Vertigo
Rice terraces in artistic swirls cover the mountains of Longji, one of China’s many unique landscapes. Local tribes began planting rice here 400 years ago. They fashioned irrigation pipes using hollowed bamboo trunks. The people keep fit walking up and down the mountain, often carrying heavy loads.
One of those heave loads turned out to be me. When we arrived here, we had the option of walking up the mountain or riding in a sedan chair. Young men stood next to their sedan chairs waiting hopefully. I knew they wanted to earn some money and so I agreed to be carried up the mountain like a Chinese Empress of old.
It was so embarrassing. The two men hoisted my 140 lb. body…actually heavier since I had my camera with me…and began to climb the twisting path in a distance eating trot. I tried to sit still so as not to knock them off balance. We passed other sedan chairs occupied mainly by oldish Chinese women and men. They seemed quite satisfied to be trundled along, but I was in mental agony. I couldn’t wait for the men to reach the top so I could pay them and be finished with the ordeal. It was shameful for me to seem helpless. And no one else in my group took a sedan chair. I was the only sissy.
I watched the muscular legs of the man in front flash back and forth. I could see the sweat begin to dampen his jacket and I could hear his breathing become harsher as the incline increased. Half way up they took a breather. I sat in my chair like a baby in a high chair and waited for them to recover. The next stretch would be the steepest.
We arrived way ahead of the others who walked to the hotel. I could see them on the path far below when I dismounted. I paid my teamsters generously due to my feelings of guilt. They left happily.
When the time came to depart from Longji, my Chinese men were waiting for me in front of the hotel. They carried their sedan chair., eager smiles on their faces. I declined this time…but should I have?