I reached a clearing. I remembered walking through this clearing when I came up earlier. There were some man-made rock formations circling the edges on one side of the clearing.
Walking past the rocks, I reached a large open space where I remembered seeing these plants. They were as tall as me, some even taller. They filled up most of the open spaces.
I stopped and looked around me. Suddenly, I was not sure of my sense of direction anymore. Should I turn right or left?
I followed one of the paths further to the right but it led me to a dead end. It was as if the tall plants had blocked the path midway.
So I walked back and tried going the opposite direction. Another dead end. How could this be?
I walked back to the centre of the open space. Behind me were the rock formations at the clearing I mentioned earlier. I stopped to think for a while. From which direction I climbed up just now?
Somehow my brain wasn't working. I decided to just walk straight ahead. But as I followed the path surrounded by all those tall plants, I felt it was not the right direction. I quickly returned back to the starting position.
The tall plants in front of me were beginning to overwhelm me. I realised I was lost!
Looking around me made me feel dizzy. The view on my right....
and on my left ...
They were making my head spin.
I suddenly felt lonely. Very lonely. I was all alone in the middle of this deserted mountain forest.
Then I heard it.
Someone calling my name.
Was it my imagination? Maybe it's just the wind. Who would know my name in such a place? Besides, it was my Mandarin name that was being called. No one ever calls me by my Mandarin name!
My heart was beating faster by the minute. I was on the verge of panic.
I have heard about spirits in the forests and I sure as hell did not want to encounter any such things in the middle of nowhere in China!
Two hours earlier, I was having a nice time chit chatting with one of the counter staff at This Old Place Youth Hostel where I stayed. Before embarking on my solo trip to Xingping's fishing village, I had to make sure I know exactly how to get there. So I enquired at the lobby and I was glad the staff there spoke reasonably good English.
There was one girl there who actually spoke excellent English and she showed me this map.
To reach the fishing village, I would need to hike up a mountain. As you can see from the map, the fishing village is on the other side of the mountain facing the beautiful Li River.
From my hostel, I would need to walk past the bus station (it's written as bus park on the map) on my left and then turn right into a village road. From there, I need to turn right into a hiking trail going up the mountain.
According to her, if I come across any junction during my hiking, I must always turn right to prevent myself from getting lost.
This should be a piece of cake......or so I thought!
Before I left the hostel, I made sure I knew how to pronounce the word yú cūn which means fishing village in English. I had to make sure the locals there understand where I want to go if I ever need to ask them for directions!
Looking at my handphone (I did not have a watch with me), it was already 2.30pm. I had better hurry. According to the girl, it would take at least one hour to reach the fishing village and that also depends on how fast I hike up and down the mountain!
After passing the bus station, I was not exactly sure where the road leading to the village was so I asked a man manning a stall opposite the bus station. He pointed me to the right direction and asked if I was going alone. When I said yes, he sniggered. Now what's that supposed to mean?
Anyway, I continued walking and reached this road.
It was one long road and there was no right or left turn.
I met a middle aged lady and asked her how to go to the fishing village. I did not understand her completely but I think she asked me to turn right when I reach the mountain trail.
If the road I walked looks deserted, let me tell you it was indeed deserted. But the beautiful views of the green hills made the walk quite pleasant. Once in a while, I would pass by the local people there and I would just greet them with a "ni hao" or simply smiled.
I wondered what building this is!
Maybe it's one of those outdoor toilets so I was not too keen to find out!
Further down the road, I saw some small farms and fruit plantation.
See the fruits?
Wonder what fruits these are? Pears?
If only Jam was not sick, he would be here with me, probably talking to some of the local people and asking them about these fruits! Oh, well...
Look at what I found!
An old fashioned water pump!
I guess the locals here still use this instead of modern taps!
All along the village road, I tried to search for the mountain trail on my right side. There were actually a few right lanes. Which was the correct one?
I actually tried all of them! But all of them did not lead me anywhere. One or two led me to a dead end.
So I continued walking on the main road and reached here.
This road led me back to the big main road where the bread shop I visited earlier was located! So I was back to square one! I decided to turn back and search for the mountain trail again. I could have missed it!
I think I must have spent almost an hour walking up and down that village road! What a waste of time!
Finally, I bumped into an old lady who was cleaning the compound outside her house. I asked her how to go to the fishing village and she immediately pointed to the lane next to her house. I wondered how I managed to miss that lane! Still, I really think they should put up a signboard or something!
As I was about to enter the lane, I was stopped by the sound of bells ringing. What was that? Then right in front of me, they appeared. I was stunned!
To be continued ....
FIRST COMMENTER
I am the first to comment! The mountains are like the Monkey King Five Finger Mountain. Hehe. Really nice places. I like the map. At least it helps. :)
good morning Foong.. one thing i must say.. u r really adventurous.. walking and hiking up here and there in a strange new place never knowing any local guide .. i would not dare to do so.. cannot be a backpacker for sure!
missed it again! dangit! :P
aiyo!!! please cont the story soon! i wanna hear! what did u see? some wedding band perhaps? or OMG someone dies and the priest chanted with the bell js like the old movie?
still late?
oh i'll be back foong so long to read I have to pick up hubs from work =)
oh, finally you were lost in this third part of your post.. waited soooooo long!! :p
haha, i think it's not those spirits lah, it's just yourself kept thinking of those things that scared yourself only..
but finally you are out of the jungle, you are not lost.. when i see the road, i know you were safe already..
so you've been to the fishing village.. i'm curious if you were lost again on your way back to the hostel?? hmmmm~~~ :p
My gosh! The map is a child's drawing? @.@
At least they had the courtesy to add in colors!
The greenery is beautiful! So peaceful and calm! Nice place to relax and maybe picnic! Was the wind cool?
aiyar! You got lost! and keep missing the mountain trail!
Oh even if they were to put up a sign to point the trail or fishing village, you won't know how to read what... it would be in chinese anyway!
did you know, sometimes forest spirits are nice... they are there to lead you to safety.
Lots of tiger prowling in the jungle in China.....next time must carry a gun when u go hiking there..ha ha ha!
Hmm... looks like you've become a good story teller. First you tell us how you got lost. Then you 'recalled' your chat with the girl who spoke excellent English. At the end you give us a suspension...
Was the girl pretty? Did you ask for her contact info? :P
Your pictures and words took my accross the Pacific to China!
Beautiful post.
"Staff" is plural - you do not need to add the "s" my friend.
I will enjoy returning here,
Ni Hau & Aloha, Friend!
Comfort Spiral
That would be a very scary moment for me. Being alone and lost. Omg!
The fruits look like pomelos nearing ripeness.
Why leave us hanging in suspense? (Lol) Okay, will be right back to know what those suspenseful sounds of bells are!
Usually we when say "Saved by the Bell" is a relief by not in this case. Could it be hundreds of cyclists ringing the bells? Well well again gotta stretch our neck a little longer to wait for the answer. You are stunning good shall put the blame on you if we all have giraffe neck. Canto saying "wait until neck also long".
Oh nice pixs again like the water pump. Thanks. Could it be pomelo or an orange tree?
luckily u still made it back to msia in one piece hahahhaha.....must thumb up for your courage lar...cant speak a word of mandarin still so daring =)
wah.. how many parts will his story need.... cant wait for the ending! =D
kenwooi.com
to be continued??? Arggh please sambung quick. We all want to know what happened next. :P
I like the photo where you were feeling dizzy and on the right you see the mountain view. Nice..
You're brave to go solo. But for guys it's all right. Better not to travel alone lest you get lost and can't find your way out and somemore with the language problem.
wah this really looked like the scenes in the olden day movies!
lucky there was no evil spirit intent to make you lost that day. :D
wah...reading your post make me feel suspense.
I've heard that when one gets lost in the forest/jungle, take a pee break and you'll find your way. You didn't do that? hehe..
That hearing your name is scary. I have been told that when you hear your name being called, esp at night, DO NOT answer it but you can look towards the direction where that came from to see who's calling you. So, the answer to that part of the mystery is missing in your story. Or what you heard was indeed your name and they had launched a search party with bells and all..
Foong, I think you're adventurous to even venture out on your own with leg and toe injuries somemore.
But frankly, it is not safe to venture out alone esp if one is a girl. I've received an email advising ladies not to do that in China as there have been kidnaps and eventually turning them into meat for consumption. Yucky! I know. There are pictures to substantiate that claim. Scary!!
Nice fruits. Those can't be pears because they are too big for pears. Pomeloes are more like it.
What about those orange fruits? Oranges?
Looking at the narrow roads, there are no cars then?
Yep! you're quite a story-teller now, with suspense and all - reminds me of those tv serials. haha..
Btw, we have lost count, what day of your trip is this?
wah.. =.="
u lost for very loooong day/post/(fill in the blank)
hahaha..
My mama loved this very famous story teller over the radio called "Lee Tai Soh" who each time at the kan cheong (suspense) part would say "this is it - tune next week same time same day..bla bla". Now next generation no more radio story but blogostory and presenting "Foong Tai Soh" -the story teller extraordinaire. Catch up with your ring-a-ding Part IV soon.
Brought your handphone to China any idea what number to dail in case of emergency? I think you would as a frequent traveller. For the benefit of the rest this is a good link to note if you are travelling overseas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number
Thanks, Bananaz. That's useful info.
Foong, a thought just came to mind. Did you buy travel insurance to be able to claim for your mishap?
Despite being lost and panicky, you still manage to enjoy the scenery and take photos. Great job!
Tell me who's "they" in your last sentence. Looking forward to Part 4!
Wow! What a long, long post huh! :p War...you were lost in this vast jungle. But it is still beautiful from here. :D
Perhaps it was your guardian angel or ancestors calling out for you to guide you? ;p
She drew the map for you? Looks quite ok...but from the looks of it you have to hike 2 mountains right? :D
The place is deserted? But the view is simply so gorgeous. I don;t mind being lost at such a wonderful place. Not at all. haha :D
Those surely look like pears! My...they were so....green! :D
The pump! Haha :D So cute. But I think it is not very old fashion lar. Still ok.
I know! I know! Is it the sound of the cow with bells dangling around their neck? ha :D
Ok! We will wait part 4 from you. Until then have a nice weekend ya Foong. :D
Although you had to be lost, I must say, the scenery was so so nice!!
It pays to learn some survival skills.
Wah so adventurous and scary!! I think I would have freaked out if that happened to me! Haha... awaiting for your next post!!!
wah...so nice ler. but the village like so deserted...in ur pics like no one around one. hahaa...
You can write a book....
First time here, I was link to your Blog from Claire's. Just like what she said, I like the way your write the blog... interesting!
How I wish I could join you on your adventure to find fishing village, my friend! Can I say that if I were not down with diarrhea, we should be able to locate the way to the fishing village? Because I can communicate with locals in mandarin, haha!
You're so gutsy foong. For me it's a no-no to go mountain trekking alone most esp being a stranger to the place. I also believe in forest spirits (sometimes I can see them or at least feel) and there were stories I heard some lead people to be lost. Many things can happen to you out there alone. a compass is very useful too. But your shots are great. BTW, you should've followed your tracks back retracing it from your digital shots =)
Ok will wait for your next post...
Hi Ayie Oh you "connect" means see/feel only in forest or elsewhere as well? That's interesting! Heard a lot about forest stories before.
@ CheaHS@n
Yeah I do but something that's scary at times most esp when there's so much going around you.
@ Ayie I can feel, sometimes only catch up with you perhaps in your blog, {foongpc hope you dont mind we chat awhile} :p
You were walking alone with no one with you? I would certainly freak out if asked to walk alone in the bush. I have very very bad sense of directions. If I am in a new place, my husband always "kacau" me and says, are you lost? I don't know how some people have such good antenna.
Honestly, I was a bit worried reading your story. hahaha!
Morning Foong!
I am very interested in the fruit too, pear is it? It looks like pear a little yeah? I bet it tastes sweet and juicy!
Enjoy ur weekend too, are u gonna get the choc cake from PJ Hilton or not? :)
aduh the suspense.. update soon
hahahaha... still havent finished huuh the story... you really explore a lot... like what i usually do lol good
u are really cool..lost but still enjoy the scenery..
I'm back to drop EC Foong!
Lazy day for me...now only starting day for real lol!
they spoke english with you?!
no offense to other chinese, but i've never once encounter anyone who can speak english with me during my visit to china... i felt lonely.. :(
This is so a beautiful post ! Thanks for sharing !!Unseen Rajasthan
superman, congrats for being the first commenter! Hope you don't mind I used one of your photos for your linky love : )
Really looks like Monkey King Five Finger Mountain? Haha! Oh yeah, the map helped, but not much : )
reanaclaire, well I just didn't want to waste my day doing nothing while both my friends were down with food poisoning. So like it or not, I had to go to the fishing village on my own : )
ladyviral, haha! Better luck next time! : )
xin, haha, no, there was no wedding band and no one died! LOL!
ayie, pick up your hubs? He's not driving? Or he's from the airport? : )
SK, really waited very long?
Not spirits? Well, you will know it's spirits or not in the next post! Hehe
ladyviral, child drawing? Haha! No, I think the map is drawn by an adult!
True, if they put up a signboard I would also not know how to read, but wait, I know how to read the character "yu" (meaning fish) as in "yu cun" (fishing village).
Really? There are nice forest spirits? I don't know I just don't want to bump into them! : )
pete, carry a gun? I thought must have license to own one, no? Or can buy a gun in China?!
Not sure if there are tigers in the forest in China, but I'm glad I didn't meet any! : )
khengsiong, thanks! I'm just trying to make my post more interesting filled with suspense. LOL!
The girl is OK lah, but there's another one who is pretty and sweet (not the one I talked to). Too bad I didn't take a photo of them! : )
cloudia, thanks for dropping by here! Glad you enjoy reading my post! Oh, and thanks for correcting my English! So the plural of 'staff' is still 'staff' eh? I've corrected it. Thanks! : )
So scenic! :)
beng gee, it's scary alright! The fruits look like pomelos? Pomelos would be bigger in size. Part 4 coming up soon : )
cheahs@n, hundreds of cyclists ringing their bells? haha! Not likely as there's no room for so many cyclists on that narrow village road!
Pomelo or orange trees? Not sure about pomelo but definitely not orange! : )
manglish, thanks! I guess I just had to make it to the fishing village by myself otherwise I would be wasting my day there with both my friends down with food poisoning! : )
kenwooi, if you are lucky, Part 4 will be the finale, but maybe I'll do Part 5. LOL!
che-cheh, Part 4 coming up soon! : )
mei teng, oh I like that photo too! Haha! I actually captured that photo before I got lost. When I realised I got lost, I was in such a panic state, I didn't have time to think about taking photos! LOL!
Yeah, I realised it was a bit risky to go on my own, but I just had to go otherwise I would be wasting away my one whole day with both Jam and his friend down with food poisoning. Anyway, it's an adventure which I shall remember for a long time! : )
eiling lim, haha, yes! : )
lina, how do you know there wasn't any? Wait for my Part 4 and you shall know! : )
chrisau, that's my aim - to make my readers feel suspense : )
Wow, your post really make me suspense! Have a great trip, take care.
Do drop by my blog when u r online.
hei, the pic looked quite fake loh. Edited?
You have too many comments until you can't reply all of them now! Aisay I can't spam you since you have got many spammers yourself. Just kidding!
Faster update your post foong! What happened? What was the sound of bells? Argh... Frustrated to be in a suspense for so long!
By the way, did you try to pluck out one of those green fruits to try out? Haha they look like pears to me, just greener in their colour. I wonder what it looks like inside.
One thing I don't understand, as far as I know, you can't really speak/understand Chinese eh? How in the world did you communicate with the locals? Did you really understand them when they showed you the roads? *LOL* Maybe there was a misunderstanding that caused you to be lost!!! :P
Haha foong you know what? This is my first attempt to spam someone's blog and it is fun!!! I didn't know it could be this fun to keep seeing my msg popping up in your comments window. Hahaha... thanks for introducing me to this! *LOL*
i can get lost in that very beautiful mountain forest, lovely images.
This is soooooo beautiful, the mountains OMG! I'd love to get lost in there... Hahah!
beautiful pics snd the pears look juicy.
happysurfer, really? Can find my way by taking a pee break? I didn't know that! But I've been thought never to pee in the bushes just in case you offend some spirits dwelling there!
Haha, I think whhat I heard was just my imagination! So you can still look at who is calling you without answering? I think I prefer not to look! LOL!
I've seen those emails with the girls being kidnapped and cut up and became food for the poeple there, but I think they are not true, haha.
Definitely no cars as the road is too narrow for cars.
This is Day 7 of my China trip : )
dolly, you mean very long post? : )
he drives but he just brings the car when he needs to do something else or go somewhere after work. He likes it better I bring him and pick him up from work =)
bananaz, foong tai soh? Haha! Actually, I really have no idea what number to call on my handphone for emergency. Is it 112?
happysurfer, yes I bought travel insurance but did not make any claims as I did not see a doctor for my injuries : )
shingo T, since I reply to your comments late, I guess you already know who "they" are by now : )
tekkaus, you guessed correctly! It is indeed the sound of bells dangling on cows' necks! (Actually it's bulls)
My guardian angels calling to me? No lah, I think it's just my imagination : )
No the map was not drawn by her. It was already drawn earlier and was placed on the wall for everyone to refer to.
You don't mind being lost in such a wonderful place? I don't think you will say that if you were there! Haha.
day-dreamer, yes the scenery was nice! : )
borneo falcon, yeah I'm sure it does! : )
iamthewitch, I guess it won't be so scary if I was with Jam and his friend even if we were lost. But to be alone and lost in the jungle is indeed scary! : )
gabriel, yes it's quite deserted actually! Not many people around at that time!
nadzri, haha, really? : )
tintin, thanks for dropping by and glad you like my blog! : )
jam, yes definitely if you were there, we should have no problem finding the fishing village although I wouldn't be so sure we would not get lost in the forest! : )
ayie, if I can see or feel them like you, I think I also don't dare to go mountain trekking alone! Haha!
It's quite difficult to retrace back my tracks from my digital shots as everywhere looks almost the same! A mountain on my right may look similar to the one on my left!
Yes, I will definitely bring a compass next time! : )
cheahs@n, don't mind you and Ayie chatting here : )
ai shiang, I do not have good sense of direction too! That's why must carry a compass with me next time. haha!
mariuca, it does look like a pear to me! Haha!
About the choc cake from PJ Hilton, still thinking about it. So very tempting! LOL!
bengbeng, haha! Glad you felt the suspense! : )
fufu, yeah still haven't finish story! Yes love to explore! That's what traveling is all about, no? : )
wenn, I was not enjoying the scenery when I realised I was lost! Only enjoyed it before that! : )
mariuca, thanks for dropping EC! : )
AL, yeah only the hostel staffs spoke English. The locals there do not speak a word of English! : )
unseen rajasthan, thanks and you are welcome : )
wei ru, yes it is indeed very scenic! : )
iriene, glad my post made you suspense! Haha! Will drop by your blog soon : )
tony wan, really? Not edited in any way : )
iamthewitch, I will reply to every comment here even if there are loads of them! : )
No I didn't pluck those fruits! I didn't want to get caught, you know I'm in a foreign land!
How I communicate with the locals? Haha, it's like chicken and duck talk lah! I understood certain words and tried my best to piece a few words here and there to form a meaningful sentence. LOL!
So you enjoy spamming me? haha! I always enjoy spamming others. Look forward to your spamming in future! : )
betchai, thanks but it's not very fun to get lost in there! : )
kyh, really or not? Wait till you get lost there then only you say so. Haha!
life ramblings, I'm not really sure if those are pears : )
ayie, he's lucky to have a chauffeur (you) pick him up from work : )
hehehe just being a nice and caring wife =P