Yangshuo

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Yangshuo

Crossing the border back to China we ran into a little difficulty with the passport control woman who was convinced that the photo of Ross when he was 15 was actually me and that we must have swapped passports or something. She actually called the supervisor who proceeded to check Ross' alternative forms of ID to prove himself. My tolerance of Chinese music (especially on trains where you cant turn it off at 8AM - with the speaker above your ear on the top bunk) was past wearing thin. I cant describe in words how truely horrific it truely is. I have several theories, conspiracies if you will, that in the 1980s CASIO signed a contract with the Chinese government decreeing that only music performed entirely on one of their keyboards would ever be allowed airplay, or that before 2006 there was in fact no music at all in China (save the traditional kind), and that they held some kind of X-Factor like contest but signed everyone in a mad rush to make money. Theres no other way - really.

The karst landscape of Yangshuo is mind blowing to say the least. Straight out of a page of my Geography textbook (honestly), the landscape is dotted with thousands of limestone peaks protruding from a completely flat floor, for as far as you can see. For the first few days of our stay it was misty as well - adding an air of mystery to the surroundings. We rented bikes and got thouroughly muddy cyling along riverside paths and remote country villages. We loved it so much we decided to stay an extra four days.

Having met back up with Zander, the two of us decided to spend a morning rock climbing up one of the limestone peaks. I'll say this - it looks a lot higher from the top, and by the time I was done I didnt even have the energy to undo my shoe laces. Between walking up to the tops of the peaks the four of us took a course in Chinese cooking, where they arm you with a wok and a very large knife. Anyone who fancies a taste - let me know when I return...

We had our first market experience in Yangshuo, which equates more to full scale war on your nasal passages. Among the usual of veg and dried chicken feet was a corner devoted to the dog, several of them in fact watching from a cage as one of their kin was hung by the chin from a hook and butchered. Forget Sainsburys aisle 5 - here the meat is, well, meat (with fly swarm accompliament). Deciding our noses had been suitably punished we left, slightly more informed about the contents of our soup.

See Ross' photos here:Yangshuo

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Comments

[NK]

Dog eat dog or frog
Yum, nice diet Stick to the beers.