The 'illegal' boat trip

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Geo: 25.2806, 110.283

Mel I got up at 7:20 and did the usual stuff. By 8 we were all ready. We walked down stairs to the foyer and it was pelting down with rain. Pa had promised a lady that we would go to her restaurant for Banana pancakes for breakfast but because of the rain we went to a little place quite close by to the hotel and had bacon, eggs, fruit, OJ and toast was yucky and the orange juice was freshly squeezed and RED.

At 10am we caught a minivan/taxi down to the Li Dragon River. We crossed a little, narrow bridge to this other island and then Rainbow talked to a raftsman and organised for us to go down the river to a little village called Luigong. We got on the raft. It had 4 bamboo seats that we could fit two people per seat on. The raft had a motor on it and also a long oar that the man sometimes rowed with. It was very peaceful when the motor was off - with all the mountains and the fog over the peaks of the mountains and the ducks quacking. Occasionally we saw people at the side of the river cleaning their clothing. When we arrived at our destination, Rainbow got off first and went over to the restaurant but it was closed so we had to eat somewhere else. We ordered our drinks then went on a short walk around the village. We were invited into a couple's house. They took us through the house into their garden. It was closed off like a courtyard to keep the crops growing as the bricks made it warmer. The lady picked us some mint, oregano and coriander to smell. We then walked back through their house and they then tried to sell us things. We figured we had to as they had let us through their house so we bought 2 bags of mandarins and Val bought 2 little ducks. The house was very small, had dirt floors and only one light in the main room. Ancient bricks. All the doors had massive padlocks on them. The house consisted of a bedroom with a bed and mosquito net over it, a main living area that also contained the kitchen. There was another room out the back that seemed to be for storing firewood etc. But somehow they had enough money to buy a large TV and a rice cooker.

We went into a restaurant that sold local food. Rainbow helped us order the food which did make it easier. We ordered a fried rice, tomatoes and eggs, a fish and plain rice (cooked in a rice cooker). Rainbow insisted that she saw the fish before they cooked it. It was fresh fish - killed for the others to eat!!! I don't like fish.

After we walked around the village we caught a tractor thing back to town. It had bench seats along each side if the back - it was covered in a tarp and open at the back. The engine was an old tractor engine that the man had to hand-crank to get it to start. It was a really bumpy ride and it hurt my back.

On the way back we saw people selling meat on side of road. The meat was raw and just lying on tables. It was not covered or refrigerated.

We walked to the bank from where the tractor dropped us off then through the market area back to the hotel. I got on the internet and spoke to 4 people on MSN. We then all went out to dinner followed by a walk through the market again. Some school girls (Joyce and Amy and Cloud) approached us and asked if they could practise their English with us. We talked to them for ages and I got their email addresses. We went back to the hotel and to bed.



Kate Poor Mel – the things adults say and understand that children don't. To go down the river we caught an 'illegal boat'. This means that the big companies are trying to stop these people operating – they are taking their business. Rainbow called our boat an illegal boat and poor Mel was worried that we were doing something illegal and would get in trouble for it. She did not mention this to me until later so the poor girl worried the whole way down the river.

You can't say that these peasant people that we met today are by any means stupid. An elderly couple approached us after we got off the raft to see if we would like to buy some small trinkets or postcards. We all said no and headed off to the restaurant. The next thing we knew, Pa was calling us - I have something to show you - something really interesting. There's a man here that will let us look through his house. We followed Pa up this small, very uneven, cobbled pathway to the house. It was the house of the elderly couple. They showed us the garden, picking pieces of mint etc for us to smell. They did not, as such, show us the house, we just walked through it to get to the garden, but as we were leaving they pulled out their little baskets again to see if we would buy something. Rainbow bought two bags of oranges (mandarins) and Val felt compelled to buy 2 small wooden ducks. Very sneaky!!!!! It took a bit more work but they got money from us.

A group of women in the village insisted that we take a photo of us with them. The elderly lady wanted to see the photo that we took but almost couldn't believe it that she was in there. She pointed to herself, then to each of the people in the photo then at the actual person. It was almost to say "here you are in this thing but you are standing over there. How does that work" They have insisted that we give them a copy of the photo. Rainbow said that she would organise this for her.

Nana and Pa were walking through the streets when they recognised a lady who had tried to be there tour guide two years ago when they were here. Nana and Pa had already arranged for Nancy (Rainbows mother) to be the guide and this lady was very sad. When we saw her today, she asked if we would like a guide but, again, Nana had to say that we already had a guide. It was organised before we got here - we don't have your details. Ester quickly produced a business card (?????) and gave it to Mum for next time. She then asked us what we were doing for the next few days - maybe she could be our guide for these days. When we said no she stated that she hadn't worked for two weeks and was having trouble putting her daughter through college. This was the same story Mum received two years ago!!!!!

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