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Published: December 16th 2007
Yangshuo The YHA hostel was extremely comfortable and the staff very helpful, we ended up staying 8 nights in the Senior Leader Hostel. On a couple of occasions one of the girls cooked us Yangshuo Fried Rice and a vegetable soup,she wanted to add it to the morning's breakfast and we were her ginny pigs,we liked it and she added it to the menu.
Yangshuo is a small town in the Guangxi Province, surrounded by magnificent karst mountain peaks. It is a spectacular scenic spot and is renowned for it's breathtaking beauty, by artists and poets for generations. It is something of a tourist town and has one particular street called West Street or "Foreigner Street" where there is a bargain or two to be had. Students learning english flock there to practice there skills on foreigners. I couldn't count the amount of times we were stopped for a chat. A group of school children from Guilin came to Yangshuo on a day trip for this reason. On every corner we were surrounded by children of all ages, asking us the few questions that they could comfortably say, taking pictures of us and asking us to write our
names and email address.
While having dinner one of the evenings we were approached by two girls, they asked us if we would like to go on a Treasure Hunt the next morning with a group of students learning english. We were told to bring along one present each ie. sweets or oranges to exchange. Next morning we met the gang in the Park and the day began to unfold. There were three teams of at least 5 members. Myself, Nicholas and Kay (a German guy) were team leaders. When we had all the teams sorted out, we were given a map of Yangshuo and the Ancient Village nearby. Our task was to collect 5 different types of currency, once completed we were to reach the Ancient Village by 12.30. Each team, peddled off in search of our treasure! I (Sinead) was the only native English speaker amongst my group (We called ourselves Tigers and our moto was TIGERS!!! Go! Go! Go!) and the gang included Jimmy, Messi, Johnny and another guy (no English name- I call him Patrick) and his daughter Minnie or Little Princess (aged 8), all with basic English. We were half way there when I
realised I was peddling away with 4 complete strangers, but that added to the adventure and I trusted them completely. During the day the Chinese Patrick made sure we were all fed and full up on our vitamin C, handing out oranges and goodies. We took a detour to a hidden tourist hostel in the hills and there we found loads of 'foring-ners', well stocked up on currencies we headed to the Village. There we were greeted by Lucy and Lynn (dressed up-pic included), we had to hand over our treasure for inspection along with Photographic evidence of us and the 'foring-ners'. Once inspected, we had to sing our theme song, Happy Birthday, picked by the Little Princess herself and read through the rules of the Ancient Village. We then had an initiation into the Village (by placing a stick on our shoulder) and we cycled over the paddy fields to meet the others! Our team arrived 2nd and nick's last, with no coins! But Nicholas cheated, using his euro coins from his wallet! 😊 We parked our bikes and had some lunch in the only place in the village. The gang all ordered a mix of dishes including Beer
Fish and chrysanthemum tea from the area. Our hosts took great care of us, asked the chef to cut off the fish head and tail and pored our tea and filled our bowls before the were empty. We spoke about China and they were interested to hear about Ireland and our travels.
After Lunch Nick's team had to do some sexy dancing because for their punishment for being last. We played a riddle game," he is tall and slim, he has a twin brother. He likes to eat, but not soup", once we figured it out we had to go and get that item from the area. Messi figured it out straight away and sent the little Princess running into the chef and came back out holding a set of chopsticks. We won so the team leader (Me) had to be the first one to take the trust test. A bit daunting to say the least, but at least on my team there were 3 big guys to catch me, poor Nick had little Chinese women to catch him, he refused, and all the lads joined in to catch him!
After that we went on a mini map hunt
in search of the hidden treasure. My gang ran around the Village and I followed, and we found the treasure(I thought we were still looking for some sort of map). A big basket with fruit and sweets and all the coins from earlier. I had to distribute it to all the members and we had to write all our names on a rock which Lucy found in the Li River. She called it the earth stone, we were all connected to the earth and each other. We had the most amazing day and are delighted to have met such wonderful people who welcomed us into their lives.
Messi offered to be our guide around the area and Nick has written a bit about our experiences then. We were invited by Lucy to go to her English class (she teaches). One evening Jimmy spotted us walking and started shouting my name in broken English and hugging us, introducing us to his friend and another afternoon as we walked through the town, the Chinese Patrick saw us and gestured for us to join himself, his father and some friends for some tea. He served it to us in the traditional way
and again our cups were not allowed to get empty.
The next day we took it easy for the morning but took a bike ride in the afternoon. At first it was kinda hard - we went the wrong way and ended up on a main road. There are no rules of the road here really. We have often seen people just come onto the road without even looking over the shoulder. just pulling out. it seems to be that you beep your horn as a warning that you are coming and its up to everyone else to deal with that. We have taken only about 5 buses and on three of them people got sick. I think its the food mixed with terrible driving. As a result we are NEVER getting another bus EVER in China. so No planes and No buses - trains all the way. We eventually double back and found the bicycle track we were searching for. It was a nice ride then and we ended up in very rural areas with fields and harvested crops. That night we went to The Balcony bar to meet Messi (from the treasure hunt). Here we also
met Qianqi the owner( or QQ as he preferred to be called- a lot of them like to take an English name and when he found out my name was Nicholas he said he liked it. We are convinced that he now goes by Nicholas instead of QQ) They offered to bring us on a bike ride around and show us the sites so the next day at 9 in the morning we set off on our bikes out of town. It was really nice cycle for most of the morning. We went through fields and karst mountains and down by the Li River. Sadly my bike got a puncture and if it hadn't been for our two chinese speaking friends I'd say it was a long walk home. The day was really nice and the countryside very beautiful. We stopped for lunch eventually in a town south of Yangshuo after a few hours cycling. There was an English menu and we just made sure there were no bones in the chicken before we ordered. :-D While it was being cooked we went for a wander and QQ took our camera to take our pictures hence all the cool shots
of me and sinead. It was an old town of a few hundred years and very pretty. The poverty can be overpowering sometimes but most people seem happy and there is little we can do I suppose, except bring some money to the country through tourism. We then sat down to eat and had 4 lovely dishes , beef-eggplant-minced meat and green vegetables. We shared all the dishes as is customary in CHina. And we sat at a round table, which seems to be very traditional- symbolizing togetherness. Messi wanted to know more about us and we told her. And we couldn't help feeling a little sad for her (and QQ). She said she so admired our lifestyle and wished she could have it. Also, when she found out Sinead was a flight attendant she said that it the wish of many Chinese men to marry a flight attendant, something Sinead has used against me many times since :-D. When she found out we were together 4 years she was surprised and said that is a long time ( to not be married) and also asked us were we going to have children. (yikes) Its impossible to explain the freedom
Kai and Jimmy
Two guys on Sineads team. Kai was german and seemed really nice. He left the next day so we didnt get to know him and his girlfriend. Jimmy pronounced it Sin Aid and Oran jjas. He was mad about Sinead.and wealth we have in Ireland so we just laugh and joke about things with them. We paid for the meal in full as a thank you (10 euros including a 1.50 tip for the four of us) and we also paid for a bamboo raft trip home up the Li River which was 13 euro. I think QQ was a little put out that myself and Sinead could spend 23 euro (around a weeks wage for some people) in the blink of an eye but I think they also see that we aren't rude or arrogant about it. The boat trip back was lovely and peaceful. We were tired and cold by the end of it all and glad to get back to the hostel. That night we to the Balcony bar again and looked a film on a big screen with a few people. Later Messi, Apple (from the treasure hunt) and QQ found out we sing and play guitar so we sang a few tunes much to their delight. ( http://so.youku.com/search_video/q_sinead%20hand ) On the morning we left, Messi came to meet us for food and to walk us to the station. AGain we couldn't help feeling that
if she was European or American or from so many other countries she could be doing what we are doing. Instead she hasn't even left here country yet and on the wages she can earn it is unlikely she will make it to a fully developed first world country for a long time. I don't think we will forget Messi easily and I think we were both humbled by the expierience and realize now how easy and rich our lives in Ireland really were.
We left Yangshuo by bus to Guilin and then jumped on a train to Huaihua for about 10 hours. We were the only two in the carriage and were able to relax and even watch a DVD in ease. We arrived in Huaihua and started to walk south of the station to where the hotels were. All the hotel and taxi touts made a bee line for us and all we could do was keep our head up, walk forward and keep saying "bu yao" (boo yaow -not want) We eventually got to a hotel down the street called the Huaihua Great Hotel. THe only room the had available was a deluxe suite for 26
euros. Me thinks the only room that they had for the rich backpackers was by far not the cheapest room at 26 euros. When we saw the room we didn't complain though. It was a suite with a bathroom, sitting room and seperate bedroom. It had TWO tvs.....
We ended up staying here two nights because I (Nicholas) got a bit of a stomach bug and just needed sleep and rest for 24 hours. Huaihau didn't have much and most people spoke no English so we grabbed a taxi to the get a bus to Fenghuang. The driver of the taxi didn't stick on his meter and we didn't press him on this (everyone else had or ageed a price before getting into the car) when we got to the station (about a 10 minute walk or 4 yuan on the metre) he crossed his two index fingers into an x shape to indicate that the cost was a whooping 10 yuan. We were going to dispute this when we realized thats not even a euro and no offence but he did need it more than us so we just paid up and smiled.
Fenghuang We
arrived on the 8th of Dec in Fenghuang. It is like a chinese medieval town although with neon lights and rope lights all along the buildings. We stayed the first night in a place for 13 euro but moved the next day to a warmer nicer place. Sadly the next day we found out that our ATM cards didn't work in the town ANYWHERE and we had no cash (doooh!!) so a 1 & 1/2 hour journey to another town , get off, walk to bank machine, take money out and get back on bus back to Fenghuang. (sure itsnt that what traveling is all about.) Fenghuang was pretty, wooden houses on stilts and boats like gondolas going up the river. Alot of tribes people come into the town and sell their wares. Sinead got a lovely belt for 90 cent. That was the woman's asking amount so we didn't haggle. It was so cheap it was weird. ALso we saw a rabbit in a cage outside a restaurant plus flat pig faces. (pic included) It would be very difficult I think if you were vegetarian or just squeamish although there are a lot of vegetarian dishes. In Huaihua we
Nick showing his moves.
There is no hidig the smiles on the ladies faces.. Ohh yeah!!! saw a sign in a restaurant like this (pig = 5 Yuan Cow = 10 Yuan Golden Retriever = 10 Yuan) except there were pictures of animals not the names. It wasn't bad just a little bit woof! Only messing. I suppose its like years ago in Europe when pate was made from pigs brains and pudding was only pigs blood and intestines. We mainly ate in a western cafe which served spaghetti. The reason for this was not a lack of willing to try chinese food but more so just not very clean looking restaurants. The concept of cleanliness in a kitchen is very different and varied from home. We have seen fish being gutted and cleaned on the actual cobbles and vegetables being washed in the river, downstream from people hand-washing their clothes. Also when someone hands you a chinese only menu and you know of a funky clean and friendly cafe 5 minutes down the road its just easier sometimes. The city is quite old and was once an army depot. It has a lovely original city wall along the south bank and winding cobbled streets which are at best about 10 feet wide. Very asian and
non western. sometimes it was like walking back in time. Still getting stared at in awe. Pleasant but overpowering sometimes. Sinead usually wins them over with a smile. One time I went up to the room to fetch something and returned outside to find Sinead, holding a two year old baby that was just thrust into her hands by the parents for a photo opportunity. ("And heres little Johnny with a white woman"" Really? well I never, In fenghuang ?"" yeah and her boyfriend had the funniest colour hair ya ever saw" or something of the like)
There is a tradition in Fenghuang to buy paper candles off street vendors and let them sail down the river. They had everything from single rose like candles to elaborate sail boats and love hearts. We decided to buy a big one as a symbol of our love and love for our family. cheesy or what. We saw two that were cool and together they were E1.30 so we gave the guy 2euros for them. seriously the paper cost more than two euro at home let alone making them. We then took them to the river and lit them.They went about 30
feet down the river and then into the river bank and a bunch of 4 year olds appeared out of nowhere picked up one and stamped on it so we grabbed the second one before they could. We then went further up the river and let it go again. But sadly the little feckers got this one also. We eventually bought another one on a quiet spot and just let it go away from everyone.
Huaihua Later that day we got the bus back to Huaihua. Because of the size of the country it can be difficult to get trains everywhere. We were dreading the 2 &1/2 bus journey to Huaihau but it turned out to be a pleasant trip with a nice sane and slow driver. Although we did pull into a petrol station only 5 minutes away from Huaihua and it took nearly half an hour with people jumping the queue and only one pump for a queue of around 20 vehicles. We saw one farmer with a wind up engine and it had handle bars like a trike . I couldn't believe it when he filled up with diesel and then took out an
iron bar and started winding the engine up to start it. Diesel is pretty expensive too, about 50 cent a litre. Doesn't seem like much but a two and a half hour bus journey is only about 2.50 each and some taxis charge only 70 cent for the first 2 km. A far cry from E3.80 just to open a taxi door in Dublin.
We stayed in the same hotel as before. Got a cheap room for around 13 euro. We knew of a western restaurant around the corner but stumbled across what looked like a nice Chinese restaurant. We asked for an English menu if they had one and were met by blank smiles. The staff huddled around us and then the one english speaking staff member came over. (this happened a lot so far where the manager might even bring over a cleaner if the cleaner had the best English.) We were still handed a a menu in Chinese but our trusty phrase book with dishes written inside was very helpful. Although there is nothing to do in Huaihau it seems to be only an industrial town, the people are very friendly and genuinely enjoy saying hi
on the street. We bought a ticket for Zhengzhuo ( gladly not to awkward a situation since one of the staff spoke English) for the next day at 14.25 to arrive at 05.30. The next afternoon on arrival at the train station two of the staff I had been dealing with were standing there waiting for us. They explained to us that they had given us the wrong ticket and only then we looked at our ticket which had Beijing on it. We couldn't believe we had missed that. :-) Luckily for us the staff were decent enough to wait for us and the fixed the problem and refunded us the difference. If not it would have been a long journey to Beijing, at least more than 24 hours and the only person Sinead would have for conversation would be me. AAARGH. the horror. :-D When we arrived in Zhengzhuo we went to the Sofitel hotel and although the place was beautiful it was a wee bit expensive. We eventually found a basic hotel around the corner for about 19 euro which let us checkin at 6 am. Later we just wandered the city. Its much cleaner and more organized
lunch at treasure hunt
circular table represented the unity of chinese life and family... or something like that.... Nice tea made from flowers than any other city we have been to (excluding Hong Kong) and there is still a pleasant and polite vibe off most people. It also seems more rich and expensive. I just read in the guide book lately that a photography assistant can earn between 150 to 250 Euros a MONTH. So anyone we see in a fancy hotel must be extremely rich. We have booked accommodation in a hostel in X'ian for tonight and tomorrow (11 euros for both nights) and we will be off to get the 7 hour train after breakfast. The famous Emperors Terra-cotta Army is just outside X'ian.
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Elaine n Paul
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hey guys!
Sounds like ye are having a blast and keeping on budget as well!! What yee planning for christmas? We're in the process of planning our seasonal cheer!!! Went surfing yesterday, and going again later today.... tis good 2 be back on the boards! :) Wheres our comments on our blogs? :P x