On the Road - Cloud Ridge Caves
Hotel is comfy, but noisy, and as is the case for most 'hospitality' businesses in China, it seems to be run for the convenience of the staff. Yesterday, I looked around for the samovar - usually piping hot water for tea somewhere in every Chinese hotel. When I couldn't find it, I asked the matron - there's one posted on every floor of the hotel; her job is to lock and unlock your room and make sure you don't bring any 'extra guests' into your room - unless, of course, it's one of the hotel sponsored prostitutes. These girls just happen to know which rooms are occupied by single men, and call or drop by to offer 'massage' around 8 or 9 o'clock.
But I digress. The matron responded with 'jintian mei you' - no hot water today. When might I expect some hot water? She just shrugged her shoulders. This morning, 6am, someone banging and banging on the door until I got up to answer it. Matron motioned for the hot water thermos, and though I was irritated by the early morning disruption of my sleep, I looked forward to having hot water for coffee. Of course, the thermos was never returned.
After checking out of the hotel, brunching on steamed buns filled with pork, and buying a late ticket to my next destination, I wondered whether it would be worth my while to head out to the caves; too often, something billed as a major tourist attraction turns out to be a major tourist disappointment. I waffled back and forth so long that the minibus 'tours' that head out from the train station had already departed - meaning I'd have to sort of the public transport to get there. City bus to the western edge of the city was no problem, but the bus station that was supposed to be there turned out to be a major demolition zone - broken-down old buses competing for right-of-way with dozers and dumptrucks, passengers and filthy old guys with pickaxe in hand weaving in and out between all this - sheer pandemonium.
Half an hour of trying to sort things out, then finally found a bus heading the right direction. It's a bus only in the dictionary sense of the word - it has wheels, a driver, seats inside - but might be 40 years old. The seats were so grimy even the dirtiest locals wipe them off best they can before sitting down. A quarter of the windows were missing, and those remaining rattled noisily, held in only by duct tape. But what do you expect for 20 cents?
As the bus roars into motion, an ancient woman behind me munches an apple in such disgusting fashion that the noise of her mastication exceeds that of the muffler-less diesel engine and the rattling windows. I have a moment or two of relief when she's finally finished, until she starts belching. She manages to rip one off about every 20-30 seconds for the next five minutes. I'm not sure if I could kill someone with my bare hands, but a broad smile spreads across my face when I imagine throwing her off the bus. Thankfully, it's her stop, but I continue thinking about it and smiling for some time.
We pass some of the most polluted villages I've ever laid eyes on, huge belching smokestacks in their centers, mountains of coal piled up higher than the housetops. Bare granite-like mountains start to appear on the horizon, but they do little to improve the depressing aura. Occassionally the earthen remains of an ancient watchtower is visible just off the highway, jutting high above the mostly one-story hamlets.
I had asked the driver to let me know which stop was mine, but I needn't have bothered. Maybe a mile before we're there, we ascend to the top of a plateau, and Cloud Ridge becomes visible from the highway - and even at first sight, it's stunning. These caves were chosen over 1500 years ago as a holy place of worship for Buddhist monks and artisans. The interiors have been hollowed out and thousand of images carved into the rock - columns, arches, Buddhas, Matreiyas, and hosts of other images, both religious and historical.
The place has a real 'Indiana Jones' feel to it; I'm here off-season so there are only a handful of other tourist around, giving the grounds a lonely, exotic feel. Some of the caves look like temples at the entrance, with myriad carvings inside. Some of the older ones are non-descript on the outside, and you have to climb around a bit inside before you find the inner-sanctum, which dramatically and cleverly lit by hidden light shafts.
I wonder just how 'Chinese' this marvel is - the artisans that created this masterpiece came from west of here, from oases on the Silk Road or perhaps even from India. They are later than the Mogao caves in Dunhuang, and are probably inspired by them. And the political rulers who sponsored their creation were from the Norther Wei kingdom - a distinctively non-Chinese people who adopted Chinese customs only later after expansion eastward. And, unlike in Thailand or Sri Lanka, Buddhism plays no role whatsoever in the everyday life of modern Chinese people - there seems to be no connection at all between the serenity and devotion of these caves with today's China.
Nevertheless, they are stunning, and I'd have kicked myself repeatedly had I missed them. They say a picture's worth a thousand words, so I'll stop writing and share a few.
 I had to go inside Cave 3 about 40 meters, duck through a narrow opening, and wander around a bit to come upon this sight -- really took my breath away.
 Caves 5 and 6 are by far the most impressive inside -- photos don't really demonstrate how awe-inspiring these interiors are, in both size and artistry.
This one really looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie -- can't go inside but  some of the carvings just behind these stone pillars are the most colourful and elaborate examples.
 This is either the best preserved stone carving on site - or the most completely renovated. The larger figure on the left is around 15 meters high!
I took probably 60 photos while I was here -- really blown away. If you want to see more, let me know.
On the way to Pingyao next, which is supposed to be a completely extant medieval Han Chinese city - 8 hours away by train. Overnight in Taiyuan on the way. Hope to have some good pics - and even better stories in a couple days. | 
