The Travel Bug: Sichuan, Huang Long

Since we were already in Chengdu for work, some colleagues and I decided to extend our trip by 3 days and do a side visit to Jiu Zhai Gou. The trip was arranged as a semi-customised private tour (read: no useless visits to tourist traps for shopping), and to be honest, most of us didn't pay attention to the detailed itinerary. So while we had in our minds that we were visiting Jiu Zhai Gou, few paid attention to the fact that we would be visiting a place called Huang Long on the first day (read: we had no idea where were going and what it was going to be like).

The experience was certain one to remember for all the wrong reasons...

1. We started off already exhuasted

Had just ended a full week of meetings and discussions. Enuff said!

2. Early hours

Not many needed the 4am wake up call because after the official programme ended at 10pm the night before, some did the usual "explore local culture" by hitting the clubs. In fact, some got back to the hotel barely minutes before the coach was due to depart for the airport at 5am.

3. Flight delays

From 7am to 10am. 3 hours waiting/sleeping at a domestic airport in China is no fun. We found out that this was because of bad weather at the other airport. Guess this one is kinda understandable, given that we were flying over mountains and valleys.

4. Altitude sickness

We were totally unprepared! Because we hadn't paid attention to the fact that we were going to Huang Long, not a single person in our group of 30+ realised that we would be hitting 4000+m altitudes. That's high enough for the guide to warn us not to fall asleep in the bus... in case we stopped breathing and they didn't realise it until too late!

We bought medication and oxygen on the spot, but it didn't help as much as we would have liked it to. Some of us were nursing throbbing headaches the entire day. Not the best condition to be in while trekking (see #6 below), and not in the best of moods to enjoy the beautiful view.

5. It's the wrong season

We didn't even know we were visiting Huang Long, much less that it was totally the wrong season to do so. Huang Long is famous for the beautiful pools of coloured water due to the minerals. But because it was the wrong season, almost everything was dried up and just boring rock.

6. We took the cable car up

Maybe it was the guide's broken English, maybe it was our own fault for not asking. Because it was the wrong season, there was only one area right at the top of the mountain which had water. So we took the cable car up 3000m, without realising we would have to walk another 1000m uphill.

This photo was taken right at the top, and was the only pool area on the entire mountain with water.


There are supposed to be 7 colours in total during the right season, but sadly we only saw a bright blue, mixed with brown and green.

7. Walking down is worse!

Some how it had slipped our minds that taking the cable car up 3000m and walking a further 1000m up meant having to walk down! I think what most of us had in mind was a leisurely stroll downhill for about.. maybe 30min? We definately weren't prepared for a 4-5h trek which was 20% uphill steps and 80% downhill steps (read: horror on the knees) while nursing a lack of sleep and throbbing headaches from altitude sickness.


Later on we found out that in the right season, the entire trek down would have been filled with beautiful pools of water and rivers running along the way. Most people in fact don't take the cable car up, but just do short treks at the lower altitudes. *NOW* they tell us!!!

I will leave it to you to imagine how bad our knees and calves felt the next day and the entire week after.