2009 Anniversary Vacation Day 3: Jiuzhaigou

Day 3 was May 5th, our actual anniversary, and it happened to also be our best day in Jiuzhaigou. Great weather, great sunlight, and some of our favorite scenery. Let's get going with a map (the day's journey again highlighted in red)...

Each morning in Jiuzhaigou started with a buffet breakfast at our hotel (since we needed to eat breakfast before 7:00AM, this was definitely the most convenient and efficient way to do it). An example of what I pulled from the spread...

Pork sausage (which looked like breakfast links, but tasted oddly like Vienna sausage), bacon, banana bread, baked beans, grilled tomatoes stuffed with cubed ham, steamed Chinese yams, Danish pastries, steamed buns (some filled and some not), scrambled eggs, and fresh cantaloupe

In the hotel lobby, getting ready to head out

Setting up some of our first shots of the day
(note the mass of tiny bugs flying just over my back - fortunately, they didn't bite)

Our first stop: Rhino Lake
(with plenty of bugs to the left of the frame)

An unobstructed view of Rhino Lake

(which was very difficult to capture, given all the bugs whizzing around)

A pan across the lake
(click here for the 720p HD version, then click the "HD" icon)

The sun glances off a tree branch in front of the lake

One of many water-powered Tibetan prayer wheels lining a brook between Rhino and Tiger lakes

The prayer wheels spinning
(click here for the 720p HD version, then click the "HD" icon)

The brook was very much babbling

I'm afraid you're going to have to guess what I was doing here (it was urgent!)

A village spied at a distance through the trees

A small waterfall in front of Princess Lake

...and another

Having our picnic lunch beside Princess Lake

Two forms of Qingke flatbread
(Qingke is a form of highland barley)

The smaller piece was filled with nuts and seeds (rather similar to bird suet)

One of the larger pieces was filled with a sweet red bean paste (or perhaps date paste)

The other large piece was covered in fried egg

We also had the yak jerky bought during the previous day

While we were sitting here, these kept raining down from the trees above us. We discovered that they are actually walnut flowers and are very commonly eaten by the locals (an experience we would have later).

A clear view of Princess Lake

Shuzheng Falls, frozen in time

Shuzheng Falls, in motion
(click here for the 720p HD version, then click the "HD" icon)

Even in the Chinese wilderness, The Man is watching

A high-angle view of Princess Lake

The mill house, just before Princess Lake

A resident stands in front of a tomb near the gates of a village

The Shuzheng Lakes

A reed whistles in the wind near Sleeping Dragon Lake

Double Dragon Lake

Potted Beach

A mill, separated from the others and no longer fed with water
(perhaps it is during the high water season, though)

Reed Lake

With the day's hike done, it was time to find dinner in town
(at the restaurant just below the blue sign behind Katherine)

Wild mushroom soup!

...kept boiling by a portable burner
(fueled by a flammable lump of blue gel)

Stewed "mountain sheep" (which could be goat - the Chinese term is ambiguous)

After dinner, we still had some room in our bellies, so I really wanted to try some freshly made Qingke flatbread (the ones we had for lunch were at least day-old). There happened to be a street hawker who fit my needs perfectly...

Preparing the filling

Laying the rolled dough on the frying pan
(which, underneath, doubled as an oven)

A video documenting the rest of the process

The finished products!

We hurried off to our hotel and had them while they were still warm. Outstanding!

Next up: Our final day in Jiuzhaigou (but not our final day of the vacation!)