a peek into heaven

After an entire night on an old train from the skyscrapers of shanghai to the peaks of Huangshan we finally made it. There was a sea of bamboo trees surrounding the mountains, protecting what’s believed to be the gates of the heavens, but don’t get me wrong the way to heaven is through hell and we got to confirm that.
There were electric cabins, yet full of spirit to explore and unaware of what’s awaiting, we decided to go on hiking. Steep narrow stairs carved artistically into the Granite Mountains, paved by the sweat of thousand souls a thousand years ago.
I tried to keep up with an old man, his facial expressions were wiped by time and stairs, A man of 61 years, speaking little English and carrying one heavy bamboo yoke, I wouldn't make it to the top had the yoke been on my shoulders, why not use the cabins I said, humbly clapped on his pocket. Apparently it costs more than what he makes. Failing to both keep up and understand the man, I slowed down waiting for my friends, also a chance to catch my breath.
At every corner, we hoped for the summit only to find more steps. I remember my friend crying“I swear I wanna move my brain sent the order but my legs are failing.”
Between moments of rest, despair and amidst the heavenly scenery, we persisted. Only to make it after 5 hours, and 60,000 steps. The landscapes were the most beautiful ever. If you saw AVATAR you'd get what I am talking about, only this was much more magical.
Rushing to the highest peak for sunset,we barely made it, the sun was a clear red disc,sinking into an orange sea of clouds,and a darker shade of mountain shadows,that was the closest thing to heaven.
Later the night, after some crunchy barbecued scorpions, for those who dared to eat anyways I thought it was like peanuts, we wandered from the camp, with empty stomachs we laid down, the sky was full of stars piercing through an ocean of blackness,some were dull merely flickering into existence,others were gleaming enough to illume the darkness of a moonless night.
That night, we had no grass, we still got high on the scent of pine trees, no music, but we danced to the silence and stomach rumblings, we had Baijiu though, for no heaven is complete without booze.
Both dazzled and wasted, i gazed at a temple,I could swear I saw Buddha, even heard him murmuring“60000 challenges,son you made it.”I have been Buddhist ever since, well not really, but I still wear my Buddha’s chain wherever I go, a proof I made it, I have been to heaven.