Wow - so much has happened in just 4 days - and this will probably be our
last chance to e-mail for a while, so let's see if I can capture at least a
little bit of what is going on:
Yangshuo is a fishing village where all the tour boats from Guilin end (big
thing to do on packaged tours). Then all the tourists pile into buses and
head back to Guilin. The reason they come in the first place is to see all
the hills - there are thousands of them, all about twice as tall as they are
wide. What is funny,though, is that all the hills are around Yangshuo, with
only a few around Guilin. Why the people don't stay in Yangshuo is beyond
me.
So we have been here in Yangshuo for 4 days, and leave tomorrow. The place
is as western as China can be - it actually has the feel of standard
European backpacker's stop: lots of cheap cafes that play Eric Clapton and
The Eagles, cheap hotels and youth hostels, and lots of information on how
to get around China.
A lot of you have asked how we are sending e-mail - well, there must be at
least 10 different places that have computers set up for Internet access -
about $2.00 for a half hour, or you can come during "happy hour" when it is
half off.
However, I think this access stops here for a while. Everyone we have met
has said that Yangshuo is not really like China, so we will see. It has
been the perfect transition, though, for us scare-dy cat white Americans to
mainland China.
So on the first day we just bummed around and got the lay of the land - lots
of souveiner shops, an open market, and lots of shops that are located in
what we would have thought was the garage. It all looks rough - like there
had been a war here, or something. There is lots of ruble lying around (I
don't know from where) and everything seems like it is rusting or cracking
or under construction. The heat doesn't help - it just makes all the fumes
from the two-stroke engines hang low and choke you. But it grows on you
after a while...
So it doesn't take long to be assaulted by all the "guides" who want to take
you on a tour, either by bike, or in their motorized rickshaw. We were
skeptical, but decided it was worth the $6 a piece for a day's worth of
entertainment.
So the next day we headed out with Li, our guide. She spoke reasonable
English, so communication was easy. We rented bikes for $0.60 each (for the
whole day) and headed out. She promised that she would take us away from
the bus fumes, and she did. We headed out on dirt roads, through the
country side. We watched men with water buffalo till their rice patties,
and people planting rice. Li explained to us that there are two rice crops
a year, and they had just harvested the first, and were planting the second.
So we proceeded a bit further, taking in the unbelieveable landscape, until
a young man offered Eric to come down and help plant rice. So what does
Eric do? He whips off his hiking boots and socks, and before I know it he
is knee deep in mud learning how to plant rice! (Turns out you hold the rice
seedling like a pen, and stick it 2 inches into the mud at about 6 inch
intervals.) I got some great pictures - who would have thought!
We continued on through the countryside - even got to take boat ride across
the river with our bicyles - complete with an old man in the corner
de-feathering a chicken.
Which brings me to the animals. I must say that this has been the most
difficult thing for me here - seeing the live animals in the market being
treated, like, well, animals. On our first night here we inadvertently saw
a chicken be slaughtered; we often see ducks being carried around by their
feet in large bunches (and for some reason, they don't seem to mind). It is
enough to drive anyone to be a vegetarian.
The worst is the dogs. We asked Li if the dogs that we see are all for
food, or if some are for pets. She looked quite bland when she replied,
"No, they are all for food". Make sure to keep Lucy inside for a few days,
please...
So back to Li: after the tour of the country, we did tour of some
underground caves (a personal injury lawyer would have had a heyday), and
then proceeded to Li's house for lunch. She cooked us 4 unbelievable dishes
(fresh water bamboo shoots are in season - yum!) and we sat around on midget
stools and made pigs of ourselves. Afterward we hiked up Moon Hill - one of
the little hills with a big round hole in the middle. Unbelievably hot (we
had an entourage of little girls walking up with us hawking water - we ended
up buying plenty), but an unbelievable 360 degree view from the top. I hope
the pictures do it justice...
The next few days we have spent renting bicycles and riding around. OF
course, Eric doesn't fit on any of the bicycles here, so he has to work
twice as hard (but is happy because he is getting twice the exercise - Nepal
is only 3 weeks away!). We took the bikes today on a river cruise (a
houseboat, really), where they dropped us off 25 km upstream and we biked
back. Again, more rice patties and water buffalo - I think we have two
whole rolls of pitures - boy, we can't wait to bore you with our slide show!
There is so much else, it is too hard to remember. Eric wants me to mention
that it isn't too Western (and I remind Eric that we can get burritos or
even smoked salmon in the resturaunts!). He is right - it is very different
here - I think we are adapting, though.
Sue and Eric
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