I Am a HERO!

Apparently, in China, there's a saying that you're not a hero or a man until you've climbed the Great Wall. I was recently informed that the same applies to those who haven't climbed Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). Well, as of two hours ago, I've climbed Huangshan TWICE, so I feel entitled to the moniker of "Hero", with a capital H. Move over Jet Li! I'm still waiting for my manly bits and pieces to grow in though....Climbing Huangshan for a second time was a remarkably different experience from the first. I was here in August of 2005, and the place was just an anthill of tourists. Today, for long stretches of the climb, I was completely alone, without another human behing in sight. Also, the weather today was kind of terrible for climbing a mountain. It was thundering the entire time, and drizzly. My mom decided that her travel-wearied body just couldn't handle the 3 hour climb, so I was on my own in the rain, which was actually quite pleasant. On the topic of travels with an older parent, I can only say that although it's been nice to have my mom with me for the last week, and she'll be with me for the next week, I will be relieved when our time on the road together comes to an end. It's just an entirely different way of traveling; normally, if I'm on my own, I'd be staying at hostels, meeting other travelers, going out at night, and doing backpacker type things; with my mother, it's hotels, early evenings, and a preview of what traveling with the AARP would be like. I'm not complaining, it's nice to stay in hotels with clean washrooms and bedding that smells as though it's actually been washed recently, but traveling with my mom certainly has some drawbacks. I'm going to go get myself a massage now. Though I am a Hero, even Heroes are prone to getting a little sore after climbing a fairly steep mountain all afternoon.