Don't Get Used to It!

"Don't get used to it - we've got to keep moving," was one of the catch-phrases of our recent road trip through western Sichuan, uttered by someone whenever we stopped to admire a view or play in the snow. It's a line from the film Bolt, in case you were wondering. Other lines from that film or from Wall-E provided a narrative for our trip. "Nothing real is real" was one of Sam's favourites, a little mangled from the original line, but highly appropriate for the Buddhist sentiments of the area; "that's one stuck melon" was another, apropos of nothing.

"Hey, I didn't know we had a pool" was top of my list, not just because we ended the trip soaking in the hot springs at Hailougou Glacier Park, but because we had escaped from the cloud-bound city, and our eyes were open the entire time to the astonishing beauty of the plateau.