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Published: November 17th 2006
We're living it up here in Yangshuo, trying to fit in as much adventuring as we can before our time here ends. And adventures we've been having!
We rented electric scooters for the day and scooted around the countryside. We drove to another small town called Fuli, which consists of one street and that's it. We drove through in about 40 seconds, and then pulled over to eat some bananas. On the way back through we saw a sign advertising "Lin's Cafe, Chinese and Western Food" so we said let's stop for lunch. The sign pointed down a long (and very bumpy!) dirt road. Soon we were driving past a little village, complete with chickens and dogs and many people staring at us. As we turned the corner a woman yelled "HELLLOOO" to us from her house and came running after us. She must have known we weren't from around these parts. Hah. She directed us down another path to "Lin's Cafe". Wow. The cafe was just a tiny cement hut on the riverbank, with 3 tables set up down below! How charming. We parked our scooters and were led to a table. The menu had the usual Chinese staples
so we requested some sweet and sour pork, fried potatoes, and fried rice. Along with a beer for Dev and a Coke for me.
Across the river there was a SMALL shack of a house, BLARING this cheesy techno dance music. It was HILARIOUS! The last thing I expected to be hearing from this middle of nowhere dwelling. On top of it, the guy had his microphone hooked up and would sing along to some parts. We giggled the whole way through lunch. The scenery would have been much more peaceful had he turned his music off, but to each their own I guess. It was amusing none the less.
Lunch was pretty good. The pork was missing the red "sweet and sour" sauce but it was still tasty. We sat and enjoyed our surroundings before deciding it was time to hit the road once again. The menu informed us that if we spent more than 30RMB on drinks and food Mr. Lin would present us with a painting or calligraphy scroll which he painted himself! So sure enough, after we paid he jumped aboard his bike and led us to his home where all the artwork was
Lin's Cafe
And Mr. Lin himself!proudly displayed. We selected one, and then decided to pay for 2 more. I can't wait to hang them on our walls when we return. We've seen scrolls like this everywhere but never felt the urge to purchase one. It just seemed right, to get one in this fashion, with a story attached presented as a gift thanking us for eating at his little cafe. It didn't seem like it was the most visited restaurant in the area either, so we wanted to help him out.
Back on our scooters we hop to head home, and suddenly Dev's scooter starts puttering along with no power. Uh-oh. One of the disadvantages of electric scooters is that they eventually run out of battery power and need to be recharged. It appeared Devlin's certainly was at the end of it's juice. Oh my. I let him lead the way while I inched along behind him up a large hill. Finally the scooter died and he was forced to push it up the rest of the way. Once at the top he hopped back on and picked up speed going down the other side. We rolled along like this for a good ways,
Cafe Seating
Like I said, quite charming! nearly reaching the bridge to take us back to town. But alas, here our downhill luck ended and he had to hop back off and push it back to Yangshuo. It was unfortunate, because my scooter still had loads of power left and we were looking forward to just scootin around town before we had to return them. I've read about ample opportunities to do this in SE Asia, so we weren't too disappointed.
The following day (yesterday) we decided to go see some Stone Castle which the hotel manager suggested we see. It was cheap, only requiring a bus ride there and back, no entrance fees. When we reached a small town called Puto we had to hire a motorcar to take us up the hill to the village where the castle was. The motorcar was basically a motorized bicycle with an open area in the back for people to sit inside! This wouldn't be so bad, except the road was the bumpiest thing I've ever seen and we were tossed around like kernels inside a popcorn machine! For 30 minutes we endured the bumps, grinning and trying to look like we were enjoying the whole thing while
River
Not the cleanest river I've ever seen... thinking "what on earth have we gotten ourselves into". The motorcar then pulls over, in the middle of nowhere, and Deng (the hotel manager) cheerfully says "Ok, we get out here".
There are some rocks on the side making a path, surprise! That's the path leading to this "castle". We walk for another 30 minutes up the stone pathway (Devlin fell down once, but he's ok) and reach the "East Gate". Let me remind you we are in the absolute middle of nowhere rural China, but the scenery around us is absolutely stellar. Once inside the gates we come across the little "Stone House Village". There are approximately 100 people living in this village, all of their homes fashioned out of stacked stones and around 500 years old! There wasn't a tourist in sight, and we must have looked like aliens coming into this forgotten place. We soon realized there was no castle. Why it's called "Stone Castle" I have no idea, but the gates used to guard something so I guess they named it Castle.
Deng walked into someone's home and said we were going to eat lunch there. For 20RMB a person she was going to
East Gate
The East Gate of the Stone Castle..er village. cook chicken and rice and vegetables. Yum! Ok. Once we all agreed (her cousin came along for the trip also) the family went into the back to select a chicken. And kill it. Right in front of us. That was a definite first. I felt sorry for the chicken, but told myself this is how things are done here and I love chicken, and they all gotta die anyways right? While Deng was cooking for us we wandered around the 2 little "streets" of the village snapping photos and enjoying the absolute tranquility (and some kumquats from a farmers tree).
Lunch was chicken soup, with a twist on the common Western method. These people do not waste anything. So that meant dumping the ENTIRE chicken, feet and everything, into a pot of boiling water and leaving it to simmer and make "soup". We waited and waited and finally it was ready. Some green onions were thrown in at the end to top it off. Yum...
Really it was actually some of the most delicious chicken soup we've eaten. The broth was hearty and warmed our bellies from the dreary coldness outside. There were about 5 dogs who belonged
Street #2
One of two streets in the stone village. to the family all crowded around the small table and Deng instructed us to drop the chicken bones on the ground for them. So everyone was able to fully enjoy it! (We would not normally feed our dog at home small chicken bones like this...or anything from the table...but when in Rome do as the Romans right?!) When all the chicken was eaten Deng added a huge bunch of Chinese cabbage, fresh from their garden. Mmmm. So tasty. I wonder if Chinese cabbage is called anything different at home, because I must look for it when we return and go grocery shopping.
At the very end of the meal when all the chicken and cabbage and nearly all the broth was eaten, the blood from the chicken was poured in from a little bowl. Now this was where we drew the line. I've opened myself up to many new things, new foods, and new experiences, but eating the blood of the chicken we just ate was too much. We both politely declined and watched in semi-awe while the blood congealed into brownish patties and Deng and her cousin happily munched away. Her cousin also ate the chicken feet, which
Tranquility
Stone Village, so peaceful. is supposed to be a good luck symbol. Fully stuffed now, we were served rice to sop up the bit of broth in our bowls. What a meal! It took over an hour to eat all the soup and cabbage and we were absolutely stuffed. Ready to continue our trek through the village and to the West Gate. Never before has soup filled me up like that!
The walk was pleasant through the rest of the village. All of the gardens are lined with rock fences, which must have taken a long time to produce. We passed two young men carrying large stones on their backs, literally what back breaking work!
We walked for an hour and a bit before coming to a steep downhill part, at the bottom of which was another small village. By this time it was getting dark so Deng phoned for the motorcar to come pick us up and we met him at the road. Another 30 minute ride being tossed around (this time in the complete darkness!) and we came to Puto Town. We were very thankful to board a civilized bus and relax on the smooth ride to Yangshuo.
It
Lunch!
Mmm chicken soup. was a real treat being able to go to such a remote village and eat lunch in a villager's home. It certainly is not something many tourists do, and the hospitality extended to us was gracious. Deng's cousin remarked (in Chinese, because he doesn't speak any English) that the only other scenic spot he's visited like this cost 300RMB a person to enter, and was not near as beautiful as this.
Exhausted we headed to our room for an early bedtime, our tummies still full from the amazing lunch. A day not to be forgotten, that's for sure!
Our flights have been changed and we now fly to Bangkok on November 22. Tonight we take a sleeper bus to Shenzhen where it's a short train ride into Hong Kong. We have four nights in Hong Kong, staying in yet another dorm room because the accomodations are outrageously priced there.
So sad to say goodbye to China. The people, the culture and the scenery have won us over. I hope we can have as much fun in the other countries on our tour as we have here. Many people have told us the further south we go the
more touristy things will become. We've already witnessed that to an extent, as Guilin and Yangshuo are far more touristed than our stops in Northern China were. I'm not sure we're prepared for the "backpackers trail" we'll be met with in SE Asia, but there's always India if we're looking for a bit of a challenge again!
Stay tuned...
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linds in Hali
non-member comment
whats RMB?