How annoying - I had just written a whole page about Datong but somehow managed to lose it so this will be a short snippet I am afraid.
Took an overnight train from Beijing to Datong and arrived around 7am (about and hour and a half later than due - I have learned the trains neither leave or arrive on time!). Before I got on the train the waiting room area was more or less full to the brim with folk waiting to get the train. I didnt realise that as I had a "soft" sleeper (a 4 bunk cabin) I was entitled to wait in the soft waiting area. That said I didnt mind as it was interesting watching everyone lounging/sleeping around on their makeshift seats/beds (there werent enough waiting seats). Found my cabin ok. The bed linen clearly had not been changed so I got my jacket and used it as a pillow cover and slept in my clothes. I shared the cabin with 2 local business type chaps and one young lady. There was no conversation which I didnt mind as I nodded off more or less straightaway.
On arrival I soon booked onto a tour. First stop the Hanging Temple which is up some holy mountain (forget the name). It was a sunny day and as I looked up I have to say the temple is truley an arresting wonder. Quite litterally it is hanging from the side of the mountain. Apparently the area was prone to flooding and thus the need to have an elevated temple. Its a wooden construction and beams were inserted into its side - Two thirds in and one third out and which supported the structure. We were allowed to go up and into the temple. There were throngs of tourists and I have to say I was a little nervous as its a small temple and often the corridors would only allow one person to pass at a time. When I looked down it struck me just how sophisticated the architects must have been at the time to build something so amazing.
After a while I was ready to leave as it was just far to crowded. We had lunch pre-booked which was lovely. The toilets there however - well thats a different story. I know I have mentioned that the loos are those squat type ones but I may not have mentioned that when I was at the Great Wall there were 2 communal (but unisex) loos one beside the other with no divigin partitions. At this restuarant there were at least partitions dividing the loos but they were pretty useless really as there were no front doors so people would literally que up in front of you and watch and wait. It was all very grim but again something I knew to expect.
After lunch we headed to the temple caves driving through a lot of agricultural farm land which very much reminded my of India. There were working donkeys being used on the farms and for transportation and the houses were made of mud clay. It was obvious this was not an affluent area and was quite humbling. 2 hours later we arrived at the Yungang caves which are essentially a set of buddist grottoes. There were about 50 or so caves to see which streched about 1Km but which orignally spread over some 15 KM! They are arranged in 3 clusters. They are quite unusual and well worth the trip. Apparently they were built by digging holes into the sandstone caves from the top and digging down as there was no electricity back then (orginally around 400 AD)so they had to work top down. They then carved out stone Bhuddas - some are massive (the largest being some 17 meters high)and then created another opening when they got down to the bottom feet area. They have all been carefuly carved out and some still have original paintwork. The craftsmanship is amazing. Apparently as many as 40,000 craftsmen worked on the project which is quite clear coming from as far as Central Asia and India and in fact I did notice the Indian influence as some of the buddas have serpents around their necks (very Indian) rather than Dragons and the Phoenix (very chinese). There must have been over 200 or so buddhas and I have to admit I was a bit budda'd out by then but that may have been because I had had a restless nights sleep on the train rather than being an unappreciative heathen! honest.
I have now arrived safely in Xi'an and hope to see the Terracota warriors tomo. I have literally just got here and hope to go for a wonder after having a shower. 2 overnight trains have taken their toll - thank goodness for wet wipes!!
I will be here tonight (12th) and 13th and then have an overnight train booked on the 14th to go to Chengdu. There is free internet access at this hostel so I should be able to report tomo
Just before I leave I have to say I have found the chinese people so very helpful. Today my phone died on me and the guy in my cabin very kindly rang the hostel for me and went out of his way to show me the bus depot etc etc. I am not sure I would have found it without his help and my one regret is that I did not take time to learn the language. Yes I have a phrase book and can say hello and thank you etc but I really should have made more of an effort.
M - you cant out fox a fox!
bye for now.
