Yay(?) Datong, Pt. 2

We've been riding a sleeper train all night. At 6 AM, the lights go on and this weird mood music starts to play over the car's intercom. The train operators want us to wake up, but we all want to go back to sleep. It's barely morning, and sleeping in a tiny mobile bed is not the best way to be rested. Unfortunately, the train stops moving, and everyone makes a mad dash for the exit, not really paying attention to who they're hitting with their bags or who they are trapping in the compartments. I think I forfeited all rights to personal space when I landed in this country. When we actually get off the train, the way I see China completely changes. People are staring at me. This isn't like Beijing where if one person is watching you, you can run away. People in Datong aren't used to foreigners, and they act accordingly.

We get on the tour bus and go to a hotel for breakfast. Somehow, this is the first Chinese breakfast I've had since I got here. And...I'm not sure I want a repeat experience. It's buffet-style, and the foods are considerably more spicy and heavy than I would want to eat at this time of day. Some of the dishes include cucumbers with various meats mixed in, soup, peppers, shredded spicy potato with sour cabbage, fish, watermelon, and hard-boiled eggs. I grab a piece of bread and an egg and sit down, hoping that lunch is less intimidating.

When breakfast is over, we go upstairs to check into our rooms before sightseeing. My room is surprisingly nice (especially the bathroom), and we think it probably cost less then $15 US to stay there.

We get on the bus to go to the Yungang Grottos, which is this collection of caves with Buddhists images carved into them. It's on the outskirts on Datong, so it takes a little while to get there. The city is major source of coal for China, and it shows. When we get to the Grottos, we realize they are directly across from a huge coal mine.

The Buddhist statues are really cool-looking, but our tour guide doesn't seem to know much about them. It's not that he doesn't speak English well enough to tell us what he knows; it's like he's completely disinterested in his job. We get some good pictures, and know that later we're going to do some serious Googling of what we've seen.

As is normal with China, people try to take pictures with us, and I end up posing for four. I am feeling more like a zoo animal with every hour. There are also vendors everywhere, and I am confused that Mao Zedong is wearing Buddhist prayer beads. Isn't that a little bit contradictory?

When we've finished exploring the Grottos, we go to lunch. The food isn't too bad, but there is an obnoxious birthday party going on in the same room. It is presided over by an emcee with a shrill voice who makes all the diners cringe every time she opens her mouth. Nobody in our group can hear the person next to them speak. I don't understand why restaurants hold birthday parties in rooms where they're seating other patrons. I've been seated in private rooms for large parties so many times in this country that I don't understand why these people have to make my lunch miserable. We try to eat quickly, so we can minimize our headaches, but they just keep bringing out more food and putting it onto the turntable. Finally, after 45 minutes of non-stop birthday party shrieking, they stop feeding us, and we evacuate the premises. I pop an advil.

Our next stop is another temple in Datong. It is beautiful and since it is made completely of wood, surrounded by birds who live in the rafters.

We then go to the 9 Dragon Screen, which is older and bigger than the one at Beihai in Beijing. But I'm not sure our tour guide knows this.


It's been a long day, but it's not over when we go back to the hotel. It's only nap time.