Climbing Dong Wu Mountain

Last night we all went different directions. Marion's students took her for a foot massage. Nancy went dancing with our ballroom dancing friend, I went to climb Dong Wu Mountain and Steve stayed behind to pay the dinner bill (Such a good guy!) I've wanted to hike up the mountain since we arrived. There is an traditional Chinese Building that is all lit up where you can buy refreshments at the top. It is very much like The Grouse Grind, except much shorter (only 650 stairs up) and much hotter. My student, Julia, usually does it three or four times a week. I told her that she would like my husband very much so she is anxious to come to Canada and do the Grind with Brad. Her boyfriend, who is a structural engineer with a foot massage shop as a hobby, drove. Her sister also came with us. Having two sisters it didn't even occur to me that it was odd until we started discussing the one child policy. Apparently back in the day, farming families were allowed to have more children to help work the farm. Nowadays, you can have more than one child if you are both only children in a family. Apparently the government has recognized the burden of one couple taking care of four aging parents.

The panoramic view at the top was amazing and I will post pictures when I get home. Brad got me all set up with the program on the computer and I promptly left the cords at home! It was a great photo op. Christine (from Marion's class) also joined us with her small daughter. The age range trekking up the mountain was infant to elderly.

We took another route down. Apparently there are four routes in all. No bugs because the bats are out in Dong Wu Park in full force every night around seven. There were so many swooping when we arrived that I stopped to put my ponytail into a bun. Yikes! Too many horror shows for me! It doesn't cause anyone else to pause. There are people playing badminton, rollarblading, skateboarding, visiting..,

At the bottom of the mountain after our hike, we were joined by more friends wanting to speak English and take pictures. I'm a rock star over here! The fame! The glory! The vendors fight for you to sit at their tables. There are people playing pool, smoking, and having a good old time. One very cute little 18 month old was so cute and called me auntie for the evening.

Well we're off to Hong Zho to go shopping for the day. The weather is warning of a typhoon. I'm hoping not!