Bike, bike, bike...

Plenty of biking fun to be had here. Yesterday, I was exhausted from the adventures the day before, but that was no reason to stay at home. I rented my bike, bought the day's first bottle of water and set out on the same route as the day before. This time I went right instead of left and rode along the gravel road for miles and miles.

After the first 20 miles, I stopped and had lunch with the locals. There were a number of farmers and such having nice country meals under a large open canopy. I went to the cook and asked for chaofan, or fried rice. Apparently my chinese is a little bit bad though, because I ended up with pork and chinese cabbage with a bowl of rice. No problem, it was just as well I guess.

Everyone stared at me the whole time as I sat at the miniature table with the miniature seat. The little stools they use are about 8 inches high. Three cute little kids added some spark to my mealtime. One girl (quite adorable) and two boys about 4 years old repeated Chinese phrases to me that I had no idea what they meant. We had fun learning about what a camera looks like and how to look through the little viewfinder and push the button. Good times.

Moving on, I rode up a difficult hill.... wait, I guess I walked about half of it, and pushed on to the Yulong River where I sat on a bridge and sketched the scenery. It's quite breathtaking. I nearly got my bike hauled off when I wasn't looking, but fortunately I caught the guy who had mistakenly put it in his truck and I recovered it.

I rode on. Out to the main road so I could find another country road indicated on my faulty map. Find the rode I did and then I was joined by a swiss fellow of 23 or so and we passed through this village and that village at a leisurely pace. He was good company and we swapped stories of train rides and chinese culture.

Back to the hostel for the night after a quick meal and a good bargain at the shops.

This morning I went out for a walk and was joined by a number of children on their way to school. One gave me a nut, one gave me an apple and another an orange. We had a good little walk despite the fact we couldn't understand anything of each other whatsoever.

Now I'm checked out. Got a few hours to take it all in and I'm on a bus to Guilin and then a train to Shenzhen. From there, I walk into Hong Kong and hop on the KCR Line once again.

Hope you enjoyed Tuttle Trips and I'll see you in Mei guo....

Yangshuo - the second time around

Off the sleeper train, onto the bus, onto the next bus and I'm back in Yangshuo. It's such a lovely place.

I spent all day riding a rented bicycle around the countryside. Just what I wanted to do here. I got lost traversing the rice paddies, but that was okay - in fact, that's the point. I tried out at a paddy, but didn't get the job. I think if I knew Chinese that would help my employability, but let's be honest, I don't have any work experience either. I'll pick up the pieces tonight and pull myself together for one more shot at the job scene tomorrow.

So ride, sketch, ride, sketch, ride was what I did. It was great. It was hot. In the late afternoon, I hiked up a mountain and got a great view of all the hills. It was a totally exhausting day.

After I ate dinner, a couple of young folk asked me to join their english corner tonight, so I did. Those are quite fun, because all the kids like to ask all kinds of questions about your life and your country and stuff. I liked it and I now have to send out ten copies of a group photo we took.

So tomorrow, more of the same.....

Chinese menu

The past few days have been filled with travel and adventure. We took the overnight sleeper bus to Guangzhou where Bethany flew home from. When Bethany had safely departed, I took the shuttle to the bus station, or so I thought. Three hours later, I was at the right place to get a bus to Hunan province. One more night spent on the bus. When I arrived at my destination, I opted for a two days stay. This gave me the opportunity to have some great meals before heading back to Yangshuo for some more quality vacation time.

Monday:

Breakfast was spicy noodles at a hole in the wall for 50 cents.
Lunch - a delicious pork dish, bamboo shoots, chinese cabbage, and tomatoes with sugar.
Dinner - pumpkin leaves, frog, and a bacon dish.

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Steamed dumpling at the 3 for 1 yuan joint. 1 yuan = 12 cents. 2 bananas for 12 cents.
Lunch - Hot pot. Hot pot is like a wok stuck on a little propane stove in the middle of your table. You order various foods to throw in the boiling liquid and eat out of the pot with everyone else at your table. I had all parts pig - bacon, feet, stomach, intestine with some bamboo shoots.
Dinner - a pack of crackers.

Back on the overnight train to Yangshuo....

Biking and Rafting on the Yulong River

What a day! With our rented bikes, we set off for the Yulong River to soak up some scenery. Before we got to the scenic part however, we endured much pollution on the main thoroughfares from the contraptions they call cars around here. We raced through two tunnels, trying to protect our nice pink lungs from the continuous black exhaust pouring from all sides of every engine. But, of course, the day quickly ramped up from its polluted start.

We soon found ourselves passing vendors selling rice hats, floral crowns and beverages as we cruised along. Before we knew it, we were in rice paddy land and the hills shot up around us in every direction. We pedaled and pedaled until we could pedal no more. Passing village after village, the locals said either 'hello' or 'bamboo?' The whole county is on the bamboo rafting scene. At the end of the paved road we began to follow a young girl to Baisha where we could eat lunch. The sun pelted us as we wound through small villages of brick on dirty, rocky roads, crossed bridges over clear water, delighted in the lush, green feilds of rice and avoided dogs, ducks and water buffalo.

Although we were headed to Baisha, our unofficial tour guide took us to Yulong instead. That was ok though. We had a delightful meal there and a nice break from our long bike ride. From Yulong, we hopped on the bamboo rafts with the bikes strapped on the back and floated down the Yulong River with our feet dangling in the clear water. The captain of our raft failed to drop us in the water as we crossed small waterfalls along the way. A couple of times, I think she tried though. We safely made it to the shore and climbed back onto our bicycles and we tiredly rode back to our hotel, where we enjoyed the last of the sun on the terrace with a pair of banana milkshakes and a springroll before turning in for the night.

What a day!

Shopping and Sketching in Yangshuo

Yesterday, we observed the amazing peaks of Yangshuo from our hotel's terrace as we ate banana pancakes and sipped ginger tea for our morning breakfast. With that complete, we bussed it into Yangshuo. We crammed into the mini-bus (basically like an oversized pop can) which was carrying 9 people already. The only one that spoke any English was the baby in the front seat who kept saying 'hello' - which made for a dead-end conversation.

In the town, we decided to get out where another passenger did, as we had no way of really knowing where we would be able to stop next. We were at a turnaround point, and could see many shops along the street, with the peaks and river nearby. We started wandering towards West Street, the ideal place to spend the day, and found a fruit stand to stop at along the way. Steven bought a banana-like object, but we couldn't adjust to its texture or flavor, so we gave up on that and bought actual bananas later.

West Street is the place to be! Shops offering paintings, tea, chops, antiques, t-shirts and all kinds of food flanked either side of us as we walked down the stone street. Some shops were very nice and organized, while others were tucked into very narrow corners. You can bargain any price here; even if they will not take your offer and you do not want theirs, as soon as you walk away, they will typically concede, as they are so willing and wanting to make a sale. We found many Chinese treasures along the way.

After the market street, we found some cool drinks and went down to the Lijiang River to sketch for awhile. Steven chose the peaks and river across the way, and I chose the waterfall from the canal at my right. The bamboo rafts and large riverboat tours were floating by and we were excited for our future trip down the river. I got too hot, so we found a place (a bakery) to sit inside and write postcards. Here, I bought some bubble tea for about 13 cents. What a bargain!

We made our way to the post office to buy some postage and dropped our cards in the mail. We assume that we will arrive before they do.

We found some dinner along a side street and had a vegetable fried rice and joudze, or potstickers, and tea. Quite tasty. We found another building to sketch from, one that overlooked the water and small bridges inside the town. It was a very pleasant evening.

We had a great day and expect the same again today, as we ride our bicycles into the countryside!

Yangshuo!

Last time, we were on our way to China. We took the KCR line to Lo Wu (Hong Kong), where we went through immigration and came out from the building into Shenzhen (China). We waited for Steven's friend, Cecil, to meet us. He was a friend that Steven met when he was here before and helped us make our way to Guilin/Yangshuo. There is very little English to read in mainland China and we were grateful for his help.

While Steven and Cecil went to buy our train tickets to Guilin, I waited in the bus station (like I said - there was very little English - and we thought we might be in the right place). I was sitting in the waiting area while they were gone, and people started to gather around one man, who appeared to be sleeping. Policemen and other government workers also started to surround this man, who was now on the floor, when I looked back at them. I thought he might be dead, and I think this was maybe the consensus of those around him as well. I also thought this situation was perhaps not the best as my introduction to China! In the end, they were able to make him wake, and with reluctancy by the man, the policemen were able to usher him out. It was very interesting to see how he was treated...not much compassion or sympathy.

Finally, Steven and Cecil came back from purchasing the tickets and we found a restaurant to eat at before our train departed. At 6:05 p.m., Steven and I boarded T38 to Guilin. This was a 16-hour train ride and we were glad when we arrived (we did buy soft sleeper tickets, so were were able to sleep during this long trip). Steven had a young woman stop to talk to him and she was able to direct us to the right bus to Yangshuo. Drivers here take a lot of risks and we either held hands tightly or closed our eyes, but only when we were paying attention to the road. The scenery is so beautiful! We also had a man stop us when we arrived, and he happened to be selling us on his hotel, which was the hotel we were already booked to stay in. We boarded some three-wheeled, canvas covered automotive device with all of our luggage, and were whisked (or puttered) away to our hotel.

The Riverside Retreat couldn't be more perfect! Our third-level room has very large windows that overlook Yangshuo and its rising peaks. We will do our best to provide pictures (we forgot the cord at home)! There aren't enough words to describe this beautiful Chinese landscape.

Today, we are off to explore the town of Yangshuo...

Bethany and Steven

Hong Kong

We safely arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday evening and took many modes of transportation to get to our hotel, the YMCA. We stayed on the ninth floor with a beautiful view of Hong Kong island, where the thick mass of tall buildings eclipse the mountains behind and hosted a skyscraper that was ninety stories high. Steven saw this building under construction four years ago when it was only half complete. We enjoyed our beds that night after eighteen hours of travel!

Friday, we took the train to Disneyland! Our connecting train had Mickey Mouse windows and blue velvet seats and stars on the ceiling. We thoroughly enjoyed a full day at the happiest place on earth (I wore my Mickey Mouse ears all day with pride). We saw different shows (in multiple languages, of course) including a 3-D movie that enlivened the senses with wind, water and smells galore, as well as an interpretation of the Lion King, after which we decided that Sara should sing the opening song. We rode the rides, ate the food and celebrated the magic of it all, just as if we were kids.

Yesterday, we started the morning with Dim Sum, an a la carte like feast, and ate four different kinds of food, including steamed rice buns with barbeque pork, a rice roll, baked egg cups (which is more like a custard) and shrimp wontons. After we were satiated, we strolled along the harbour (and the Avenue of Stars, where we saw Jackie Chan...well, just his picture and handprints) and ended up following the narrow, crowded streets where vendors were selling delicious delicacies and traditional Chinese goods. The buildings rose high above us and the apartment windows were full of people, laundry and air conditioning units. The neon signs were flashing and the smell of Asia was in the air.

Later that evening, we went to the Peak with some friends that live here. We took a tram ride to the top - at about a 45 degree angle. The buildings looked perpendicular out of our windows as we climbed to the top. Literally, 45 degrees. No jokes here. At all. It was beautiful at the top and we watched the eight p.m. light show as the buildings danced about in streams of light and color.

Today, we leave for China. See you soon!

Bethany and Steven

Departure

As of September 13, the two of us will be flying, flying, flying for 15 hours to reach our vacation destination, China! We will arrive in Hong Kong on Steven's birthday and stay for a few days before heading to Guilin & Yangshuo, where we will spend a week biking, relaxing, hiking, sketching and taking in Chinese culture to the fullest extent.

Keep watching for more stories! As the internet cafes appear, hopefully so will we!