Don't worry or go to the bathhouse! China-2017. Part 11. Only a bathhouse can be better than mountains.
Syli 2017-06-04 Day 7
The morning starts as usual restless. A Bulgarian woman screeches, it's raining. . . We pack our suitcases and send them to Zhangjiajie by pigeon mail.
Today we leave all the incredible beauty of the Wulingyuan region and go to the city of Sili to look for hot springs. Our bodies really want relaxation, and what could be better than Chinese baths? There is nothing better than Chinese baths. Chinese baths are a health factory. Physical health, and most importantly - mental health. Especially if these baths are outdoors and it's raining.
We have our own breakfast. There is milk from yesterday's starvation of local shops, coffee in sticks, raisin buns, the production does not make you fat, at least it's much tastier than the obscure concoction in the diner around the corner called hotel breakfasts.
We ask at the reception when the last bus to Zhangjiajie leaves from Sili. Nobody knows this, but they sell us tickets to springs for 108 yuan. The price seems reasonable to us, although we still don’t know how much it costs on the spot. The girl from the reception writes a note for the cashier with the hieroglyphs we need.
We take a taxi to the bus station. I think that living near the bus station would probably be better. We, every time, from where and wherever we went, got to the bus station)
At the box office we show a note, the cashier nods that the bus is in the yard and take tickets on the bus. We go with this piece of paper, people come up to us, look and take us to the bus. I love China for this! They write notes! Read! Lead! Passed from hand to hand!
The bus to Sili is no different from the bus we took from Zhangjiajie to Wulingyuan, and the view outside the window is the same - mountains shrouded in mist. The gray sky promises lousy weather all day.
In Syli, after getting off the bus, we look around distractedly. We are called by the driver of a strange vehicle, similar to a moped with a booth for passengers' pies, with a traditional question:
-Chunali? (Where are you going, tired traveler, lie down among the soft pillows of my carriage and I will drive you faster than the wind to the most fabulous place in China)
We are trading. 30. . 20. . I resist - 10!
The driver also rests - 20!
We turn around and go to look for the bus. I copied the description of the road in Chinese from the Wanfu source site and translated it into Russian for myself. At the crossroads, after a pause, I look into the Talmud, and a Chinese man standing next to me also looks in.
-Second, second! he actively gestures, pointing at the bus. - Run, run!
There is a line of buses, Nadia is the first to run, showing two fingers to the conductors, who lean out of their buses and watch the running laows. Are there many entertainments in their outback? They are actively moving forward. Go on, go on!
Our second one turned out to be the very first, and we are practically the first passengers) We show the driver where we need to get, he nods. We sit and wait for the bus to fill up. Why were you running? )
We drive for quite a long time around the city, new and new passengers come in. Soon the bus was crackling with the number of people and the sounds they were making. The hubbub stood as if in a bird market. Everyone looked at us with interest, we, in turn, just as frankly, looked at them. Suddenly, from the front seat, heroicshouted an old woman in a piercing voice:
-Shut up already there!
We jumped. Everyone was instantly silent. How to turn them off. Then, little by little, the hubbub began to gain momentum again. When it resumed in full force, I pulled my head into my shoulders, waiting for the old woman's new cry, but then we arrived.
-Get out - ordered the driver.
-And where to go? we asked.
He waved his hand vaguely, indicating that he should cross the road and go forward.
Syli is a city, but a little tired, or we drove along such streets. But this place where we left, quite the backyard of the world. Somehow gloomy. A couple of shops, a large transport company, a bridge. We walk and walk, asking every passer-by for directions. Everyone points forward. Stop, no less, we stomped, then, passing under the bridge, at the crossroads, we realized that we need to turn left and cross another bridge, and there... on a high mountain and there will be our hot springs.
I began to catch a car and point to the mountain, but no one wanted to take us.
- It's near, here it is.
We sadly remember the tuk-tuk that we rejected, and stomp across the bridge, then up the mountain.
To be honest, we never saw a car that looked like a taxi in Syl, so I can only advise theoretically - a bus is not the best transport, it's long and difficult.
Finally we came to this heavenly place. We are quickly issued (Remember that you need a passport! And open sources require a swimsuit), quickly escorted to the locker room. It is a little more modest here than in the baths, but quite clean and comfortable.
But the pajamas were a bit tight.
Shower cabins of the closed type. There is shampoo, conditioner, shower gel.
After the shower, we put on swimsuits and get into the indoor pools. One adult, one child.
Lots of Chinese, pretty parko.
Let's go look for something else. We see several steam baths with curtains along the way, but we first need to look around.
Near the large pool with huge panoramic windows, turn left. It was a fatal mistake.
Everything on the left is not worthy of special attention, do not go there. There, in the open air, there is a wave pool and a small slide. It's like a mini water park. There is a small but tedious rain, a little cool, the water in the pool is also cool. We try to go around the hill to see what is there, but the guard drives us away
-Go, good people, to the hot springs and bathe in health. Get out of here.
Well, we fell down.
We also tried to visit the saunas along the way. None worked. We became sad and we went to the hot tubs to warm ourselves. The ones behind the curtains.
You can’t sit in a hot font for a long time, and we didn’t catch relaxation there. We go to the pool, which has windows, they give us caps and we just swim back and forth for a long time.
"Well - I think, swimming up to the window and looking at the sky - not so bad, of course, I wanted something else, but even just a pool is good"
When we leave the pool, we are almost pushed in the back into the right corridor, and then it dawns on us that we have lost a lot of time on the devil)
It is here that the Bath that we were looking for begins. That bath, for which it is worth going to China.
First, in the same corridor, behind a small wooden fence, we took a paid fish massage of the whole body - 58 yuan per person, it is recorded on a bracelet, you can choose the size of the fish, it takes quite a long time, but I don’t remember specifically.
OOO! How cool!
You have probably tried such a foot massage, when small biting fish cling to your legs and, gently nibbling, treat your nervous system. And when it's bigger fish and they bite you all, it's just unimaginable! Nervous system immediately like silk! )
The only problem was that the fish didn't like me. They loved Nadia. That's how mosquitoes, so it's for me, but like a massage for money, so I'm tasteless! What I just didn’t do was change places with Nadia, suspecting that there was an undercurrent in the place where I was lying, crawled closer to Nadia and thrust my arms and legs right into the fish cloud, hugged Nadia, protecting her from predatory fish! ) But the fish categorically did not want to eat me! In the end, the Chinese passing by began to look at us with curiosity, probably suspecting me of being gay.
I quickly got fed up with this kind of discrimination. Let's move on.
A little further, also behind the fence, an interesting hall was discovered, where washed Chinese in pajamas lay on hot stones. Some were asleep. Some spoke quietly. We did not stay here, it was interesting what else awaits us.
And a wonderful territory was waiting for us, where there were a lot of different small baths under thatched awnings.
Even just walking there was nice.
Some pools were of different colors - blue, green, red.
Moreover, in many cases it was not the color of the pool, but the color of the water itself. Some baths are covered with wicker tents. There must be healing steam there.
Each had a small stone or stone figurine, from which water flowed with a murmur.
Everywhere glowed electronic thermometers showing the temperature of the water. 38.37, 34. .
And how these springs smelled! And most importantly, wonderful relaxing Chinese music was playing!
It was our paradise.
We lay down in the free pool and began to enjoy all our senses.
Enjoyed for 10 minutes.
Then we wanted to eat. Which is not at all surprising, because we drove for a long time, walked for a long time, swam for a long time. So we went back to the locker room and took off our wet swimsuits. We put on pajamas, took two clean towels each to wrap ourselves up from the cold, it became noticeably cool. Since we considered the trip to the dressing room as a bad waste of time, we took our bathing suits with us. And we went to the dining room. Please note that at the springs, a table is not included in the price of a visit, as is the case in indoor city baths. The cost of lunch is credited to the bracelet. There are no special frills, but you will not be hungry.
Some traditional pancake is rolled out, baked and cut in an open kitchen. It turns out cookies)
From the food they took dumplings in a dark broth. And coffee and cookies. You should have seen how they tried to warn us to drink carefully! Hot! )
One of the waitresses comes up to us asking for a photo. She takes pictures with us, we take pictures with the sweets she gave us, we have fun and enjoy with her, although she doesn’t know anything in English at all, and I speak Chinese a little more than nothing, but not even this minimum is always for her understandable. We are helped by international sign language and a sincere desire to communicate. We are trying to find out when the last bus leaves for Zhangjiajie. So you say - we were at the bus station and forgot to go to the hall to look. Moreover, even when we left Syl, we forgot to do it for you.
Since all the information that we found out about the buses was contradictory, we decided not to risk it and be at the bus station at 4 o'clock. As our waitress friend said, a taxi could cost us 200 yuan. And I think she greatly underestimated the cost, between cities about 80 km)
There is a couple of hours left, and we have not yet explored a huge part of the park. It turned out that not all fonts are covered with awnings and that not all of them are in the same place.
Behind the stairs there were absolutely deserted places, but there was no music heard there either. Namely, she created an indescribable atmosphere.
These fonts were right above the cliff.
On the other side, below, we found the locker rooms.
Behind the bridge, bungalows began, it is a pity that we did not find a way to stop here so as not to rush anywhere in the evening.
Near each pool there was an inscription about the composition of water and additives, but, unfortunately, it is obscure for us.
The rest of the time we wander among all this water luxury, climbing into different springs for a few minutes, closing our eyes and relaxing, but then again we go to the next one.
All organs were treated at once)
I think the Chinese have long remembered the restless Laowai, who could not sit still for more than ten minutes)
The most vivid memory is that we, just before leaving, are lying on a stone covered with hot water, and large drops of rain are falling from the sky. Just incredible relaxation! Very hot below, cold rain above. Close your eyes and swim in gentle music. And your nervous system whispers: "Thank you for bringing me here"
I did not want to leave at all, I cowardly whined to stay until night and go by taxi. But Nadia was the voice of reason. Hot water is not at all harmless to spend so much time in it. You still need to go out and go look for beds to rest. By the way, the desired beds are probably on the second floor, they tried to send us there too persistently. But we dried our hair and went to pay.
And here an incredible story happened.
We asked for Chutsuche.
The girls at the reception said that it costs 30 yuan. We agreed.
They thought hard.
-Call by phone - they offered us.
- We do not have a Chinese number - we answered.
They thought harder.
-Call us on your phone - I asked.
-Then we will live here with you.
They thought even harder. They asked the man who came up something, I understand that they are talking about the bus in Zhangjiajie. This guy's answer really scared me.
- Do they really go? - the man asked them and, nodding vaguely to us, left.
I ran after him, thinking that he was the taxi driver, digesting his words, wondering if the bus was running.
But the girls rushed after me.
- Now the taxi will arrive, wait.
I asked if there was still a bus to Zhangjiajie.
-Yes, there is!
A taxi arrives. A chic car, a chic, smelly young man behind the wheel. We ask him if he will take us to the bus station.
- Yes Yes! Sit down.
When we arrive at the bus station, we try to pay off, he refuses the money, gets out of the car and leads us to the cashier. There he takes us 2 tickets to Zhangjiajie, nods at our bus. We give him money, he takes only for tickets, showing us the price for them.
- And for a taxi? - I ask - how much does a taxi cost? Take the money!
-Don't need money, it's free - he laughs.
That's so miracle. The man spent his time, his gas, his labor to take two unknown foreigners and put them on the bus. We are very imbued! And don't tell me that the Chinese treat foreigners badly! ) They are different, just like us. But, for the most part, the Chinese are always willing to help.
We sleep on the bus, and when we arrive, we go to dinner. First at McDonald's. There for some reason they don’t understand my order at all, they try to explain something, I think, some kind of promotion that is currently in effect, they call an English-speaking girl and she and Nadia, with about the same success, but , nevertheless, agree. We take hamburgers with us and suddenly we go into a restaurant. Well, go to bed already, so no) I take fish, Nadia - meat. Gas burners are brought in, dishes are set on them. I refused the burner, so the fat began to solidify pretty quickly.
These were huge portions, we couldn’t even eat half a portion, and they cost so much in general. But it was very tasty, and such moments in China could be counted on the fingers. Therefore, we sat, nodding, but stomping on delicious food without a twinge of conscience, looking at the night.
We spent the night in the same hotel as on our first visit, but on the second floor. I want to say again that this is a wonderful, inexpensive hotel with a very sincere and intelligent owner. Golden man! )
Tomorrow, according to the plan, we have the city of Furong, which the Chinese themselves call Furon, where there is a gorgeous waterfall and unusual "red" rocks. Very interesting old town, do not switch!
