By Sedan Chair Up Flight Of Steps Up Mountain To Gate Of Buddhist Temple.

On a day that was reasonably sunny, we ventured to the Buddhist Temple up in the mountains. There was one straight flight of steps up to the Temple Gate, then another winding flight of narrow track and steps to the Temple itself. The group composed of Xing Du and two Monks, the students Andrew and Tommy (names I had given them !), workers carrying some bags of provisions, and also Chuck and myself, with two ''strong men''.

Of course, if they had waited for me to walk up the steps to the Temple Gate, the day would probably have passed before we reached the top. The solution was for me to be transported up on a home-made, stretcher-like ''Sedan'', for which the two strong men were needed! They only had one short rest on the whole journey up. Having carried me up to the Gate, they continued their climb to the Mountain Top Temple, Chuck going with them to take some photos.

There were some spectacular views from the Gate, looking down the steps we had climbed, and then down to the hazy valley below, with the mountain tops amongst the low clouds. Whilst we were at the gate, we were honoured by a colourful green visitor. This is the first time I have ever had a ''Praying Mantis'' perched on my hand! The body colour of shades of green, gave the appearance of silk, and when the Praying Mantis decided to move, its long legs made its jumps through the grass, look quite easy.

When the time came for us to return to the lower Temple, I decided that I would take my time to walk down the steps. Andrew on the other hand thought it was a pity to leave the Sedan unused, so he persuaded two of his friends to carry him down on the Sedan! The ''Sedan'' was home-made from bamboo poles and a chair, the main difference being that the ''passenger'' was lying down as if on stretcher, rather than sitting up as if on a chair. Probably this would mean less of a strain on the carriers, and discourage the ''passenger'' from moving too much, during the journey!



My own journey down was not as exciting as my journey up the steps, but there was more chance to stop and admire the view, and to appreciate how much effort had been required to get me to the top in the first place! Two of the students made sure that there was no slip up during the walk down, so we got back to the Lower Temple safely, having enjoyed an exciting expedition!