Payback Time... / Jeremy's Solo Jaunt in Yangshuo


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Asia » China » Hunan » Guilin
October 28th 2009
Published: October 29th 2009
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Guilin to Yangshuo


Twin Towers ... We Swear!Twin Towers ... We Swear!Twin Towers ... We Swear!

That's what they call them, anyway.
To those of you who have suffered through one of my massages...to those of you who have writhed in agony on the table as I dug my elbows into your back, your glutes, or your shoulders...to those of you who screamed, cried, begged for mercy, sweated, clenched the table...I dedicate this blog TO YOU. Because yesterday, it was my turn to be pummeled into a crying, sweating mess by an 80-pound Asian lady who showed no mercy.

But anyway, we'll get to that. Yesterday we unfortunately awoke to more overcast and gray, which again has put a real damper on my beloved photography (the visibility is just terrible, and it's almost impossible to see the true beauty of this place). Today calls for more gray and even some thunderstorms later on, but luckily the next three after that should be gorgeous. Today we are catching a bus to a little town about 40 miles down the Li River called Yangshuo, where we will spend at least three nights taking in (weather willing!) the most scenic area in the region. I almost booked a cruise down to Yangshuo today, but it's a good thing I didn't, as it would have been a total waste with the gloom and doom outside. Ugh.

*************


Amy is feeling pretty rough, like the first days of my sickness.

This is where I, the beloved hubby that I am, take over for tonight.

We didn't really do a whole lot during the day.
Last night, after feeling like such bums the past couple of weeks from shutting down at 7PM our time (19:00 to them) every night, we decided to go out on the town with full intent of shopping for more clothes and eating exotic delicacies from the area. Well... Close enough. We were starving and getting quite easily irritated while looking for a place to eat. Everything looked well enough, but we wanted to see how outrageous the local Sheraton five-star (AAAAA in China) hotel restaurant happened to be. For 400 Yuan, you too could eat strange Chinese-Western fusion dishes like Garoupa Fish caught from the local Li River. Some things on there honestly looked really good, but we don't have an extra 800 yuan to spend on one meal.

We settled for this cute place across the street from the Sheraton hotel called Mix. It had local foods, Western samplings, but mostly Chinese dishes. It was attached to a massage place that looked fairly respectable and stayed open quite late; 1AM. A lot of Asian tourists poured into the massage place about 9PM or so while we ate dinner. Amy and I took a little while deciding what we were going to eat for all the good looking things on the menu. We decided on spicy taro and spare-rib with rice, note the singular on the rib; stewed eggplant with rice; and a side of broccoli done in the sort of gooey-clear-brothy-stuff you usually get in the states with veggie sides but so much better. We paired the meal with a domestic wine called The Great Wall. We kept seeing it places and they seemed very proud of it. They have good reason. I personally thought it was great - earthy flavors with a smooth finish that went very well with my spicy taro and spare-rib. With the spice, it almost tasted like a Malbec, though it was a Cabernet Sauvignon.

For dessert, we picked two things. I got Bananas in plain yoghurt, which, I know, sounds pretty dull. The Yoghurt in China is unlike anything I've ever had. I seem to get it every day in some form or another. It's all homemade and sweet with a little sour. The consistency is like thin syrup. It's served chilled in a cup that is more like a bowl. Every last drop was savored, you can be sure. Amy was pressured (really had to twist her arm, ha!) into getting Red Bean and Lotus in Milk Custard. By the picture, you'll see both look amazing. The Lotus tastes like the flower looks, absolutely amazing. The Red beans aren't like a kidney bean, but rather very small and a little sweet. The Custard itself was also very good and mildly sweet but not overpowering at all. Both were excellent pallet cleansers and put the fire out of my mouth from my spicy dish (hard to believe it only had a spicy rating of 1 out of 3 at that place - yowza...)

After that, it was off to the hostel. Amy was feeling a little haggard by the soreness growing in her throat and congestion building in her sinuses. Our time, for now, was up in Guilin. We didn't even get to go shopping. Next time, Gadget. Next time.

Today, while Amy was sleeping off the combined effects of the bus ride, cold medicine, and Cipro, I took a walk "around town." The bus ride down here to Yangshuo was quite amazing - in a bad way. The driver was on the wrong side of the road most of the time, and I would watch in horror as cars were either run off the road and onto the sidewalk or we would move to the correct lane in the last second. I think the highlight of the trip was passing the "Guilin Normal University." We can only guess what that means. Suddenly we found ourselves being ushered off the bus at the edge of town, rather than the bus station. With no taxis in sight, we walked on for about twenty minutes before finding one. Once we got there, to the Giggling Tree, it was like a light from heaven shone down.

For good reason, it is rated as the number ten hostel in China. The blue lining on all the windows and red lanterns that light up at night give it an amazing charm... It looks like it would be at home in Italy or Spain very easily, minus the uniquely Chinese styling here and there. As I strolled down what I can only assume to be their "Main Street" in this little village 5km outside of Yangshuo (a place called Aishimen Village), I realized that THIS was the China I had envisioned and came here in search of. Quiet and undeveloped splendor of unplundered land as far as the eye can see and beyond. Here, the land was king and not man. They've had a bit of a drought, from what I understand, but it wouldn't seem so with how green it is all around me.

Bees were buzzing on flowing bushes on either side of what in the states we would consider a one-way concrete road (more like a highway here). Flies were buzzing over cow-patties the size of manhole covers by the water buffaloes that scatter the area. I took about a two kilometer hike up and down said road in blissful near silence. Farmland on my right, karst mountain formations on my left, I felt like a pterodactyl was about to fly out from behind a cliffside. The bamboo was even something I can't describe fully. The shoots of bamboo are even enormous. It might not mean much to those who know well my skinny nature, but they are as big around as my waist. After a while of walking, I turned around to see the sun had come out briefly just to say good-bye. As it sank beneath the mountains, I figured that going in the dark to my hostel in a foreign location (even for China) with no lamps to light my way might be a bad thing.

In closing, the bus ride was horrible, being left on the edge of town wasn't much better, but the views are worth it. The wonderful sounds of silence or the occasional cow rattling by is music to my ears after the hustle and bustle of rather crazy cities. Guilin and Yangshuo are places my heart can call home, or at least a little part of it.

Until next time, Jeremy and Amy signing out saying travel onward, and never take french fries and burgers for granted!


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29th October 2009

Wow!
wow! wow! wow! so cool!
29th October 2009

Jealous
Reading the blog and following the pics is very "transporting" - wonderful job. The only problem is I'm jealous!! You are sooooo lucky to be taking this trip! Paul
29th October 2009

woah!!
oh my gosh!!! that ya10 flower is the flower for the thx commercial!!!!!!!!!!!!!
31st October 2009

Whoa!
Those are some awsome pics. Those mountains look like something out of a doctor seus book! lol. Hey keep up with the writing. Hope amy is feeling better.

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