The Road Block

On our way to the Thousand Island lake, due to the construction of the main highway is not yet complete, our tour guide decided to venture into the nearby mountains for a shortcut.... It was a road no more than 1.5 lane's width by US standard. There is no traffic lane of any kind drawn on the pavement of the road. On the left the steep hill side slopes upward to a sea of bamboo forest. To the right, a short cliff drops down to a valley of fields with plots of rice and yam and various other vegetations. There are farm houses spotted here and there but no main turn offs for cars miles and miles at a time. It's around 4pm in the afternoon. The sun down is just about a hour away. Our tour bus managed to manuver along this tiny road for the last hour and half when it had to stop behind a long line of other trucks and cars. The first line utterred by our bus driver, "We're stuck." He then pulled his hand break on and shut off the bus engine. Our tour guide was the first to jump off of the bus to investigate the situation up front. Soon, the rest of the 20+ passengers on the bus filed down one by one... Alex used the opportunity to catch a field butterfly and enjoyed himself running back and forth along the small high way.


This is the road we were stranded on from 4pm till 7pm. At the very front where the line of traffic changed direction is a truck the size of a semi with no trailer facing our direction. It is pulled over all the way to the right side of the road, but there is still not enough room left for another truck of bus to pass through. Smaller cars and bikes were way to squeeze through. Even those some times have taken the risk of having half of their left wheels hang off of the ledge of the pavement. The semi truck should have never taken this moutain road for sure.
The driver of the truck is seen under the truck trying to fix the problem. In the distance you can see a local farmer's brick house. It is typical for farm houses in China to have 3-4 stories tall.
I thought to myself, we may windup spending the night there...


By 5pm it was dark and cold. Most of the passengers had to dig out their jackets to keep warm. These tourists of my dad's generation, all in their late 50's or early 60's have been patient and understanding. Even though a few of the women complaint to the tour guide making such an unwise decision on his choice of roads. Andy later said he did see a sign at the start of the road showing tour busses are not allowed. However the driver ignored the sign and said that sign is only in affect for certain times of the day. By 6pm, the sun is completely down and a new crescent moon rose on the edge of the mountain. The view is still spetacular, but no one was in the slightest mood to enjoy it.

After hours of waiting and convincing, he finally agreed to let another truck driver, also stuck on the road to tow his truck with a steel cable up 20 feet to where the road is slightly wider. My mom and I were walking down the road looking for a spot to relieve ourselves and managed to find a small path that led up to the bamboo forest that is private enough to do so. By the time we're done, the bus managed to get through the blockade. And we made a change of plan to stop at a nearby hotel for dinner.