Yangshuo, China

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It is hard to put everything I see, hear, taste and experience into words.

I went for a 'hair wash' yesterday. My hair was washed while sitting in the chair opposite the mirror, I received a wonderful head and neck massage for about 20 minutes then I was headed over to the wash basin where I lay down on a comfy leather bed with my head on a leather pillow inside the wash basin, the shampoo and condition was rinsed out and afterward I was asked how I would like my hair blowdried.. $3 and 45 minutes later my hair was so soft and beautiful.

We have been told that the best way to settle into our new homes and not go into too much 'Culture Shock' is to set a routine as early as possible.. hmmm hair washed twice a week (why do it as home when someone will put so much love into it), a massage every second day....

Last night we went out for a dinner with our group and some new teachers that have arrived over the last couple of days. We are being fed so well here it is amazing. I had orange duck which was so tender and crunchy on the top. I tried the local beer it was quite light and a bit frothy. Afterwards we went to a Kareoke Bar - Yangshuo is surrounded by the Karst Mountains, there are hundreds of them and this Kareoke Bar or KTV as the Chinese call it was built into the side of one of the Karst Mountains, the roof was rock and most of the walls were too. It was pretty amazing. Smoking is very popular here, even smoking in restuarants while you are eating. I only stayed at the KTV Bar for 5 minutes as I couldnt handle all the smoke.

I went to the market today to have a look around and it was the first time that i have had a vomit reflex and it wasnt because of all the dog hanging from hooks with their little tongues pocking out and teeth still showing. It was when i looked over and saw the guts of a medium sized turtle being pulled out by hand, I think it was still alive... the poor little turtle...

I hope the pictures arent too gross. The dogs are bred to eat so they have never known love or kindness or been a pet, just like a cow or sheep so that is a little easier to think about when I see them come into town by the truck load.

The weather is quite strange here, one day it is humid and warm and the next day after it rains, it is freezing. Thursday the max temp was 6 degrees!

There are alot of westerners in this town especially around West Street, the main tourist mall in this town. Yangshuo and Guilin are the 2nd most visited place by backpackers in China, after the great wall.

The are alot of people walking around wanting to shine one's shoes and I had a little man do my shoes a few times but this one man asked me and I said bu yoi xie xie, no thank you and i kept walking doing a little bit of window shopping through the markets then I felt a tap, tap, tap on my shoulder and the man had followed me around looking at my profile and had made a paper cut out of me with my pony tail with the Karst Mountains and River Li in the background. It was so cool I couldnt say no to him, I'm probably a sucker that paid too much.

I was lucky enough to be in China to Celebrate the Chinese New Year. The teachers at our college showed us how to make dumplings and we had a big feast of dumplings, duck, chicken, pork and lots of candy and chocolate. This is the largest celebration of the year for the Chinese. We have just started the Year of the Pig which is a symbol of good fortune. After eating lots of food we went to a pub run by an Aussie and drank the local beer. At midnight there were so many fireworks and firecrackers. Everywhere I looked in the sky there where fireworks of every colour and size and they didnt just last for 10 minutes... they continued into the night without stopping for about 6 hours and then on and off for the next week.

Chinese New Years Day was very noisy and busy. Firecrackers were lit in front of every single house to ward off evil spirits and Chinese Dragons, dancers and drummers filled the streets. It was a really special time to be in China.

After 12 days in Yangshuo it is time to head off to my new school in Guigang. I will be driven an hour North to Guilin then go 3 and a half hours South by bus to Guigang.

Speak soon.
Dani xxx

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