There is a big hill right out of our hotel room, and sitting on top of that hill is a really big Buddha. It has been my intention to climb up that mountain and visit this site, and I got up early this morning to make the attempt before it got to hot and humid outside.
It does require a little bit of effort to make it up that hill even though at first it does not seem like it would be that difficult, but things started to get steep within the first kilometer.
As soon as we made it out of the housing district and left behind all forms of civilization, the road got even more steep and started to fall apart. The recent rains had turned the path into a slippery mud which made the trek even more dangerous.
We made it about a mile away from the Buddha before things got a little too difficult and we had to turn around and head back down the hill. If we had plugged on, could we have made it to the top? Yes, it was difficult, but it was not impossible. What would have been the consequences if we had done that? Well, one of us has issues with their ankle and having to hike up the hill using mainly our toes due to the steepness was not doing them any good. If we had continued, there was a good possibility that it was have strained the ankles and caused one of us to spend the rest of our vacation on a couch with our foot up in the air. So is there any shame that we turned back, and chalked it up to one of our failed attempts? Not at all. We learned a lot from the experience, and were still able to see some pretty spectacular views from the height that we had made it to. Too often, people push themselves into something that they should not, and it causes them harm, preventing them from enjoying other experiences in life. There are some that even push so hard that it causes injury and death to those around them. Sometimes it is just better to recognize our limitations and live within them.
It does not mean that you can’t go back again on another day to make the attempt again. This is probably what I will end up doing tomorrow. I really want to see the Buddha on top of that hill, and I know I can make it. But I want to make sure that I am not putting anybody else at risk or leaving them some place where they would be uncomfortable until my return.
So tomorrow, I will get up to try attempt number two, and hopefully I can bring you some amazing picture from the view from the top. Please tune into tomorrow to see if my attempt this time around is successful.
John Collings 