Afterthoughts on Yangshuo: don't order banana pancakes which is a standard on dessert menus here. They are round gelatinous discs about the size of kitchen sink stoppers you buy in the supermarket. They are yellow and contain six slices of banana each. I think they are supposed to be crepes. They ain't...
In China, stick to Chinese food. It's delicious here at the source and attempts here to recreate other cuisines are inedible. Jim was kind in his talk about the restaurant "Le Votre". I could go on about it, but I won't.
It's fascinating how the exotic quickly becomes commonplace.� The karst mountains and Chinese roofs with their upturned corners are now part of our everyday scene.
Biking through the countryside was a most memorable experience. With the river as an orientation point, one could wander trails without too much fear of getting lost, wondering what might be around the next bend. Jim made one bad turn and 4 minutes up the trail ran into a small group of children who tried to tell him he was going the wrong way. On he went, hitting a dead end 5 minutes later (but grateful to see the water buffalo calf nursing at momma's teat). As he approached the children on the return back, sheepish grin on his face, their delightfully hearty taunts of "ha ha" made the detour worth it.
Biking through the countryside was a most memorable experience. With the river as an orientation point, one could wander trails without too much fear of getting lost, wondering what might be around the next bend. Jim made one bad turn and 4 minutes up the trail ran into a small group of children who tried to tell him he was going the wrong way. On he went, hitting a dead end 5 minutes later (but grateful to see the water buffalo calf nursing at momma's teat). As he approached the children on the return back, sheepish grin on his face, their delightfully hearty taunts of "ha ha" made the detour worth it.
The Yangshuo Mountain Retreat.
Our last 24 hours are being spent at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, an inn in the countryside outside of Yangshuo. It is a lovely spot on the banks of the Yulong River, a wide shallow stream.
There are stands of bamboo everywhere and bamboo rafts with tourists float by steadily. The sawtooth karst mountains loom in the background. It is a Chinese landscape painting of the sort we have seen all our lives. The inn itself was built by an American living here in China and it is devoted to providing jobs and training to local people while having minimum impact on its environment. Green is something sorely needed in China.
If we return to China I would like to end the trip here to rest up for the trip home. It would be a nice way to leave here.
China Thoughts:
If China is a communist and classless country, how is it there are first class compartments on the in-country airline planes?
Why was blogspot.com access blocked in Guanxi province, but permitted in Beijing?
If we return to China I would like to end the trip here to rest up for the trip home. It would be a nice way to leave here.
China Thoughts:
If China is a communist and classless country, how is it there are first class compartments on the in-country airline planes?
Why was blogspot.com access blocked in Guanxi province, but permitted in Beijing?
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