Yangshuo, Guanxi Province, China 31.03.08

After meeting in the lobby of our hotel, we made the long trek overland to China. We used almost every form of transport available. First it was a cab to the station, then a 4 hour metro train ride to the border, then an overnight sleeper train to a city close to our destination, then a couple of hours in a bus to get us there!

Despite the long drive, we really enjoyed ourselves. The sleeper train that we were in had bunk beds 3 stories high. This was ok if you were on the bottom bunk, as there was enough room to sit up, but if you were at the top or middle level, there was only enough room to lie down. Being at the top it was miserable until we figured that we didn't need to go up there until we were actually sleeping. It was fun and social being squashed together on the train, and I think it helped our group to bond right from the start.
We finally arrived in Yangshuo, and were immediately struck by the beauty of the place. The town was quaint like a ski village, and the weather seemed about as cold. The mountains all around were the most bizarre we had ever seen. There were hundreds of little mountains that looked like giant rocks towering into the sky. All of them were tall and thin, and they filled the horizon. They looked very much like the islands on Halong Bay, Vietnam, but rising from the earth, not the water.
After settling into our hotel, we left the shore on a little boat to see the landscape by the Li River. The ride was beautiful but freezing cold. The roof of the boat rolled back, like a convertible and we stood watching the mountains pass by and locals on the riverbanks.
We stopped at a local village, and looked at the temple that was built by the riverside. It had an angel statue that was to protect the people on the river. They explained to us here that the dragon is made of many different animals. It has the eyes of a shrimp, the body of a snake,...
They took us to a cave where huge stalactites were hanging, and a river was running out of it. We also saw the famous 3 ponds, which are different colours. One was yellow, one was blue, and one was white. It was hard to see though because the heavy rain had stirred up the waters and obscured the colours.
Amy, one of our guides in training, translated a sign which told of the legend of the 3 ponds. The quick version is that there were mermaids in the area, and a rich man treated them badly, so a fairy told the mermaids to perform a ritual, and the rich man would be destroyed. They did, and his the earth shook and his house sunk into the ground. The ponds lie where the house once stood.

Next they showed us the village which was ancient. A lot of the houses were originals and were beautifully contructed. We looked at one house which was owned by a fairly wealthy man, and then we saw another house where the owner was still living. He and his wife were so old! He was bent over with age, but he was so sweet. He was very proud of his garden, so we had a look at all his herbs and flowers. They didn't charge us to see their house, so we bought a cute little porcelain turtle that they were selling.

After our tour we had lunch on boat restaurant. It was a banquet lunch, and the boat was surrounded by ducks. Loren thought they were so cute, they wiggled their tails all the time, even when they were walking and swimming.

The boat ride back again took twice as long because we were going against the current. Everyone entertained themselves by playing card games, and teaching each other new ones. Some people even got to drive the boat.
We met up in the evening for dinner and for happy hour! Cocktails were two for one, so they came to about $2.50 each! Everyone made the most of it!
After dinner and drinks, we went back to the river where we followed a local boat with our own boat. The local boat had cormorants - big black water birds - tied all along it's roof, and a big spotlight that was shone into the water. The birds were released, and they dove into the water to catch little fish.

The birds had a cord tied around their necks so that they couldn't eat the fish. When they had collected enough in their mouths, the boat driver picked them up and emptied the fish into a bucket. Later, he feeds them the smallest fish, ones that they can swallow.

We stopped on a little rock island and we got to hold the birds. Loren picked one up herself and patted it for a while. They were beautiful creatures.
We retired to an Aussie bar, where we played pool, tasted local beers and played a Chinese dice game. It was fantastic! Everyone has six dice each, and they make bets on how many ones, twos threes there are in the entire group. If someone thinks you've guessed too much, they say cheat! If they are right, you drink half a glass, if you are right they drink half a glass.
We forgot to set the alarm the next day and were woken by a phone call from reception. Artur decided to get up and join the others for the bike ride to Moon Hill, Loren caught up on some more sleep. Most of the group went along, and it was raining like a monsoon. Everyone came back absolutely soaked!

The views at the top weren't that great because of the rain and the fog, but there was a great lunch cooked for everyone there.

Later we went to see a Kung Fu and Tai Chi show. It was really impressive. They did dragon dances where they held huge dragons in the air with sticks.

The leader of the troupe showed us a modern, slowl Tai Chi routine, then a traditional one which was a lot faster, and quite powerful in self defense and fighting. The students also performed kung fu routines as a group, and in solos.

At the end, they let Loren and some others try both dragon dances. The one where the dragon is on sticks, and the one where you wear the dragon head and move around like one.
The leader was once the top kick boxer in China! He lead our group in a Kung Fu lesson. It was quite physically and mentally challenging. Loren didn't find it too hard to remember the routines, but Artur struggled a bit with it. It was exciting to perform the whole routine with strong movements, like you really knew how to fight.

Artur and Thomas saw some locals playing basketball in the gym we were in, and went over to join the game. Their legs were extremely sore from the Kung Fu lesson, and they struggled to beat them despite the height difference.

The next morning, we left early for a cooking class. Our first stop was the market, which was quite a shock to the system. Most of the time we had avoided the meat sections of the markets in Asia, but this time we went all the way through.

There were severed pigs limbs, rabbits in cages, headless turtles, frogs in nets, and worst of all dead dogs hanging from the rafters. The screams of the dogs being slaughtered, or recognising that they were going to be, was absolutely terrifying and very distressing.

Loren felt quite sick and dizzy when we left there. Thankfully, that was not what we were cooking, and the tour of the market was to show us the different vegetables, spices and other traditional ingredients that we weren't sure about.

When we got to the cooking school, we sat down for some tea and chatted with our teacher. The kitchen that we used looked just like the ones that are used in Australia for Home Economics classes.

We each got an apron and a wok, and we set about making 5 different dishes. They were surprisingly easy, and we got the recipes for each one we made. We both agreed that the food was the best we had eaten so far in China!
We then left for a 22 hour journey to our next destination. 4 hours by bus, 18 hours by train. We were relieved to get a soft sleeper carriage this time, which has 4 beds in each instead of 6, and each section has a door to separate it from the others. But we acually enjoyed it less, because it was less social then when we were all in one big communal carriage.