While in China near the city of Chengdu, my co-workers wanted to show me a Chinese cultural site and planed for this crazy hike up a mountain to see the Giant Buddha of Leshan. I opted out as I was crazy jet-lagged and was not geared for a mountain hike on this trip. The alternate plane was to visit the Taoist temple of Mount Qingcheng, which is one of the the most important sites of Taoism/Daoism in China and is the historical center of the Taoist religion. I like temples, so I said “sure”

I wore jeans, a button-up shirt, a sweater and wingtips. Instead of climbing one mountain, I got to climb two, in the rain, wander through a cave and hike 10+km (~7 miles) in those awesome wingtips. I think that “I don’t want to hike up a mountain” was somehow lost in translation. They meant well. The temple complex was very cool and the food at the top of the mountain was yummy, but super pricey – as they have zero competition.