Yangshuo County

(Click on this photo to enlarge for a panorama!)

A few of you may have known our itinerary to include nearly a month in the Guilin apartment. We made a change of plans. Homesickness was setting in and another two weeks in the dense city where we had to pay nearly $40 for the 5 of us every time we went to a park was seeming too much.   The traffic was wearing on us and we had had enough family closeness in the little apartment and we were starting to get on each other's nerves.   

And then our good friend and guide told us he felt obligated to let us know (despite the fact that it was apparently not his place to say) that the sign he noticed posted on our building said there was a safety issue with the one remaining operating elevator. He felt it was too risky for us to continue using it.   We Google translated the sign and read about a worn out belt and the elevator company no longer servicing it as parts were no longer made for it.  Walking up 14 flights of dark, garbage filled stairs several times a day in nearly 100 degree heat was the last straw. 

We packed up our stuff and made a new plan.   I am not to sure how this all plays out with our travel agent yet.   There are lots of business relationships that we just don't understand so we probably stepped on someone's toes by taking this into our own hands.   

Nevertheless, we think this has been a great move.  We are all feeling much better out here in the countryside and we can come back and jump in the beautiful outdoor pool after a sweaty bike ride through the awesome landscape.   And there are only occasional whiffs of water buffalo manure while we are swimming : )

It is quiet out here and we can listen to the cicadas and birds and an only occasional honk of a horn.  But I am still glad we had two nearly weeks at the apartment.  The main reason for us to stay so long after the organized tour was so that we could experience China beyond the typical fast track tourist experience.   

I think we have been able to do that.   We have seen so many of the different realities of life in China.  We enjoyed getting the rhythm of life in the apartment building, seeing people go about their daily lives and hanging out and playing ping pong and soccer with the Chinese kids in the evenings.   Turns out what we thought was some unique thing in the farmer village near Xi'an is typical all over China.   Neighbors come out to play and women come out to dance together every evening as part of their social life. 

We shopped for fruit at the street stands and markets and also at the local Walmart like everyone else.   We stood on the crowded city bus at rush hour, learned that you just have to squeeze yourself in to that open window seat, and that it is ok for your toddler boy to pee into the garbage can on the bus.   

We saw the people doing their daily shopping at the fresh food markets or carrying a chicken dangling from their scooter handlebars and teens hanging out at the big shopping malls.  We've hung our laundry on the rooftop to dry among the sheets and underwear of our neighbors.  And we've seen the men srip down to their undies to swim or bathe in the river with their kids while the women just swim in their dresses.

And we are also seeing the reality of rural China.  Traditional methods of farming being used by hard working men and women alike; old falling apart buildings being used as the village junkyard alongside much new construction of concrete buildings; chickens running free everywhere; and kids watching tv or playing video games in their living rooms open to the street life while the older men sit together and play cards.   

Sure, there have been many people who have stared at us as if we were some sort of alien family on display, but everyone we have actually met or even just exchanged a "Ni hao" with has been very friendly.  They seem to really love their children (but why do parents  keep asking to take a photo of Dave holding their babies!!?)

So we now enter the last stretch of the trip "on vacation" in one of the most scenic parts of the country.   But we will miss Mrs. Huang and her happy smile as she brought us dinner every night!

Marnie