Markets and Towns

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Sally and I had such a good time yesterday I hired her again for today. I could probably have managed my route over the next few days, but it is nice to have someone along who knows all the little nooks and crannies, and the language. Plus I know she could use the fee.

After our 8 hour bike ride yesterday, today was much easier. We took local buses to visit some local towns. Baisha is a little north of here and it was market day there. And I mean market day. IT takes place every 3 days and you can get absolutely anything your heart desires, from live birds to dead ones, from underwear to spices - you can even get your teeth cleaned at a stall right there! A little crazy.

After that we headed south to Fuli - a very very poor village that I probably would not have gotten off the bus at were I travelling alone. Once you find your way though, there are some pretty neat and ancient back streets to the town. They also make fans here (the type that sell to tourists) and silk paintings. There is no factory, the work is done right in people's homes.

After Fuli, a stunning bus ride up to Xinping where we had some lunch before boarding a boat for an hour or so ride on the Li River throught all the karst scenery. Sally grew up in a very small village outside of Xinping, and went to middle school there. We visited that middle school before leaving and all kids in the western world should see this. The kids need to bring a bag of rice from home for meals, they live in (and are responsible for cleaning) old old dormitories, and they do their laundry in the river (which is pretty dirty).

An interesting day and a very different perspective in seeing a little closer how people really live. Took some photos of Sally and I - in every one, one or the other of us had our eyes closed. So bear that in mind when I can upload photos - we really did have a good time and lots of laughs, honest😊.

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Photos

"Dentist" booth
I thought this was pretty funny until I came home and found something very similar in the middle of the local mall

Emptying the loo
for the fields in Fuli