From Jiuzhaigou to Chengdu by coach

Flying into Jiuzhaigou and leaving by bus is not so good an idea as it increases the chances of getting altitude sickness. This was what happened to me when I arrived at Jiuzhaigou because I did not get to acclimatise to the sudden change in altitude gradually. It would have been better to have taken a coach up to Jiuzhaigou and leaving by air instead of the other way round. Fortunately I was not too badly affected after the first day.

The coach journey was something I did not want to think about while I was on the bus as the best way not to scare yourself unnecesarily is to just put your trust in God and believe that when the driver errs in his judgement, God will put things right. As the bus driver swung around the corners of the winding roads and descended the mountain at speeds we did various things to distract ourselves from imminent disaster. Sleeping, reading, listening to music, chatting. Me? I just pointed my camera at the passing scenery and concentrated on getting good shots. That of course was just make-believe for what miracles could happen with just an autofocus digital camera. Still, it was a good record of the journey as we drove through interesting scenery especially encountering snow shortly after we left Jiuzhaigou which was totally something we did not expect.