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....
