Week 3
Day 4

The trip to WuDang Mountain at last! Satish and I woke up just 15 minutes before our meeting time with the group, so we quickly washed up and packed our stuff and went down to the meeting point to meet the rest of the group before setting off on the 6 hour trip to our destination.
During the trip, Sasi kept falling asleep while studying her APPG. Well, not only her myself too! We watched the movie Bolt on our mp4s while travelling. I just cannot imagine that the movie actually took 2 bars of our 4 bars battery! It was suppose to just take 1 out! Sasi was on the 1st page for 2 hours and we had a good laugh about it.

We reached the foot of the mountain within 6 hours, and had lunch at Tai He Xuan Wu Da Jiu Dian. The food there was quite alright, and we proceeded to the starting point of the mountain. It was drizzling slightly when we got there so many people purchased the disposable raincoats which cost about 1 yuan each. We boarded the tour bus that brought us to the 1st stop on the mountain. It took us around 25 minutes to reach the 1st stop which was called the Tai Zi Po. This is the temple to pray at if you want good results for your examinations. We visited the halls where the gods’ statues were situated at, where the crown prince studied. There was a story about the prince was out playing when he met an old lady who was taking a metal rod and sharpening it till it became a needle, this made the price not playful anymore as he understood what the old lady’s meaning was; with determination, even a metal rod can become a needle. The lady was actually the Goddess of Mercy in disguise.

We took the other bus to the second stop which was the Zi Xiao Gong. It is the most well preserved temple in Wudang. When we first entered the temple, we were greeted by a sight of Taoist disciples training on their martial arts. There was a senior that was coaching them. He was really fierce and rough, as he punched a junior when the junior did a wrong step, also, he pinched a tiny girl disciple when she forgot the steps. Today was also a special day so there were many other people that came to pray or attend the service.

We proceeded to the last station of the day. We had to follow the guide really closely as there were many junctions and winding paths. In the end we reached the last place where we threw coins to hit the bell which was blocked by an old Chinese coin. We also saw a narrow little path that led to a place to put joss sticks. This place led out into the open air. We were told many people died while trying to offer incense. We made our little rice pendants and rushed down to get on the last bus of the day.

Dinner was at the same place and we made our way to our place to stay soon after. It was a 2-star hotel with amazingly, a good condition toilet! There we stayed for the rest of the night before our next ascend to Wudang Mountain.

With determination comes success, an old Chinese saying emphasizes what I have learnt today.