be that satisfying. Oh well.
(The steep stairs leading up to the first sets of Buddha and Friends.)
(A pot of incense with padlocks and ribbons tied to it. These padlocks and ribbons are common sights at significant temples and historical sights, symbolizing the love of you and someone else, meaning that the bond will never break. Unless it does. Then you're screwed.)
(That's bamboo and a bridge. You see a lot of both of those here in China.)
(Big Daddy Dafo. This is the first view of him, as I emerged from the forest. Check out the tourist hordes on the other side for some perspective.)
(Big ears. He really shouldn't have worn all of those dangly earrings when he was young. The 80s were a rough time for Dafo. Luckily he is not wearing tube socks.)
(On the way down the steep, winding stair steps.)
(His feet were actually quite fragrant. Actually, maybe that was the nearby incense, but it was still pleasant.)
(Huge hands. You know what that means...good basketball player, I guess. I don't know.)
(One more picture of the 72 meter colossus.)
(A serene temple where I almost reached Nirvana before the cacophony of another Chinese tour group came through. Those people are loud, really loud.)
(And here's me on the boat, once again fighting with Chinese tourists for a shot. In places like this, you literally get shoved out of the way of people trying to get pictures. And because it's part of the culture, it's ok. I think it's also ok when I punch them in the face, but I haven't verified that yet. Actually, I've been perfecting the Chinese art of pretending like you don't realize that you're pushing someone out of the way while not actually looking them in the eye, so it's ok.)
(The steep stairs leading up to the first sets of Buddha and Friends.)
(A pot of incense with padlocks and ribbons tied to it. These padlocks and ribbons are common sights at significant temples and historical sights, symbolizing the love of you and someone else, meaning that the bond will never break. Unless it does. Then you're screwed.)
(That's bamboo and a bridge. You see a lot of both of those here in China.)
(Big Daddy Dafo. This is the first view of him, as I emerged from the forest. Check out the tourist hordes on the other side for some perspective.)
(Big ears. He really shouldn't have worn all of those dangly earrings when he was young. The 80s were a rough time for Dafo. Luckily he is not wearing tube socks.)
(On the way down the steep, winding stair steps.)
(His feet were actually quite fragrant. Actually, maybe that was the nearby incense, but it was still pleasant.)
(Huge hands. You know what that means...good basketball player, I guess. I don't know.)
(One more picture of the 72 meter colossus.)
(A serene temple where I almost reached Nirvana before the cacophony of another Chinese tour group came through. Those people are loud, really loud.)
(And here's me on the boat, once again fighting with Chinese tourists for a shot. In places like this, you literally get shoved out of the way of people trying to get pictures. And because it's part of the culture, it's ok. I think it's also ok when I punch them in the face, but I haven't verified that yet. Actually, I've been perfecting the Chinese art of pretending like you don't realize that you're pushing someone out of the way while not actually looking them in the eye, so it's ok.)
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