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After breakfast we took a small hike up to one of the peaks in Yangshuo. The rain made one of the higher hikes too dangerous to take, but the short walk up to the pagoda was easy. From that perch we got a panoramic view of Yangshuo. There are about 350,000 people living here and it's growing due to all the touring foreigners. Hey, that's us.
We met a business man from an outside province, a very friendly guy. He wanted to practice his English, so on the way up we helped him learn how to say "No." At first he was saying: "Lo."
"It's not 'Lo' it's Nnnnno."
"Llllloooo"
"No, say 'Nnnnoooo'."
We got him to touch his nose to feel the vibration and we drew him a picture of the nasal passage to explain how the air needs to flow through the back of the throat and up the nose. The sound doesn't come from the back of the teeth like an "L" but from the back of the throat.
By the time we reached the top he was saying "No" very well.
He found an osmanthus (guihua) tea flower and showed it to us. The fragrance is like a spring day.
"Do you know where it came from?"
"No." He said correctly.
So we told him.
We parted after exchanging phone numbers. He was very happy to spend his first day in Yangshuo with us foreigners, learning how to say "No" in English but he wanted to learn more.
We had some pizza and beer at Malcolm's restaurant. The pizza wasn't as good as a New York pizza, but it was respectable for the middle of China.
Yangshuo is the home of a Chinese calligrapher and bicyclist. The noteworthy thing about this man is that he has lost his right arm and left leg in a car accident back in the 80s. At first despondent, he felt useless. There were no facilities in China for the physically challenged. Life was very hard for him. Before the accident he loved to cycle, so after getting a prothesis he decided to cycle throughout China. After some practice he learned to write beautifully in Chinese calligraphic script using just the stump of his right arm. Soon he was famous, not for his handicap but for his beautiful writing and his long cycling journeys throughout China. He now lives in Yangshuo with his family. We saw him painting fans while we were in the silk shop just across the street.
The silk shop has a wooden tub of silkworms in their cocoons. The cocoons soak in water until the silk shop lady removes them from their cozy homes. Next, she stretches the silk pad over a two foot bamboo arch to dry. The worms are left in the tub and are later eaten. I watched her work while Tim bought a beautiful red and blue checked tie with matching cufflinks.
Earlier in the day he found a very interesting purple sand teapot. After firing, the purple clay becomes almost indestructible. They come in all shapes and designs. Tim found a mushroom pot that looks like something out of Alice and Wonderland. I also saw a t-shirt drawing of a galloping zebra that was going so fast it lost it's stripes.
We leave Yangshuo tomorrow and head for Pingan. Yangshuo is magical for it's karst peaks pushing up through the flat land, but I'm looking forward to a more peaceful place.
...dave
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. - Martin Buber
After breakfast we took a small hike up to one of the peaks in Yangshuo. The rain made one of the higher hikes too dangerous to take, but the short walk up to the pagoda was easy. From that perch we got a panoramic view of Yangshuo. There are about 350,000 people living here and it's growing due to all the touring foreigners. Hey, that's us.We met a business man from an outside province, a very friendly guy. He wanted to practice his English, so on the way up we helped him learn how to say "No." At first he was saying: "Lo."
"It's not 'Lo' it's Nnnnno."
"Llllloooo"
"No, say 'Nnnnoooo'."
We got him to touch his nose to feel the vibration and we drew him a picture of the nasal passage to explain how the air needs to flow through the back of the throat and up the nose. The sound doesn't come from the back of the teeth like an "L" but from the back of the throat.
By the time we reached the top he was saying "No" very well.He found an osmanthus (guihua) tea flower and showed it to us. The fragrance is like a spring day.
"Do you know where it came from?"
"No." He said correctly.
So we told him.
We parted after exchanging phone numbers. He was very happy to spend his first day in Yangshuo with us foreigners, learning how to say "No" in English but he wanted to learn more.We had some pizza and beer at Malcolm's restaurant. The pizza wasn't as good as a New York pizza, but it was respectable for the middle of China.
Yangshuo is the home of a Chinese calligrapher and bicyclist. The noteworthy thing about this man is that he has lost his right arm and left leg in a car accident back in the 80s. At first despondent, he felt useless. There were no facilities in China for the physically challenged. Life was very hard for him. Before the accident he loved to cycle, so after getting a prothesis he decided to cycle throughout China. After some practice he learned to write beautifully in Chinese calligraphic script using just the stump of his right arm. Soon he was famous, not for his handicap but for his beautiful writing and his long cycling journeys throughout China. He now lives in Yangshuo with his family. We saw him painting fans while we were in the silk shop just across the street.
The silk shop has a wooden tub of silkworms in their cocoons. The cocoons soak in water until the silk shop lady removes them from their cozy homes. Next, she stretches the silk pad over a two foot bamboo arch to dry. The worms are left in the tub and are later eaten. I watched her work while Tim bought a beautiful red and blue checked tie with matching cufflinks.
Earlier in the day he found a very interesting purple sand teapot. After firing, the purple clay becomes almost indestructible. They come in all shapes and designs. Tim found a mushroom pot that looks like something out of Alice and Wonderland. I also saw a t-shirt drawing of a galloping zebra that was going so fast it lost it's stripes. We leave Yangshuo tomorrow and head for Pingan. Yangshuo is magical for it's karst peaks pushing up through the flat land, but I'm looking forward to a more peaceful place.
...dave
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. - Martin Buber
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Sanbu in Chinese means to "go for a walk." We decided today would be a great day to just walk around, snap some pictures (paizhao) and chat with folks in Yangshuo. It's been a busy week and a half in China. It seems like we've done so much.
Tim and Maite had their own plans today, and the arrangement was to split up. They do their thing and we do ours. We are not tired of each other or anything...and we want to keep it that way. So we decided that Sunday would be the day we'd do stuff separately. Even if we saw each other (which is hard not to do when you're staying in the same hotel) we would NOT to communicate.
I will confess that I saw them in the restaurant downstairs and I forgot and said: "Hi." I hope THAT was okay. And they did invite me to look at their pictures, and so I sat down. I actually sat down next to Tim while viewing their images. And I feel so badly about it. Ruth saw me confabulating with them and gave me a vexed look. But I soon mended my ways and left their table. I didn't even shake their hand or hug them goodbye.
And so we went sanbu-ing. Here we are sanbu-ing among the doushou (itinerant vendors, peddlers). We found a group of Chinese students that wanted us to be in their picture. We'd never met them before but they insisted that we pose with them. They wanted a big nose guy in the frame I think. So we posed with the Yangshuo mountains as our backdrop.
We hung around not really doing much, which was a welcome relief. We ate on the second floor of Cloud Nine on Xijie street. We had a wonderful eggplant dipped in egg batter and slightly fried. We also had minced meet with green beans and mapodoufu. (Toufu with minced meet.)
Tim ate at the Treasure Island Fish Pot. The restaurant provides a chicken broth and a hot plate on each table. You dump your vegies and meat into the boiling cauldron. He says it was good but of course he didn't invite us, because he wasn't allowed to. If Ruth caught us together we'd be sent to our room. She doesn't think we ought to spend too much time together. Both Ruth and Maite try to keep our association to a minimum.
And that's all I can really say about that.
...dave
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
Sanbu in Chinese means to "go for a walk." We decided today would be a great day to just walk around, snap some pictures (paizhao) and chat with folks in Yangshuo. It's been a busy week and a half in China. It seems like we've done so much.
Tim and Maite had their own plans today, and the arrangement was to split up. They do their thing and we do ours. We are not tired of each other or anything...and we want to keep it that way. So we decided that Sunday would be the day we'd do stuff separately. Even if we saw each other (which is hard not to do when you're staying in the same hotel) we would NOT to communicate.I will confess that I saw them in the restaurant downstairs and I forgot and said: "Hi." I hope THAT was okay. And they did invite me to look at their pictures, and so I sat down. I actually sat down next to Tim while viewing their images. And I feel so badly about it. Ruth saw me confabulating with them and gave me a vexed look. But I soon mended my ways and left their table. I didn't even shake their hand or hug them goodbye.
And so we went sanbu-ing. Here we are sanbu-ing among the doushou (itinerant vendors, peddlers). We found a group of Chinese students that wanted us to be in their picture. We'd never met them before but they insisted that we pose with them. They wanted a big nose guy in the frame I think. So we posed with the Yangshuo mountains as our backdrop.We hung around not really doing much, which was a welcome relief. We ate on the second floor of Cloud Nine on Xijie street. We had a wonderful eggplant dipped in egg batter and slightly fried. We also had minced meet with green beans and mapodoufu. (Toufu with minced meet.)
Tim ate at the Treasure Island Fish Pot. The restaurant provides a chicken broth and a hot plate on each table. You dump your vegies and meat into the boiling cauldron. He says it was good but of course he didn't invite us, because he wasn't allowed to. If Ruth caught us together we'd be sent to our room. She doesn't think we ought to spend too much time together. Both Ruth and Maite try to keep our association to a minimum. And that's all I can really say about that.
...dave
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
Home Previous Next
It's 5:50 a.m. Saturday the 12th. I'm writing about yesterday.
The birds are waking up and they have decided to sing to me. I hear the steady waterfall outside in the distance. The sun is trying to push through our light-tight curtains but it's only having limited success. I can't open them yet as Ruth is still sleeping. I think I'll go out and journal from the balcony.
I have just made a cup of fresh Starbucks Italian Roast coffee using the water boiler in the room and my light plastic thermal plunger cup. I can get two excellent cups (or one big mug) of coffee from it. There is nothing better then journaling while drinking Starbucks Italian roast on a Yangshuo hotel room balcony.
It rained yesterday afternoon. The weather has been very good up to now. It's been 70 and overcast, which is perfect for vivid pictures. We rented a small van that seats about eight people including the driver and drove through some of the old towns. Tim and Maite loved the views and short walks. Sometimes we'd have the driver drop us off for a short walk and picture op. Then we'd meet him again up the road and we'd hop in for another short distance. At one point in the bumpy dirt road we had to stop to allow farmers to load their fresh picked oranges into their tiny truck. 
Their daughters stood along the road in their luminous pink jackets that contrasted in complementary color against the rich green backdrop of rice fields. I squeezed off a frame through the van window before they had a chance to see me. The colors you see are untouched. The overcast provides the even lighting, perfect for saturated colors.
At one old town we just walked along the cobblestone courtyards and peeked into some of the living quarters. It's so strange to see TVs and radios in dark, dank rooms with hardly a stick of furniture. We heard music up the way and rounded the corner to see an old man by the doorway sewing. He had to use the doorway as it was too dark inside. He had no electric light on in the house. There were no windows. He was sitting on the floor sewing by hand. Perched on an old wooden cabinet was a new CD player echoing Chinese tunes through his 500 year old stone hovel.
There were old men outside the town and one followed us into the courtyard to show us his hand carved tobacco pipes. He lit one up to demonstrate. We admired his beautiful work and the exquisite detail. The mouthpiece and tobacco reservoir were made of brass and buffed a golden hue. These pieces of the pipe accented the wheat color of the polished wooden shaft. Each pipe was uniquely crafted. He tried to sell us one but we told him we didn't smoke, that it was bad for the body. (Bu chou, bu hao shenti.)
The restaurants that you find out in these old villages don't look like anything you'd see in the States. In fact, you can't really tell it's a restaurant. You just have to know where it is. And we don't order from menus but instead tour the kitchen to select what is fresh. We found pumpkin squash, eggplant, bokchoy, tomato, eggs, and fresh fish (still swimming in the tank). 
So that's what we ordered. Every bite discharged a rainbow of flavor. The deep yellow eggs and ruby red tomatoes tasted as a fresh as a new day in springtime, the chocolate brown color fish with garlic and onion was almost boneless, the squash was piping hot and had a buttery cheese smoothness. It all disappeared in my mouth before I had a chance to register the tastes. I reached for more. The local beer, Liquan, came in 500 milliliter bottles and was delivered with four small 10 milliliter glasses. It was cold and it's fragrance was like fresh hay in the sunshine.
The tab, including the two beers, was 156 yuan ($20 for 7 of us, or just $3 per person).
Out in the middle of the fields we found a kindergarten, playground, and brightly painted wall. Later we watched some children come home from school each carrying their colorful umbrellas. They had to cross a makeshift bridge of planks and 500 gallon drums, all lashed together with bailing wire and twine. The Dragon Bridge we saw last time is crumbling and needs repair. Dragon Bridge provides a panoramic view of the unique Li river mountains.
We got back in time to have fresh coffee and cakes and watch the pouring rain outside wash the streets.
We had pizza for dinner.
Hmmm...seems like all we do is walk and eat. Yeah, that is all we do.
We had some great discussions together with all our friends too.
...dave
I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine. - Caskie Stinnett
It's 5:50 a.m. Saturday the 12th. I'm writing about yesterday. The birds are waking up and they have decided to sing to me. I hear the steady waterfall outside in the distance. The sun is trying to push through our light-tight curtains but it's only having limited success. I can't open them yet as Ruth is still sleeping. I think I'll go out and journal from the balcony.
I have just made a cup of fresh Starbucks Italian Roast coffee using the water boiler in the room and my light plastic thermal plunger cup. I can get two excellent cups (or one big mug) of coffee from it. There is nothing better then journaling while drinking Starbucks Italian roast on a Yangshuo hotel room balcony.
It rained yesterday afternoon. The weather has been very good up to now. It's been 70 and overcast, which is perfect for vivid pictures. We rented a small van that seats about eight people including the driver and drove through some of the old towns. Tim and Maite loved the views and short walks. Sometimes we'd have the driver drop us off for a short walk and picture op. Then we'd meet him again up the road and we'd hop in for another short distance. At one point in the bumpy dirt road we had to stop to allow farmers to load their fresh picked oranges into their tiny truck. 
Their daughters stood along the road in their luminous pink jackets that contrasted in complementary color against the rich green backdrop of rice fields. I squeezed off a frame through the van window before they had a chance to see me. The colors you see are untouched. The overcast provides the even lighting, perfect for saturated colors.
At one old town we just walked along the cobblestone courtyards and peeked into some of the living quarters. It's so strange to see TVs and radios in dark, dank rooms with hardly a stick of furniture. We heard music up the way and rounded the corner to see an old man by the doorway sewing. He had to use the doorway as it was too dark inside. He had no electric light on in the house. There were no windows. He was sitting on the floor sewing by hand. Perched on an old wooden cabinet was a new CD player echoing Chinese tunes through his 500 year old stone hovel.
There were old men outside the town and one followed us into the courtyard to show us his hand carved tobacco pipes. He lit one up to demonstrate. We admired his beautiful work and the exquisite detail. The mouthpiece and tobacco reservoir were made of brass and buffed a golden hue. These pieces of the pipe accented the wheat color of the polished wooden shaft. Each pipe was uniquely crafted. He tried to sell us one but we told him we didn't smoke, that it was bad for the body. (Bu chou, bu hao shenti.)
The restaurants that you find out in these old villages don't look like anything you'd see in the States. In fact, you can't really tell it's a restaurant. You just have to know where it is. And we don't order from menus but instead tour the kitchen to select what is fresh. We found pumpkin squash, eggplant, bokchoy, tomato, eggs, and fresh fish (still swimming in the tank). 
So that's what we ordered. Every bite discharged a rainbow of flavor. The deep yellow eggs and ruby red tomatoes tasted as a fresh as a new day in springtime, the chocolate brown color fish with garlic and onion was almost boneless, the squash was piping hot and had a buttery cheese smoothness. It all disappeared in my mouth before I had a chance to register the tastes. I reached for more. The local beer, Liquan, came in 500 milliliter bottles and was delivered with four small 10 milliliter glasses. It was cold and it's fragrance was like fresh hay in the sunshine. The tab, including the two beers, was 156 yuan ($20 for 7 of us, or just $3 per person).
Out in the middle of the fields we found a kindergarten, playground, and brightly painted wall. Later we watched some children come home from school each carrying their colorful umbrellas. They had to cross a makeshift bridge of planks and 500 gallon drums, all lashed together with bailing wire and twine. The Dragon Bridge we saw last time is crumbling and needs repair. Dragon Bridge provides a panoramic view of the unique Li river mountains.We got back in time to have fresh coffee and cakes and watch the pouring rain outside wash the streets.
We had pizza for dinner.
Hmmm...seems like all we do is walk and eat. Yeah, that is all we do.
We had some great discussions together with all our friends too.
...dave
I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine. - Caskie Stinnett
Home Previous Next
8:00am: We had breakfast on the 3rd floor of the SSAW hotel before heading to the airport and on to Yangshuo. The breakfast at the hotel is an all you can eat affair for just 38 yuan ($6.50). I always order eggs over medium, toast, red bean dumplings, and coffee.
A friend we met in Hangzhou decided that we were too inexperienced to go on our own to Yanhshuo so decided to cancel plans for the weekend and come with us. At least that was the reason she gave us. And I agreed, we should not be left alone in China. So get this, she cancels her plane ride back home, books the same flight as we had to Guilin/Yangshuo on the way to the airport. It's only when we get in the plane we realize that she has been assigned the seat right next to me. That's really weird.
12:00pm: Since there were five of us we decided to try to get a mini-bus direct to Yangshuo. On our last visit here two years ago, we took two buses and a taxi to our hotel. This time we haggled and bargained and finally got two taxis for just 400 yuan total (about $56) for an hour and a half ride to our destination. That's a deal. That's about $11.20 each. We verified with the drivers that it was 400 total and she gestured pointing to her heart to trust her.
About 20 minutes out of the airport she is honking waving madly at a bus to pull over. She swerved in front of him and stopped. He had to stop. She pulled our bags from the trunk and started loading them into the bus. She kept saying that it was too much money for us to pay to go to Yangshuo by taxi. We should take the bus, much cheaper. Besides, she said, she drives too slow. Well if she'd stay off the phone! We noticed that each time it rang and she answered it, she'd slow to a crawl. It's just like the drivers in America. I yell at them: "It's a car, not a phone booth!"
Tim and I were in the other taxi and we didn't know what was going on. But when we got on the bus our friend explained to us that she thought that the two woman drivers realized that they wouldn't be able to get a fare going back from the hotel to Guilin and that we made too good of a deal with them. But our troubles were not over. The bus lady was coming down the isle.
She wanted us to pay full fare. We explained that we had already paid the taxi for our ride to this point, but she wouldn't have it. She marched up and down the isle fusing and fuming, screaming and shaking. Before we got on the bus our taxi driver had negotiated 10 yuan, but now that we were on the bus and in the middle of nowhere the bus lady wanted 14 yuan each. It's only a difference of 50 cents, she was not seeing it our way. She threatened to throw us off the bus. Then I kind of got to thinking, it's her bus and her country. It would be challenging if I had to find a ride here next to this paddy field and water buffalo. I was starting to see it her way.
In the end we forked over the extra 4 yuan each. I was glad for peace. She returned to the front of the bus, steam rising from her horns.
3:30pm: I'm sitting on the balcony of Riverside Hotel sipping some beer and munching on some beef jerky we still have left over from our travel snacks. Our balcony is on the third floor and looks just above the street trees at the Yangshuo mountains.
It's nice to have made it out of the city and into rural Yangshuo. Although Hangzhou was clean and beautiful, it is still a city. Yangshou is rural, but we still have access to some of the comforts of home. It's one of our favorite places to visit.
6:00pm: We ordered brandied chicken, garlic broccoli, and eggplant and took it up to the open air 4th floor of Malcolm's restaurant. The top floor overlooks Xilu (West Road) where all the booths are. They call it West Road because this is the place all the westerners go and buy stuff. Our friend said if the price is 100 yuan then 25 yuan is about right. You need to keep that in mind when you shop. It's a beautiful view from the top. It's somewhat noisy down below, especially as it gets closer to the drinking hour. Lots of hikers and backpackers come to Yangshuo and they can get a bit rowdy.
8:00pm: Wine tasting. We met a guy who sells South African wine to the local restaurants and businessmen. He offered to give us a taste. He also has a top open air floor where the breezes come through. So we enjoyed a good Cabernet by candlelight. He loves Elvis Prestly so we gave a listen to one of his CDs. What a great capper for the night.
9:30pm: We walked out and said goodbye to our new friend. We met another group visiting from England staying at our same hotel. They were downstairs eating banana pancakes. Banana pancakes sounded so good so I had one with Columbian coffee.
I think I'm tired.
...dave
“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu
8:00am: We had breakfast on the 3rd floor of the SSAW hotel before heading to the airport and on to Yangshuo. The breakfast at the hotel is an all you can eat affair for just 38 yuan ($6.50). I always order eggs over medium, toast, red bean dumplings, and coffee.
A friend we met in Hangzhou decided that we were too inexperienced to go on our own to Yanhshuo so decided to cancel plans for the weekend and come with us. At least that was the reason she gave us. And I agreed, we should not be left alone in China. So get this, she cancels her plane ride back home, books the same flight as we had to Guilin/Yangshuo on the way to the airport. It's only when we get in the plane we realize that she has been assigned the seat right next to me. That's really weird.12:00pm: Since there were five of us we decided to try to get a mini-bus direct to Yangshuo. On our last visit here two years ago, we took two buses and a taxi to our hotel. This time we haggled and bargained and finally got two taxis for just 400 yuan total (about $56) for an hour and a half ride to our destination. That's a deal. That's about $11.20 each. We verified with the drivers that it was 400 total and she gestured pointing to her heart to trust her.
About 20 minutes out of the airport she is honking waving madly at a bus to pull over. She swerved in front of him and stopped. He had to stop. She pulled our bags from the trunk and started loading them into the bus. She kept saying that it was too much money for us to pay to go to Yangshuo by taxi. We should take the bus, much cheaper. Besides, she said, she drives too slow. Well if she'd stay off the phone! We noticed that each time it rang and she answered it, she'd slow to a crawl. It's just like the drivers in America. I yell at them: "It's a car, not a phone booth!"Tim and I were in the other taxi and we didn't know what was going on. But when we got on the bus our friend explained to us that she thought that the two woman drivers realized that they wouldn't be able to get a fare going back from the hotel to Guilin and that we made too good of a deal with them. But our troubles were not over. The bus lady was coming down the isle.
She wanted us to pay full fare. We explained that we had already paid the taxi for our ride to this point, but she wouldn't have it. She marched up and down the isle fusing and fuming, screaming and shaking. Before we got on the bus our taxi driver had negotiated 10 yuan, but now that we were on the bus and in the middle of nowhere the bus lady wanted 14 yuan each. It's only a difference of 50 cents, she was not seeing it our way. She threatened to throw us off the bus. Then I kind of got to thinking, it's her bus and her country. It would be challenging if I had to find a ride here next to this paddy field and water buffalo. I was starting to see it her way.In the end we forked over the extra 4 yuan each. I was glad for peace. She returned to the front of the bus, steam rising from her horns.
3:30pm: I'm sitting on the balcony of Riverside Hotel sipping some beer and munching on some beef jerky we still have left over from our travel snacks. Our balcony is on the third floor and looks just above the street trees at the Yangshuo mountains.
It's nice to have made it out of the city and into rural Yangshuo. Although Hangzhou was clean and beautiful, it is still a city. Yangshou is rural, but we still have access to some of the comforts of home. It's one of our favorite places to visit.
6:00pm: We ordered brandied chicken, garlic broccoli, and eggplant and took it up to the open air 4th floor of Malcolm's restaurant. The top floor overlooks Xilu (West Road) where all the booths are. They call it West Road because this is the place all the westerners go and buy stuff. Our friend said if the price is 100 yuan then 25 yuan is about right. You need to keep that in mind when you shop. It's a beautiful view from the top. It's somewhat noisy down below, especially as it gets closer to the drinking hour. Lots of hikers and backpackers come to Yangshuo and they can get a bit rowdy. 8:00pm: Wine tasting. We met a guy who sells South African wine to the local restaurants and businessmen. He offered to give us a taste. He also has a top open air floor where the breezes come through. So we enjoyed a good Cabernet by candlelight. He loves Elvis Prestly so we gave a listen to one of his CDs. What a great capper for the night.
9:30pm: We walked out and said goodbye to our new friend. We met another group visiting from England staying at our same hotel. They were downstairs eating banana pancakes. Banana pancakes sounded so good so I had one with Columbian coffee.
I think I'm tired.
...dave
“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” - Lao Tzu
Pick at day, any day:
April 5 Blastoff (from Atlanta)
April 6 - The Bund (Shanghai)
April 7 - The Suit (Shanghai)
April 8 - Paradise in Hangzhou
April 9 - The Bus (Hangzhou)
April 10 - Beer on the Balcony (Yangshuo)
April 11 - 1000 year old towns (Yangshuo)
April 12 - The Jazz Balcony (Xingping)
April 13 - Sanbu in Yangshuo
April 14 - Pagoda Hike (Yahgshuo)
April 15 - Room Atop 1000 Steps (Ping'an)
April 16 - Ensconsed (in Longji)
April 17 - To Kunming
April 18 - Kunming
April 19 - Blogging in Kunming
April 20 - Lijiang
April 21 - Snow Mountain & Yak Meadow (Lijiang)
April 22 - Inns & Outs (Lijiang)
April 23/24 Grocery Shopping (Lijiang)
April 25 - Tiger Leaping Gorge (Lijiang)
April 25 - Tim & Maite (a bonus post)
April 26 - Baisha and Naxi Customs (Lijiang)
April 27 - China by Horseback (Lijiang)
April 28 - Back to...Shanghai...again
April 29 - Shanghai Shopping
April 30 - Reunion
May 1 - The Last Day
May 2 - Home - Summary of China 2008
Slide Show
April 5 Blastoff (from Atlanta)
April 6 - The Bund (Shanghai)
April 7 - The Suit (Shanghai)
April 8 - Paradise in Hangzhou
April 9 - The Bus (Hangzhou)
April 10 - Beer on the Balcony (Yangshuo)
April 11 - 1000 year old towns (Yangshuo)
April 12 - The Jazz Balcony (Xingping)
April 13 - Sanbu in Yangshuo
April 14 - Pagoda Hike (Yahgshuo)
April 15 - Room Atop 1000 Steps (Ping'an)
April 16 - Ensconsed (in Longji)
April 17 - To Kunming
April 18 - Kunming
April 19 - Blogging in Kunming
April 20 - Lijiang
April 21 - Snow Mountain & Yak Meadow (Lijiang)
April 22 - Inns & Outs (Lijiang)
April 23/24 Grocery Shopping (Lijiang)
April 25 - Tiger Leaping Gorge (Lijiang)
April 25 - Tim & Maite (a bonus post)
April 26 - Baisha and Naxi Customs (Lijiang)
April 27 - China by Horseback (Lijiang)
April 28 - Back to...Shanghai...again
April 29 - Shanghai Shopping
April 30 - Reunion
May 1 - The Last Day
May 2 - Home - Summary of China 2008
Slide Show
Labels: baisha, china2008, kunming, lijiang, longji, pingan, yangshuo
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Hanging out is cool.
We spent today just exploring Yangshuo town. We tried out another restaurant in town that served huge plates of American breakfast food. The food is always good but the "coffee" is instant. It's horrible. Choose tea or get the 20 yuan ($4) Blue Mountain brew. Just don't expect refills.
I do love the free wifi Internet in every restaurant. It's very cool. I can upload images to the blog or www.flickr.com while having breakfast. It takes some time to get the images up on the Net so why hang in the hotel room when you can upload at the restaurant, have breakfast, and people watch from the second floor?
It's great to spend time in one area. I can really get to know the town. And there's a rhythm to Yangshuo. The vendors set up in the morning around 8:00, the tours begin around 9:00, the kids get out of school at 11:30, the tours end at 5:00, and the vendors break down their booths at 5:30. It all begins the same the next day. It's a fairly enterprising approach.
The tour boats come up the river full of, well, tourists. The boats dump them off upstream and the people cascade into town, passing through the narrow path of vendor booths on either side. Nearly everyone of the tourists I saw carry a bag of trinkets so I guess it's profitable for the townspeople. Electric open-sided buses take the people back to their boats for a few yuan. This is the worst time to try to get a deal from the vendors. Wait until the last tour boat leaves.
There must be thousands of booths made of rusted L-channel and corrugated iron. I counted a hundred within a few minutes of walking. They were setting up this morning. Some were pushing heavy carts up the hill to their assigned booth, others tried to ride their three-wheeled bicycles weighed down with heavy goods. Some of the vendors sell onyx spheres, Chinese chops, and large wooden or stone Xiangqi (Chinese chess) games. Try pushing that up a hill! They sure are industrious.
Since Yangshuo is a backpacker's haven it can get kind of crazy at night. Every restaurant opens into the street and blasts music at you as you pass, trying to coax you in at happy hour time. Some teens are hanging out in the street wearing hiking shorts and hemp sandals batting a hacky sack between them.
Last night we found one restaurant with a second floor and enjoyed an empty, quite place all to ourselves. At least until the Birthday Party showed up with a DVD of a live rock concert. The watered down drinks of happy hour didn't help us any.
Afterward we walked down the relatively empty streets. Since it was Monday night, it was great to stroll down the street without fighting our way through hordes of people.
Oh I almost forgot to tell you, a very old person died and there has been a wake that has lasted parts of three days. It started Sunday afternoon and has run through Monday evening (tonight). I'm not sure when it will end. Someone told us they will take the body out tomorrow. There's a dead woman inside the shop. A Chinese wake is a street full of old men sitting at makeshift tables eating and singing a mournful sound.
The instruments they use are drums, cymbals, and two ear piercing reed horns. The musicians play the same tune over and over with intervals of rest of about 30 minutes to an hour. When I left them Sunday night they looked pretty good. By Monday evening they looked pretty bad for they have been playing continuously all night and all day. The hotel agent told us it's a happy time for them but they didn't look happy. They were slumped over leaning on the table when I walked by Monday morning to go to breakfast. As I passed they startled me because suddenly, as if someone wound them up using a key in their back, they popped up, played their tune, and then slumped over again. The crowd out in front of the store front swelled to 40 our so men by this evening. They are eating and drinking and singing. There is trash everywhere. It better end soon because I think it's going to kill one of the players before it's over. And I don't think I can take another one of these wakes.
So last night at the restaurant we could hear the wake next door, the Birthday Party and DVD live rock band on our same floor, and the Chinese flute player in the street. I think the Chinese really like noise, or at least don't mind it.
....dave
A day of sorrow is longer than a month of joy. -Chinese proverb
Previous Next
Hanging out is cool. We spent today just exploring Yangshuo town. We tried out another restaurant in town that served huge plates of American breakfast food. The food is always good but the "coffee" is instant. It's horrible. Choose tea or get the 20 yuan ($4) Blue Mountain brew. Just don't expect refills.
I do love the free wifi Internet in every restaurant. It's very cool. I can upload images to the blog or www.flickr.com while having breakfast. It takes some time to get the images up on the Net so why hang in the hotel room when you can upload at the restaurant, have breakfast, and people watch from the second floor?
It's great to spend time in one area. I can really get to know the town. And there's a rhythm to Yangshuo. The vendors set up in the morning around 8:00, the tours begin around 9:00, the kids get out of school at 11:30, the tours end at 5:00, and the vendors break down their booths at 5:30. It all begins the same the next day. It's a fairly enterprising approach.
The tour boats come up the river full of, well, tourists. The boats dump them off upstream and the people cascade into town, passing through the narrow path of vendor booths on either side. Nearly everyone of the tourists I saw carry a bag of trinkets so I guess it's profitable for the townspeople. Electric open-sided buses take the people back to their boats for a few yuan. This is the worst time to try to get a deal from the vendors. Wait until the last tour boat leaves. There must be thousands of booths made of rusted L-channel and corrugated iron. I counted a hundred within a few minutes of walking. They were setting up this morning. Some were pushing heavy carts up the hill to their assigned booth, others tried to ride their three-wheeled bicycles weighed down with heavy goods. Some of the vendors sell onyx spheres, Chinese chops, and large wooden or stone Xiangqi (Chinese chess) games. Try pushing that up a hill! They sure are industrious.
Since Yangshuo is a backpacker's haven it can get kind of crazy at night. Every restaurant opens into the street and blasts music at you as you pass, trying to coax you in at happy hour time. Some teens are hanging out in the street wearing hiking shorts and hemp sandals batting a hacky sack between them.Last night we found one restaurant with a second floor and enjoyed an empty, quite place all to ourselves. At least until the Birthday Party showed up with a DVD of a live rock concert. The watered down drinks of happy hour didn't help us any.
Afterward we walked down the relatively empty streets. Since it was Monday night, it was great to stroll down the street without fighting our way through hordes of people.
Oh I almost forgot to tell you, a very old person died and there has been a wake that has lasted parts of three days. It started Sunday afternoon and has run through Monday evening (tonight). I'm not sure when it will end. Someone told us they will take the body out tomorrow. There's a dead woman inside the shop. A Chinese wake is a street full of old men sitting at makeshift tables eating and singing a mournful sound. 
The instruments they use are drums, cymbals, and two ear piercing reed horns. The musicians play the same tune over and over with intervals of rest of about 30 minutes to an hour. When I left them Sunday night they looked pretty good. By Monday evening they looked pretty bad for they have been playing continuously all night and all day. The hotel agent told us it's a happy time for them but they didn't look happy. They were slumped over leaning on the table when I walked by Monday morning to go to breakfast. As I passed they startled me because suddenly, as if someone wound them up using a key in their back, they popped up, played their tune, and then slumped over again. The crowd out in front of the store front swelled to 40 our so men by this evening. They are eating and drinking and singing. There is trash everywhere. It better end soon because I think it's going to kill one of the players before it's over. And I don't think I can take another one of these wakes.
So last night at the restaurant we could hear the wake next door, the Birthday Party and DVD live rock band on our same floor, and the Chinese flute player in the street. I think the Chinese really like noise, or at least don't mind it.....dave
A day of sorrow is longer than a month of joy. -Chinese proverb
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We were able to hook up with a great tour guide who took us on a village tour in Baisha.
The first hurdle was to hire a driver. It's hard to walk up to a string of mini-vans and negotiate a good price when cameras are hanging around our necks.
The advantage of hiring your own driver is that you can have him stop anywhere you want. "Ting yi xia!" (Stop here!) We'd say it when we found a good spot. Often we stumble across people planting rice in their fields. They take a large bundle of sprouts, separate a small bunch of roots and toss them like darts at a board into the shallow water. The seedlings would land with a plop and send water ringlets out in concentric circles. It was graceful to watch them.
We found a water buffalo off to the side and a little shy boy tending to him. The buffalo wandered into the street and he pulled him back by the rope attached to it's nose. (There are no animal rights activists here in China.) We carried some candies and tried to give him one but he wouldn't take it. I guess a parent's warning about taking candy from strangers is universal.
We drove further back into the valley along the Yulong river. Right next to the river is a restaurant. Before we sat down we checked out the "kitchen" which consists of a small shack. There is no sink in the kitchen, the sink is the river. We took a seat on folding chairs gathered around a table positioned on a floating bamboo raft. The view was grand.
Crossing the river is a concrete bridge that the farmers use to move their vegetables to the market on ox back. If you just sit here long enough, something interesting crosses and makes for a good picture. The locals sell water pistons so that you stand on the bridge and spray people coming down the river on bamboo rafts.
We ate a wonderful meal of hot beef, vegetables, and pumpkin. A cold local beer went down smooth. The beer is only 3% alcohol so it's really like drinking clean, pure water. It's very good. We paid 55 yuan ($7) to feed all five of us. That covers four dishes, rice, tea, and beer. I think I've spent as much in America on a beer at a carnival! Ruth and Lynn gave the owner's children some candies and they rapidly devoured them, tossing the wrappers on the ground.
We walked through villages and narrow walkways, into homes, and into courtyards of the local people. One village is 1600 years old.
We spoke briefly with an older woman sitting out in front of her home. We asked her age (in her 70s) and then she invited us to take pictures of the inside of her home. Blue smoke shafted through the holes in her roof as she had just finished cooking. Her laundry was hanging on a bamboo pole suspended by rope from the rafters. There was no furniture but an old wood rice thresher was leaning up against the mud brick wall. A few "rooms" were connected by a doorway from the courtyard but I couldn't determine where one room ended and the courtyard began. I took a few pictures through the windows. Instead of glass, cobwebs filled the openings. The roof lines met at odd places and I couldn't imagine how anyone could keep dry when it rained in a place like this. What does she do in the winter? There was no electrical outlets but there was a single bulb hanging from above. It was very dark inside and yet this was a sunny day. The floors were made of tamped dirt warn uneven by centuries of traffic.
One old man told us his home was 300 years old. I believe him. Some houses in the village, like the old woman's, are made of mud bricks. (I took one picture of a manure cart in front of a mud home.) Out in the courtyard is a stone well, it's edges grooved by ropes.
We found a bridge 800 years old, a teen's age compared to the village of 1600 years, but still four times older than America. We rented bamboo rafts with chairs and floated under it's arches and watched the sun dip behind this unique landscape.
Near the river the Chinese are building a highway. The builders will come and level whatever is in the path. The Chinese residents will move on and find another place. Meibanfa?
We went back to a restaurant near our hotel and ate hot "Gong Bao" meat and vegetables.
It's Sunday evening and most of the tourists have left. The streets are quieter. A Chinese man plays a flue below our second story balcony.
...dave
Be not disturbed at being misunderstood; be disturbed at not understanding. -Chinese proverb
Previous Next
We were able to hook up with a great tour guide who took us on a village tour in Baisha. The first hurdle was to hire a driver. It's hard to walk up to a string of mini-vans and negotiate a good price when cameras are hanging around our necks.
The advantage of hiring your own driver is that you can have him stop anywhere you want. "Ting yi xia!" (Stop here!) We'd say it when we found a good spot. Often we stumble across people planting rice in their fields. They take a large bundle of sprouts, separate a small bunch of roots and toss them like darts at a board into the shallow water. The seedlings would land with a plop and send water ringlets out in concentric circles. It was graceful to watch them.
We found a water buffalo off to the side and a little shy boy tending to him. The buffalo wandered into the street and he pulled him back by the rope attached to it's nose. (There are no animal rights activists here in China.) We carried some candies and tried to give him one but he wouldn't take it. I guess a parent's warning about taking candy from strangers is universal.
We drove further back into the valley along the Yulong river. Right next to the river is a restaurant. Before we sat down we checked out the "kitchen" which consists of a small shack. There is no sink in the kitchen, the sink is the river. We took a seat on folding chairs gathered around a table positioned on a floating bamboo raft. The view was grand.Crossing the river is a concrete bridge that the farmers use to move their vegetables to the market on ox back. If you just sit here long enough, something interesting crosses and makes for a good picture. The locals sell water pistons so that you stand on the bridge and spray people coming down the river on bamboo rafts.
We ate a wonderful meal of hot beef, vegetables, and pumpkin. A cold local beer went down smooth. The beer is only 3% alcohol so it's really like drinking clean, pure water. It's very good. We paid 55 yuan ($7) to feed all five of us. That covers four dishes, rice, tea, and beer. I think I've spent as much in America on a beer at a carnival! Ruth and Lynn gave the owner's children some candies and they rapidly devoured them, tossing the wrappers on the ground.
We walked through villages and narrow walkways, into homes, and into courtyards of the local people. One village is 1600 years old. 
We spoke briefly with an older woman sitting out in front of her home. We asked her age (in her 70s) and then she invited us to take pictures of the inside of her home. Blue smoke shafted through the holes in her roof as she had just finished cooking. Her laundry was hanging on a bamboo pole suspended by rope from the rafters. There was no furniture but an old wood rice thresher was leaning up against the mud brick wall. A few "rooms" were connected by a doorway from the courtyard but I couldn't determine where one room ended and the courtyard began. I took a few pictures through the windows. Instead of glass, cobwebs filled the openings. The roof lines met at odd places and I couldn't imagine how anyone could keep dry when it rained in a place like this. What does she do in the winter? There was no electrical outlets but there was a single bulb hanging from above. It was very dark inside and yet this was a sunny day. The floors were made of tamped dirt warn uneven by centuries of traffic.
One old man told us his home was 300 years old. I believe him. Some houses in the village, like the old woman's, are made of mud bricks. (I took one picture of a manure cart in front of a mud home.) Out in the courtyard is a stone well, it's edges grooved by ropes.
We found a bridge 800 years old, a teen's age compared to the village of 1600 years, but still four times older than America. We rented bamboo rafts with chairs and floated under it's arches and watched the sun dip behind this unique landscape.
Near the river the Chinese are building a highway. The builders will come and level whatever is in the path. The Chinese residents will move on and find another place. Meibanfa?We went back to a restaurant near our hotel and ate hot "Gong Bao" meat and vegetables.
It's Sunday evening and most of the tourists have left. The streets are quieter. A Chinese man plays a flue below our second story balcony.
...dave
Be not disturbed at being misunderstood; be disturbed at not understanding. -Chinese proverb
Previous Next
Previous Next
I think they ought to send all Control Freaks to China. A week here would cure them.
You have to expect the unexpected. You can never be sure if you are going the right way, or getting the right advice, or hearing the true story. Everything is chaotic, at least from an outsider's standpoint. But the Chinese just take it all in stride. Control Freaks would blow a gasket. The Chinese even have an expression: "Meibanfa?" Which means "What can you do?"
For example...
We asked about taking a boat down the river Li from Xingping back down to Yangshuo. It sounded like an innocent question. You just take a bus up to Xingping and ride a boat back down. It's a shorter ride and you'll see the best of the mountains this way. Our hotel manager walked us to the bus station and got us on the right bus. We got good seats because we kept picking up people until folks were standing in the isle. The bus is really a 20 seat diesel van.
Few people spoke any English and Bill and I had just finished a Qingdao beer at lunch. I had dumped most of it. But Bill began to ask how far and how long the bus would be bouncing over all these rocks? We were told 40 minutes. Will this bus make stops along the way? Yes, sure it would. Of course the "stops" they referred to were stops to pick up more people. Like the man that ran alongside and jumped aboard. Then Bill asked the discrete question: "Xishoujin zai nar ma?" (Is there a bathroom there?) A huge wave of laughter swept through the van. Excited Chinese people began talking loudly among themselves. Some were turning their heads back toward us and pointing at Bill. He turned several shades of red. Whereas the bus was fairly quiet before (except for the loud engine), everyone was engaged in great discussion and made animated gestures toward the meiguoren that needed to stop to pee.
The bus is managed by a woman and her husband, he's the driver, she's the money agent. She yelled up toward him in rapid Chinese and soon we were stopped at a brick wall that meandered toward a small building. Bill got up and pushed himself toward the front. Gesturing toward the small building Bill asked if that was the bathroom. No, right here by the wall she gestured. More laughter. Bill rolled his eyes, no way I'm going there with a busload of people watching my back. Besides, it's on Dave's side of the bus! He has a camera. He put both hands up: meiguanxi, meiguanxi (It's okay, it's okay) and went back to his seat. By this time the entire bus was hysterically laughing. They were having a great time. When we left the van the woman in front of us said: "Thank you for giving us great entertainment." "Yeah, sure don't mention it." Bill muttered.
We arrived at Xingping town but it was nowhere near the boat. Where are the boats? We found a "taxi" that was no more than motorcycle with a seating shell on the back. For a single yuan they'll take us to the boat. So we took it.
This thing blazes through narrow streets that are only slightly wider than a motorcycle. There are people mingling through the shops that have to jump out of the way as the driver flies through full throttle honking. No one seems to mind. They just take it in stride. Meibanfa?
We arrive at long narrow boats with little folding chairs. I mean little. These are what we used in school when I was in first grade. We took a few seats in the back and waited. There were two girls sitting in front of us that were very friendly. One spoke a little English. Her and her friend were on a holiday. They reminded us of Yuki and Chisato, full of giggles and lots of energy.
We had grand views of the mountains going up the river. I was caught up in snapping pictures of the beauty and didn't realize that we were traveling up the river not down. That would mean that we'd have to take the "taxi" and the 40 minute bus ride back. I'll remind Bill to go to the bathroom before boarding.
We had a grand touring excursion. At one point the boat pilot stopped at an island to let old woman sell us trinkets. I knew what was happening as soon as he slowed toward the shore. It's a pattern. The old woman with baskets of trinkets flood the shore as the boat touches the rocks. At first you can't see them because they huddle in the shade under the few trees available.
The boat tour is supposed to be an hour an a half. But after having turned around and about an hour into the tour he made another stop. He looked over our head toward the back of the boat and gestured toward the shore. (Even if you don't speak the language, gestures are universal.) What was going on? The girls asked a few questions and discovered that the police were scouting for illegal boats. This is an illegal boat? What? Turns out that the bigger boats that passed us were the only authorized boats to take tours. They held about 100 people and had several decks to them. (I was cursing at them earlier because they kept blocking the good shots.) I later learned that the larger boats go the full length of the river and take about 4-5 hours. The smaller boats just take about an hour (sans the time to get to them by bus) and show the best of the river. But I was never told that we were stowaways.
How long is the walk back? Thirty minutes? What? Are you joking? These were the responses that came to mind. But the Chinese just obediently exited and began the trek back along the rocky shore. How much did I pay for this? I thought is was round trip ticket.
The girls tried to negotiate with him for all of us. Some decided to lay down in the boat so the prowling police wouldn't see them. They didn't want to walk. They got in, folded the chairs (now I know why they were folding chairs), and laid on top. That sounded like a good idea to me and I started toward the boat when Bill grabbed my arm and suggested that we'd be party to illegal activities. "Yeah, but it's not MY boat. He'd be the one fined or taken to jail." "Are you sure the authorities would view it that way?" Yeah, well, you may have a point there Bill. Sheesh.
So we started walking along with the girls. It was actually a great walk. We could stop anytime for pictures and the weather was a warm, comfortable 20 degrees centigrade (68 degrees fahrenheit). And it was quiet. We didn't realize just how loud that shuttering diesel boat was.
Just up the river there were all kinds of empty rafts with people offering to take us up the river by push-rod. These are bamboo rafts made with four shaded chairs. Two people at either end, usually husband and wife, will push you down the river using long bamboo poles. For just a few more yuan we wouldn't have to walk. We passed. Now I had doubts about the police. I asked the girls but she said No the police are for real. It has been a problem. Looking out at the river I could see how this is true. The river was choked with boats of every size. I was glad to be on shore.
We walked for about 15 minutes. When we rounded a bend who should we meet but our old boat pilot friend. He had gone ahead of us, the police had gone up the river, the coast was clear. All aboard!
The ride back to the hotel was less eventful, at least less entertaining because Bill had gone to the bathroom before we left. Getting into the bus was a crazy mob attempt though. We had been standing at the side of the next bus to Yangshuo. It was locked up, there was no driver. But this, in fact, was the correct bus. We waited. We were just a few people back from the side door. A bus had just left, crammed with riders. A woman screamed out at what proved to be the driver (maybe her husband?). He ran out, jumped into the driver's side, started up the bus and drove off, leaving us standing there. Well, some of us. The rest of the mob ran ahead alongside and joined another mob in an attempt to squeeze through his opening doors. Our new Chinese girl friends pushed through the crowds and saved us seats. I let someone else take mine. The long and short of it was that I was left standing.
I didn't mind standing. We drove off. I began to ignore the incessant beeping of our driver warning throngs of people to move aside. I poked my head down at the windows and watched the sun dip below the ridges. I was soon lost in the beauty of the moment. There is nothing like the landscape here anywhere in America.
I heard the lady money collector yell in quick Chinese at her driver and then out the window at an old man sitting at a stall. He jumped up, grabbed his small stool, and ran alongside the bus. When it slowed (it never stopped), she leaned out, grabbed the stool, closed the door, and handed me the 12 inch stool. I was dazed by the kindness. I couldn't refuse even though I felt as though I'd taken it from the old man myself. I said: "xiexie nin." (Thank you.)
Meibanfa?
We had B52 cocktails for dinner and afterward watched a man make 30 minute wax busts of tourists for just $6 each.
...dave
Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat. -Jean-Paul Sartre
Previous Next
I think they ought to send all Control Freaks to China. A week here would cure them. You have to expect the unexpected. You can never be sure if you are going the right way, or getting the right advice, or hearing the true story. Everything is chaotic, at least from an outsider's standpoint. But the Chinese just take it all in stride. Control Freaks would blow a gasket. The Chinese even have an expression: "Meibanfa?" Which means "What can you do?"
For example...
We asked about taking a boat down the river Li from Xingping back down to Yangshuo. It sounded like an innocent question. You just take a bus up to Xingping and ride a boat back down. It's a shorter ride and you'll see the best of the mountains this way. Our hotel manager walked us to the bus station and got us on the right bus. We got good seats because we kept picking up people until folks were standing in the isle. The bus is really a 20 seat diesel van.
Few people spoke any English and Bill and I had just finished a Qingdao beer at lunch. I had dumped most of it. But Bill began to ask how far and how long the bus would be bouncing over all these rocks? We were told 40 minutes. Will this bus make stops along the way? Yes, sure it would. Of course the "stops" they referred to were stops to pick up more people. Like the man that ran alongside and jumped aboard. Then Bill asked the discrete question: "Xishoujin zai nar ma?" (Is there a bathroom there?) A huge wave of laughter swept through the van. Excited Chinese people began talking loudly among themselves. Some were turning their heads back toward us and pointing at Bill. He turned several shades of red. Whereas the bus was fairly quiet before (except for the loud engine), everyone was engaged in great discussion and made animated gestures toward the meiguoren that needed to stop to pee.The bus is managed by a woman and her husband, he's the driver, she's the money agent. She yelled up toward him in rapid Chinese and soon we were stopped at a brick wall that meandered toward a small building. Bill got up and pushed himself toward the front. Gesturing toward the small building Bill asked if that was the bathroom. No, right here by the wall she gestured. More laughter. Bill rolled his eyes, no way I'm going there with a busload of people watching my back. Besides, it's on Dave's side of the bus! He has a camera. He put both hands up: meiguanxi, meiguanxi (It's okay, it's okay) and went back to his seat. By this time the entire bus was hysterically laughing. They were having a great time. When we left the van the woman in front of us said: "Thank you for giving us great entertainment." "Yeah, sure don't mention it." Bill muttered.
We arrived at Xingping town but it was nowhere near the boat. Where are the boats? We found a "taxi" that was no more than motorcycle with a seating shell on the back. For a single yuan they'll take us to the boat. So we took it. 
This thing blazes through narrow streets that are only slightly wider than a motorcycle. There are people mingling through the shops that have to jump out of the way as the driver flies through full throttle honking. No one seems to mind. They just take it in stride. Meibanfa?
We arrive at long narrow boats with little folding chairs. I mean little. These are what we used in school when I was in first grade. We took a few seats in the back and waited. There were two girls sitting in front of us that were very friendly. One spoke a little English. Her and her friend were on a holiday. They reminded us of Yuki and Chisato, full of giggles and lots of energy.
We had grand views of the mountains going up the river. I was caught up in snapping pictures of the beauty and didn't realize that we were traveling up the river not down. That would mean that we'd have to take the "taxi" and the 40 minute bus ride back. I'll remind Bill to go to the bathroom before boarding.We had a grand touring excursion. At one point the boat pilot stopped at an island to let old woman sell us trinkets. I knew what was happening as soon as he slowed toward the shore. It's a pattern. The old woman with baskets of trinkets flood the shore as the boat touches the rocks. At first you can't see them because they huddle in the shade under the few trees available.
The boat tour is supposed to be an hour an a half. But after having turned around and about an hour into the tour he made another stop. He looked over our head toward the back of the boat and gestured toward the shore. (Even if you don't speak the language, gestures are universal.) What was going on? The girls asked a few questions and discovered that the police were scouting for illegal boats. This is an illegal boat? What? Turns out that the bigger boats that passed us were the only authorized boats to take tours. They held about 100 people and had several decks to them. (I was cursing at them earlier because they kept blocking the good shots.) I later learned that the larger boats go the full length of the river and take about 4-5 hours. The smaller boats just take about an hour (sans the time to get to them by bus) and show the best of the river. But I was never told that we were stowaways.How long is the walk back? Thirty minutes? What? Are you joking? These were the responses that came to mind. But the Chinese just obediently exited and began the trek back along the rocky shore. How much did I pay for this? I thought is was round trip ticket.
The girls tried to negotiate with him for all of us. Some decided to lay down in the boat so the prowling police wouldn't see them. They didn't want to walk. They got in, folded the chairs (now I know why they were folding chairs), and laid on top. That sounded like a good idea to me and I started toward the boat when Bill grabbed my arm and suggested that we'd be party to illegal activities. "Yeah, but it's not MY boat. He'd be the one fined or taken to jail." "Are you sure the authorities would view it that way?" Yeah, well, you may have a point there Bill. Sheesh.So we started walking along with the girls. It was actually a great walk. We could stop anytime for pictures and the weather was a warm, comfortable 20 degrees centigrade (68 degrees fahrenheit). And it was quiet. We didn't realize just how loud that shuttering diesel boat was.
Just up the river there were all kinds of empty rafts with people offering to take us up the river by push-rod. These are bamboo rafts made with four shaded chairs. Two people at either end, usually husband and wife, will push you down the river using long bamboo poles. For just a few more yuan we wouldn't have to walk. We passed. Now I had doubts about the police. I asked the girls but she said No the police are for real. It has been a problem. Looking out at the river I could see how this is true. The river was choked with boats of every size. I was glad to be on shore.
We walked for about 15 minutes. When we rounded a bend who should we meet but our old boat pilot friend. He had gone ahead of us, the police had gone up the river, the coast was clear. All aboard!
The ride back to the hotel was less eventful, at least less entertaining because Bill had gone to the bathroom before we left. Getting into the bus was a crazy mob attempt though. We had been standing at the side of the next bus to Yangshuo. It was locked up, there was no driver. But this, in fact, was the correct bus. We waited. We were just a few people back from the side door. A bus had just left, crammed with riders. A woman screamed out at what proved to be the driver (maybe her husband?). He ran out, jumped into the driver's side, started up the bus and drove off, leaving us standing there. Well, some of us. The rest of the mob ran ahead alongside and joined another mob in an attempt to squeeze through his opening doors. Our new Chinese girl friends pushed through the crowds and saved us seats. I let someone else take mine. The long and short of it was that I was left standing. I didn't mind standing. We drove off. I began to ignore the incessant beeping of our driver warning throngs of people to move aside. I poked my head down at the windows and watched the sun dip below the ridges. I was soon lost in the beauty of the moment. There is nothing like the landscape here anywhere in America.
I heard the lady money collector yell in quick Chinese at her driver and then out the window at an old man sitting at a stall. He jumped up, grabbed his small stool, and ran alongside the bus. When it slowed (it never stopped), she leaned out, grabbed the stool, closed the door, and handed me the 12 inch stool. I was dazed by the kindness. I couldn't refuse even though I felt as though I'd taken it from the old man myself. I said: "xiexie nin." (Thank you.)Meibanfa?
We had B52 cocktails for dinner and afterward watched a man make 30 minute wax busts of tourists for just $6 each.
...dave
Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat. -Jean-Paul Sartre
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There are 1.2 billion people in China. Every one of them must have a bicycle, maybe two. I saw a lot of bikes. In Yangshuo there are many three wheeled bicycles with flatbeds on the back for carrying dirt, rocks, paneling, fruit, and friends. You name it. Some of the handlebars have a second bar wielded about six inches above the main bar. This gives the rider a second, more comfortable, upright riding position.
It cost us 20 yuan ($2.50) to rent a mountain bike for an entire day. We rode about 10 miles through the farmlands of Yangshuo. The weather was overcast, ideal for biking. We also "rented" an all day tour guide for $6. (I paid as much for my Blue Mountain coffee at breakfast!) Angie is an English major and helped us with our Chinese too. She was great. After the ride she took us to a restaurant who's specialty is beer fish. Of course, it went well with the local cold beer. Or was it the local beer that went well with the fish? I can't be certain.
Yangshuo is geared to the backpacker although we saw many other weiguoren there. The shops that stretch throughout the town are packed with all kinds of hiking gear including North Face jackets for about 180 yuan. I bought Ruth a waterproof Columbia jacket with full zip out lining for about $20. The jacket would sell for about $200 in the U.S.
We saw some cliff hangers on our ride. We all looked up at these people hanging from the virtical face. I said to Angie our tour guide: "weiguoren shi shenjingbing!" (Foreigners are crazy!) She covered her mouth in laughter either at the weiguoren or at my Chinese. But she did agree: "Dui, dui."
As we rode along the country roads little old ladies came out selling flowers, postcards, maps, and various trinkets. We stopped to take a picture and the girls bought some flowers to wear on their heads for 2 yuan (25 cents). Ruth later told me one of the old woman opened a notebook with a few quarters taped inside and a note some meiguoren (American) had written for her that said: "I'm collecting U.S. coins. Do you have any you can give me?" Clever. These ladies were just a step above begging. They all wore sad faces and wouldn't go away even after you said: "Wo buyao" (I don't need).
We met a little old lady of 83 standing outside her home. She was so friendly. Lynn talked with her a bit telling her how much we were enjoying her backyard. The lady smiled and said it was her land that makes her live so long. Maybe!
After four hours of bumpy roads I couldn't find anyplace to sit that wasn't sore. Must be the bike.
We did a short walk around town with the intention of resting in the room before going out again for dinner. I laid down at 6:00 p.m. and didn't get up until 6:00 a.m. It must be the Yangshuo air.
Ruth said she went out for dinner alone.
...dave
A bad worker quarrels with his tools. -Chinese proverb
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There are 1.2 billion people in China. Every one of them must have a bicycle, maybe two. I saw a lot of bikes. In Yangshuo there are many three wheeled bicycles with flatbeds on the back for carrying dirt, rocks, paneling, fruit, and friends. You name it. Some of the handlebars have a second bar wielded about six inches above the main bar. This gives the rider a second, more comfortable, upright riding position.
It cost us 20 yuan ($2.50) to rent a mountain bike for an entire day. We rode about 10 miles through the farmlands of Yangshuo. The weather was overcast, ideal for biking. We also "rented" an all day tour guide for $6. (I paid as much for my Blue Mountain coffee at breakfast!) Angie is an English major and helped us with our Chinese too. She was great. After the ride she took us to a restaurant who's specialty is beer fish. Of course, it went well with the local cold beer. Or was it the local beer that went well with the fish? I can't be certain.
Yangshuo is geared to the backpacker although we saw many other weiguoren there. The shops that stretch throughout the town are packed with all kinds of hiking gear including North Face jackets for about 180 yuan. I bought Ruth a waterproof Columbia jacket with full zip out lining for about $20. The jacket would sell for about $200 in the U.S.
We saw some cliff hangers on our ride. We all looked up at these people hanging from the virtical face. I said to Angie our tour guide: "weiguoren shi shenjingbing!" (Foreigners are crazy!) She covered her mouth in laughter either at the weiguoren or at my Chinese. But she did agree: "Dui, dui."
As we rode along the country roads little old ladies came out selling flowers, postcards, maps, and various trinkets. We stopped to take a picture and the girls bought some flowers to wear on their heads for 2 yuan (25 cents). Ruth later told me one of the old woman opened a notebook with a few quarters taped inside and a note some meiguoren (American) had written for her that said: "I'm collecting U.S. coins. Do you have any you can give me?" Clever. These ladies were just a step above begging. They all wore sad faces and wouldn't go away even after you said: "Wo buyao" (I don't need). 
We met a little old lady of 83 standing outside her home. She was so friendly. Lynn talked with her a bit telling her how much we were enjoying her backyard. The lady smiled and said it was her land that makes her live so long. Maybe!After four hours of bumpy roads I couldn't find anyplace to sit that wasn't sore. Must be the bike.
We did a short walk around town with the intention of resting in the room before going out again for dinner. I laid down at 6:00 p.m. and didn't get up until 6:00 a.m. It must be the Yangshuo air.
Ruth said she went out for dinner alone.
...dave
A bad worker quarrels with his tools. -Chinese proverb
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I can tell you that 5:00 a.m. is very early when you go to bed at 12:00 a.m. Our plans were to get in bed earlier but there was so much yet to do before leaving.
Eric dropped us off at the Atlanta airport and it was then we realized that we wouldn't be together for a month, the longest our family has ever been separated. It was kind of sad to say goodbye but he'll be busy with Conyers and his Hawaii/California trips while we are gone.
We got to the gate, ate a Burger King breakfast sandwich. We'd just finished when we heard our names called out. We turned around and saw Mike, our United Airline pilot friend. We met Mike about six months ago at a Borders. Ruth was returning a Chinese language book to the shelf when Mike asked if she was trying to learn the language. That lead to a conversation about China and our desire to become fluent. Anyway, we received a few emails from Mike giving us great advice on things to do and not do while in China. (You can read more of the details here.)
Mike is now training on 747s because United has switched from the 777s on their route to Beijing. Too bad Mike couldn't be our pilot because the ride into Beijing was dicey. We bounced around quite a bit. I wished that Mike had been at the helm. He's flown to Beijing 156 times! (Well, at last count anyway.)
After a quick picture with Mike (he was boarding our first leg to Chicago), we found our seats in row 54. Our seats were so far back in the plane we had to pass through a time zone. Mikes says there are 550 seats in the thing. This thing is big and heavy. (In the pilot's communication with the control tower he referred to our flight as "flight 851 heavy." No joke.) It took us so long to get down the runway I thought we were just going to taxi into Beijing.
This is a long flight. A VERY long flight. It takes 12 hours to fly from Chicago to Beijing. The flight includes three meals, four movies, and unlimited drinks. I would helpfully remind Ruth how many hours we had left. For example, after going three hours, I told her we only had twelve more hours to go. She loved that.
The first "meal" was really a packet of pretzels. The postage-stamp-sized Fiesta Mix ain't much of a fiesta. I think I may have found three broken pretzels in the packet along with a tablespoon of salt. Ruth tells me that if the airline quit giving out the little peanut snacks they'd save 15 million dollars a year! Where does she get this stuff?
The plane was full but we still had to get up to empty the bladder. There were all kinds of people in the isles. The carts in the isles still serving the food, blocked up traffic. We have to shuffle around in the cabin like square tiles on a plastic puzzle.
Every so often our progress would show up on the projector screen. We were on our way to the North pole, it's faster to loop up to the north and then back down to Beijing than go straight due to the circumference of the globe. But get this, at 32,000 feet the temperature on the other side of our window is 65 degrees BELOW zero.
We ate, slept, read, and watched one of the four movies. At the end of the flight we heard our names called over the airplane's PA system. "Will Dave and Ruth Terry please identify yourself to one of the servers?" We did. The next thing we know the captain appeared with a bottle of Brut 1415 Champaign. It was Mike who called our pilot and asked him to give us a bottle. How cool is that? (taibuhaoyisile)
We caught a taxi to our hotel. The driver drove as if no one else was on the road. He never stayed in the lanes. Often he drove with the car straddling the line! I guess the lines in the road are just suggestions.
We unpacked and took a walking a tour around the hotel. We enjoyed some chiwanfan (dinner) at a restaurant for $2. They didn't speak any English. I know the numbers so was able to pay and get the correct change. The food was great. The tea was fantastic. (haochi haohe)
We crashed after realizing that we had never seen the sun set today. We've been up for about 24 hours with short naps in between.
This post may be a reflection of the little sleep we've had.
...dave
Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo. -Al Gore
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I can tell you that 5:00 a.m. is very early when you go to bed at 12:00 a.m. Our plans were to get in bed earlier but there was so much yet to do before leaving.Eric dropped us off at the Atlanta airport and it was then we realized that we wouldn't be together for a month, the longest our family has ever been separated. It was kind of sad to say goodbye but he'll be busy with Conyers and his Hawaii/California trips while we are gone.
We got to the gate, ate a Burger King breakfast sandwich. We'd just finished when we heard our names called out. We turned around and saw Mike, our United Airline pilot friend. We met Mike about six months ago at a Borders. Ruth was returning a Chinese language book to the shelf when Mike asked if she was trying to learn the language. That lead to a conversation about China and our desire to become fluent. Anyway, we received a few emails from Mike giving us great advice on things to do and not do while in China. (You can read more of the details here.)Mike is now training on 747s because United has switched from the 777s on their route to Beijing. Too bad Mike couldn't be our pilot because the ride into Beijing was dicey. We bounced around quite a bit. I wished that Mike had been at the helm. He's flown to Beijing 156 times! (Well, at last count anyway.)
After a quick picture with Mike (he was boarding our first leg to Chicago), we found our seats in row 54. Our seats were so far back in the plane we had to pass through a time zone. Mikes says there are 550 seats in the thing. This thing is big and heavy. (In the pilot's communication with the control tower he referred to our flight as "flight 851 heavy." No joke.) It took us so long to get down the runway I thought we were just going to taxi into Beijing.
This is a long flight. A VERY long flight. It takes 12 hours to fly from Chicago to Beijing. The flight includes three meals, four movies, and unlimited drinks. I would helpfully remind Ruth how many hours we had left. For example, after going three hours, I told her we only had twelve more hours to go. She loved that.
The first "meal" was really a packet of pretzels. The postage-stamp-sized Fiesta Mix ain't much of a fiesta. I think I may have found three broken pretzels in the packet along with a tablespoon of salt. Ruth tells me that if the airline quit giving out the little peanut snacks they'd save 15 million dollars a year! Where does she get this stuff?The plane was full but we still had to get up to empty the bladder. There were all kinds of people in the isles. The carts in the isles still serving the food, blocked up traffic. We have to shuffle around in the cabin like square tiles on a plastic puzzle.
Every so often our progress would show up on the projector screen. We were on our way to the North pole, it's faster to loop up to the north and then back down to Beijing than go straight due to the circumference of the globe. But get this, at 32,000 feet the temperature on the other side of our window is 65 degrees BELOW zero.
We ate, slept, read, and watched one of the four movies. At the end of the flight we heard our names called over the airplane's PA system. "Will Dave and Ruth Terry please identify yourself to one of the servers?" We did. The next thing we know the captain appeared with a bottle of Brut 1415 Champaign. It was Mike who called our pilot and asked him to give us a bottle. How cool is that? (taibuhaoyisile)We caught a taxi to our hotel. The driver drove as if no one else was on the road. He never stayed in the lanes. Often he drove with the car straddling the line! I guess the lines in the road are just suggestions.
We unpacked and took a walking a tour around the hotel. We enjoyed some chiwanfan (dinner) at a restaurant for $2. They didn't speak any English. I know the numbers so was able to pay and get the correct change. The food was great. The tea was fantastic. (haochi haohe)
We crashed after realizing that we had never seen the sun set today. We've been up for about 24 hours with short naps in between.
This post may be a reflection of the little sleep we've had.
...dave
Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo. -Al Gore
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Labels: beijing, china2006, guilin, longji, longsheng, pingan, qingdao, yangshuo
