Mt. Emei, Sichuan province - Part 3 of 5 by BASIL

CHAPTER 3: THE MOST OFFBEAT MUSIC IN THE WORLD

I wake up with my ears resounding. I can hear, inside the monastery, somebody hitting an enormous gong as hard as they can. The worst part for me is that it’s totally offbeat. The gong keeps sounding, over and over, and all I hear is GONGGONGGONGGONGGONGGGGGGGGGONG. It’s awful! And the worst part is, we then learn that it’s not even 5:00 in the morning! Then, after ten minutes of rapid GONGing, it stops. I breathe a sigh of relief, but then guess what I hear.
Yeah, you guessed it
GONG.
I wait a few seconds, and then
GONG.
It just keeps going, like every seven seconds (which is totally offbeat). Then, it stops. I wait for several minutes, and then somebody starts hitting a really loud cymbal on a one-count. Also, every monk in the monastery is singing random Chinese things, like Ga Do Sa Ray Ra So A Do Mo Say.
I take a vow right then to never be annoyed again by the gong.
We get up (after all, the alternative is sitting in bed listening to the creepy chant), and go down to the Hard Wok Cafe for pancakes. If you ever climb Mount Emei, I recommend pushing yourself the first day just so you can eat at Hard Wok Cafe. You’ll live through the gongs.
Maybe.

Afterwards, we continue on, our goal being to get to the Elephant Bathing Pool. Mom pulls out a map to show Kayl how far we have to walk.

Then, Kayl makes a horrifying discovery.
On the map, there was the place filled with the worst creatures on earth, labeled the joking monkey zone (yeah, right), and there was a monkey face to show that there were monkeys there. What Kayl sees is that on Zuantian Slope, a slope that we’re ascending today, has a monkey face on it. We are all immediately scared of Zuantian Slope.
To reassure us, however, we meet english-speakers on the trail who tell us that the monkeys on the slope are actually even WORSE than the ones we’ve encountered. We all freak out and start realizing that since there’s no bus until Lidongping, and so we’re stuck between two armies of the worst creatures on earth.
We start walking with despair in our hearts.
After like half an hour, we start seeing garbage scattered all over. We wonder what could’ve done this. After all, the monkeys aren’t due to appear for over five more hours! We pass a guy picking up garbage. We point up the trail, then at the garbage, then say “Ho zu (monkey)?” He nods grimly. [Cue for dramatic, despairing music.]
Okay, maybe I’m starting to exaggerate a tiny bit.
But it’s really freaky.
We walk down a ridge, and then back up the other side. As we start ascending the other side, Mom’s shrill, terrified voice calls out.
“Monkeys!”
I’m seized by a sudden urge to turn and run back up the other side, but the monkeys are already starting to pour over the ridge.
I used to watch this Chinese movie called Mulan when I was little, and there was this one part where the tiny Chinese army of lame soldiers watched the colossal army of huns come sprinting over the ridge, and Mulan and the troops are in a gorge.
That’s sort of the feeling I’m getting now.
Before, I thought that the most monkeys I would ever see in one place would be ten or eleven.
And that was all I wanted to see, right?
There’s at least thirty monkeys, just sitting there, watching us.
We slowly, shakily, start whacking our sticks and moving forward.
The monkeys just watch us.
I keep my eyes down as to avoid eye contact, but a flicker of movement catches my eye and I look up.
The baby monkey is edging forward to grab Kayl’s staff.
I know that if the monkey gets a hold of it, then Kayl will jerk it away, and the Mama monkey, feeling that her baby is threatened, will attack.
I pray that the baby monkey will stop moving. Then, suddenly, he leaps forward and grabs onto Kayl’s staff.
Time seems to stop.
Okay, okay, rewind. I’m being too dramatic again. Sorry. Let’s go back a little...
I pray that the baby monkey will stop moving. Then, suddenly, he leaps forward and grabs onto Kayl’s staff.
Mom lets out a little muffled scream, but Kayl cautiously edges away. The Mama sort of just eyes him, but then decides that eating garbage is more important that protecting her

baby, and we pass safely. 

On the other side, we do a Humke handshake (which is where we make a circle and put our hands in the middle and then throw our hands in the air), but the thing is, I don’t feel the sense of terror I felt with the other monkeys. Dad explains that it’s probably because the other monkeys were annoyed because so many people violated their privacy every day, yet these monkeys weren’t as used to it so they were happier and less likely to have a grudge against humans and attack. They just sort of see us as other creatures passing through.

We keep walking for a little while, and then come to the bottom of a valley. There’s a waterfall, and Dad stops to take pictures. 

We get some food at the restaurant, and these random people come up and offer me a duck leg or something. I politely refuse, but Kayl takes one. Chinese people are always giving us random things we don’t want, like we’re their kings or something. A few people point ahead and say “Ho zu,” freaking Kayl out. I’m kind of getting annoyed because the monkeys aren’t that bad at this part of the trail and Kayl is making them sound evil. Okay, I know I’m being hypocritical, but I’m just writing my feelings from back then, not now. Up ahead, we see a few of the stairs just like totally destroyed and falling into the abyss. Dad and Kayl are making a big deal about how I have to stay super far away. When I slip a little, Kayl starts screaming at Dad about how he has to stay behind me so I don’t fall. The gesture is kind of nice, but ever since I fell off the path at the beginning, Kayl’s been super overprotective, which is somehow annoying because he’s three years younger.
A little while later, we get to another monastery. We break a little, and then the next thing I know Mom and Dad are paying some lady and then we’re walking down a path. 

I ask them if we’re on the trail going to the Golden Summit, and they say that no, we’ve gone on a little detour. No no no. No detours. But they’re just totally adamant. I just kind of go along with it, annoyed. We come to this tiny little building with a tiny altar and tiny incense sticks inside. There’s some music playing, and that’s it. Now I’m mad. “We detoured for this?” I yell. Mom and Dad aren’t really answering. I just am like, ‘yeah, whatever. This is so lame.’ I stand on the railing, and Dad starts yelling at me. Mom yanks me down, and I climb back up for some reason. Now Mom’s really mad because I disobeyed her. I didn’t even really register what I said. Mom takes away some privilege and they start walking away. I’m mad, so I stay behind to cool down. 

Eventually I start walking after them. They’re on some separate path winding down and down. I’m really mad now. They’re just extending the detour! I catch up and start talking to Dad. He says that we’re going to Jiulao Cave (cave of the immortal beings).




I ask how far away it is, and he says maybe twenty minutes. I start yelling about how we’re never going to make it to the elephant bathing pool if we keep detouring. Eventually I just stop talking and walk. We get to this building that’s locked, and two big rocks. We walk in between the two big rocks, and then the other side (which we reach in less than ten seconds) is covered with trash. Now I’m mad that we came this far for nothing, and I start talking sarcastically. “Oh, wonderful! This is so fun! Hahaha! I could just walk in between this two rocks for days on end without getting bored. It’s too awesome to describe! I’m so glad we came here! What a GREAT way to waste our time!” Nobody’s really listening, and when I finish, they’re all gone. “Hello?” I call out uncertainly. I look around and see it.
There’s a big gap that leads into some sort of cave. I walk in and see a staircase. There’s dim lamps everywhere. Mom and Dad are far ahead. I walk for like five minutes, and the stairs keep on going down. I notice some... well... signs that there are probably

bats down here. I uncertainly continue, hoping a bat doesn’t bite me. “Come on, guys! These stairs probably wind inside the mountain all the way to the bottom! We need to go! Now!” Then it hits me.
We’re inside a mountain.
I don’t even really realize it until I say it. I breathed, and in the lamplight I could see my breath. I call out again, but find Mom and Dad in a cavern with a giant Buddha statue. 

“This must be where the monks came to pray,” Dad says. “Wow” Is all I can say. We try to take pictures, it’s just too dark. I can’t even really put the feeling I have into words. It’s a feeling I haven’t felt yet on this trip.
I think it’s wonder.