Daxu

typical street of stone houses in old Daxu

courtyard house of wealthy family

medicine shop (see snakes in large jars)

farm fields in Daxu

Our lunch?

We are starting to get a little travel weary, but went on a nice outting with our guide today.  We were going to go to Daxu on our own but after asking him to find out the bus schedule for us, it became apparent that it might be better to take a van due to the uncertain nature of the bus there and back. 

More expensive for sure, but a nicer experience.  Had a nice chat with him on the ride in which we continue to learn more about the current culture.  In the town, he could also explain the Chinese medicine shop to us and took us inside the very beautiful old house of a wealthy family. It is now sort of a little museum to show how it was.  The village is 500-600 years old and was at one time a major center of trade (Da xu = big market) due to it's location at the convergence of several waterways and it's location on the Li River.  

People are still living here. Some selling to tourists, some farming little plots.   All living in very old stone houses whose living rooms are left open to the little street we walked down. We could see their flat screen tvs which seemed very out of place in their meager surroundings. 

We then took a ferry ride to a small farming island, much of them growing fruit.   We ate in a small restaurant, outside among the tropical plants, and played a little ping pong and had a few beers while they cooked our meal.  

This meal probably stretched our bounds the most.  A whole cooked chicken, which may have been alive when we ordered it.   We wondered what that object in the pan was with the finger-like things.  The chicken's comb of course!  Dave ate that.  Luke had a foot. I ate the liver and all three of us tried a bit of the solidified blood in the broth - sort of like tofu.   Andrew and Neela stuck with the normal fare. 

All in all, a very nice day with a different experience than we had had so far.  It continues to amaze me how people in this country, actually within a very short distance of each other, can lead such vastly different life styles from each other.  They seem to be living in entirely different centuries (or dynasties!)

Marnie