Driving

We were told it would take the morning to drive from Le Shan to Dazu. Apparently, in this part of China, morning lasts until 4pm. The 7-hour bus ride rivaled the ride through the desert in Xin Jiang for length, bumpiness, and discomfort. We did get to see a lot of the countryside, though. Like the rest of China, every square inch of arable land here is used for farming. Terraces are cut into every hill and mountain, as high up as possible. We got to stop in a small farming village (not on the original tour path) and took a look around. The Chinese character for ‘home’ is the character for ‘pig’ under a roof radical. There’s a reason for that.

The destination in Dazu is another set of Buddha carvings. Impressive, again, but too much of the same thing. Especially after seven hours on a jarring bus ride. On the bright side, both meals today were delicious, despite the fact that they were not turkey. Professor Ferry has promised us some Thanksgiving Pizza Hut when we get to Xi’an.