badger on the run: 72,000 Steps in Two Days on Putuoshan

For spring break, we headed to Putuoshan via Shanghai. We had some business to do in Shanghai and took a bus on Saturday morning to Shenjiamen in hopes of getting to the Putuoshan island Saturday evening. We were pretty disgruntled when we got to the bus station, and they told us the only hotel available was $130. I was like, nope. I was sure we were being scammed, but they were like, it's Saturday, blah, blah. We weren't alone, however. A Chinese couple that was on our same bus from Shanghai was in the same sad, sinking boat. We all finally agreed that we would stay at the shady hotel next door and depart for the island in the morning with a pre-booked hotel.

When I was researching Putuoshan, I had all of these visions of peaceful island living. Putuoshan is a holy Buddhist mountain that has been a site of pilgrimages for over 1000 years. We have always had enjoyable times on islands in other counties, and this seemed like the perfect getaway while maintaining our hopes of seeing more of China. Well, let's just say when we got to the ferry in the morning, I knew things were not going to be what I had envisioned. Landing on the island, we were met with tour groups, matching hats, waving flags, and those personal microphones that allowed tour guides to be even louder.

The island I had envisioned quickly warped into more of like a Buddhist Disneyland. We paid around $20/person just to get on the island because it is a national park (students/student imposters get a 50% discount!). Everything was quite pricey on the island. Water, snacks, and food were all at least 30% mark up from the mainland. There were lines everywhere. So many people. We tried to communicate this to our Chinese friends, but they were not bothered by the amount of people. I guess in China, there's always people everywhere.

The beginning of Tour Guide Young

Traveling with Chinese friends did save a lot. Our "hotel" was about $20/night. There was some concern because we were foreigners, and this wasn't quite a registered hotel. Some smooth talking by Young, and we were solid. Young became sort of like our tour guide of the island. He was very particular about the map and making sure we were on the map at all times. It's not exactly how we are used to traveling, but it was kind of nice at times. One of the best parts about this Buddhist island was that it was vegetarian! No pork anywhere, so we could eat safely and not fear any pig bits sneaking into our veg dishes. We consumed more tofu in two days than we have our entire lives, and it wasn't terrible.

The first day, tour guide Young led us around the island, and we covered approximately 32,400 steps according to my Fitbit. The second day with a run in the morning, we covered around 39,900 steps. Let's say that we were exhausted by the time we got off that island!