I've been missing my blog. I suppose that I should just start another one, but since my little New Thing Campaign was never just about my trip to China, I've decided to just keep writing here. Readers or no readers, mundane or momentous, my new thing for June will be this: to find something to write about every single day. When I was in graduate school, I started writing letters. I was living away from my hometown for the first time, and I longed for mail from people I knew, this being the time before email and social media. It didn't take me long to figure out that I had to write in order to be written to. And boy, did I write. I typed letters on my brand new Macintosh, printed them on my dot matrix printer, and mailed several of them almost every single day. When I was struggling to write my dissertation, my director said to me, "anybody who can write as many letters as you do can write a dissertation faster. Just do it.". I tell my students all the time that writing gets easier the more you do it, that the more you write the more you find you have to say. I'm going to put that to the test in June.
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Home
Yesterday was my do over day. I left Shanghai just before 6pm Monday, and I arrived in Chicago just after 6pm Monday. Now, I'm sitting at home, bleary-eyed from too little sleep and trying to process the last six weeks while I do laundry and sort through souvenirs. I'm feeling really fortunate for having had this opportunity and really glad I kept this blog so that I'll have a written account of my travels. I'll miss China and writing the blog.
China is the strangest place I've ever been. By strange, I mean foreign. I wrote a lot here about the many things that struck me as different. Some of the strangeness wore off as my visit progressed. I got used to the way the university operated, to the sound of the language, to the fact that tap water is undrinkable, to being stared at all the time. But I never got completely used to the sights and sounds of the place. I'm glad about that. I found that I really liked the fact that I was in a place where the common and mundane could be perpetually surprising. It's made me want to find other places to visit, places just beyond my comfort level. I think it's good for me. It feels that way, anyway.
On the plane from Shanghai yesterday, I was seated down an empty row several seats away from a Chinese woman. I glanced over at her during the dinner service, and I saw her scrutinize the contents of her tray and then had most all of it back to the flight attendant. At breakfast, she took the tray, but then studied her blueberry muffin and looked around as if to say, "Really? Is this seriously what you people eat for breakfast?". I have no proof of this, but I think she was heading for her first visit to the US. She looked at the food a little like I looked at unfamiliar things during my first days in China. I watched the woman speak to the American flight attendant, and I could tell that she didn't speak much English. How would she make her way in the US? I had the benefit of being in a country where many of the people with whom I interacted spoke a lot or a little English. How many people will my plane companion encounter in the US who speak Chinese? Will she navigate language barriers and cultural differences better then I did? Will the people she meets be as generous to her as those I met? I hope so, but I wonder.
My trip taught me a lot about cultural difference, about the things I take for granted here at home, and about my own ability and inability to adapt to change. It taught me, once again, about the power of new things, and how those experiences make me happier. It's going to feel strange to go back to a mere one new thing a month after the novelty extravaganza of China. Perhaps that's the biggest challenge, though. Finding new adventures in everyday life is more difficult than finding them in a completely unfamiliar environment. I'll keep trying, though. I think this New Thing Campaign is a keeper.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
China is the strangest place I've ever been. By strange, I mean foreign. I wrote a lot here about the many things that struck me as different. Some of the strangeness wore off as my visit progressed. I got used to the way the university operated, to the sound of the language, to the fact that tap water is undrinkable, to being stared at all the time. But I never got completely used to the sights and sounds of the place. I'm glad about that. I found that I really liked the fact that I was in a place where the common and mundane could be perpetually surprising. It's made me want to find other places to visit, places just beyond my comfort level. I think it's good for me. It feels that way, anyway.
On the plane from Shanghai yesterday, I was seated down an empty row several seats away from a Chinese woman. I glanced over at her during the dinner service, and I saw her scrutinize the contents of her tray and then had most all of it back to the flight attendant. At breakfast, she took the tray, but then studied her blueberry muffin and looked around as if to say, "Really? Is this seriously what you people eat for breakfast?". I have no proof of this, but I think she was heading for her first visit to the US. She looked at the food a little like I looked at unfamiliar things during my first days in China. I watched the woman speak to the American flight attendant, and I could tell that she didn't speak much English. How would she make her way in the US? I had the benefit of being in a country where many of the people with whom I interacted spoke a lot or a little English. How many people will my plane companion encounter in the US who speak Chinese? Will she navigate language barriers and cultural differences better then I did? Will the people she meets be as generous to her as those I met? I hope so, but I wonder.
My trip taught me a lot about cultural difference, about the things I take for granted here at home, and about my own ability and inability to adapt to change. It taught me, once again, about the power of new things, and how those experiences make me happier. It's going to feel strange to go back to a mere one new thing a month after the novelty extravaganza of China. Perhaps that's the biggest challenge, though. Finding new adventures in everyday life is more difficult than finding them in a completely unfamiliar environment. I'll keep trying, though. I think this New Thing Campaign is a keeper.
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011
City of Contrasts
Here's how our second full day in Shanghai started: we stepped out of our B&B in the French Concession to see a chicken being butchered on the ground across the street. There was a poultry seller there with a cart and a small cage filled with four live chickens. She was gutting luckless chicken number five on a black plastic garbage bag stretched on the pavement just as we hit the side walk. Who knew that in this sophisticated city of 18 million, scenes like this still existed? In many ways, the Shanghai I saw on my quick visit was like this: a city of incredible contrasts between old and new, rich and poor, cutting edge and old world. I loved this about Shanghai; these contrasts and contradictions made it seem like a place that could surprise you at every turn.
This was our last full day in Shanghai, and we had such fun. After the chicken incident, we walked to the site of the First National Congress of the National Party of China. This is where the soon-to-be Chairmen Mao and his political buddies first met to initiate China's Communist system. I had a photo op outside with Cindy, while Dwight toured the museum there. We also found a little postal museum across the street where Cindy discovered a photo booth where visitors could have their picture taken and printed on a stamp placed on a postcard of Shanghai. Of course, we had to make some of these. After that, Cindy and I walked to a street market jam packed with lots of interesting items. There were Buddhas in every style, fans, statues of Mao, acupuncture models of the human body, tea sets, silk scarves, and even teashirts of Barak Obama in a Mao suit. I didn't end up buying anything, but I enjoyed looking. Here's my picture in front of the CP site and one of the market.
With Cindy's expert navigation, we walked to the gorgeous Fuxing Park to meet Dwight. The park is in the French Concession, just as our B&B is. From what I've read, Shanghai's French Concession was established in 1849, when the French obtained a proclamation from the Governor of Shanghai, conceding a portion of the city to the them for a settlement. The concession was retracted in the 40s, but the name remains. Fuxing Park is decidedly French in style, and when it opened in 1909, it was only open to French citizens. It still looks European, but it's filled with lots of Chinese people enjoying afternoon strolls or flying kites.
We wandered around a bit and then had a nice lunch in a western microbrewery. Our next plan was to enjoy some Shanghai-lights: Nanjing Road, The Bund, the Pudong area, and the amazing Pearl Tower. Our afternoon itinerary gave us a taste of Shanghai's fancy pants side. Nanjing Road is a long pedestrian shopping district, crowded with people and upscale shopping--though there are lots of souvenir shops along the way, too. There were so many people! This was right up there with the Xi'an Expo and the Beijing subway as one of the most populated sites I visited in China. For some reason, photos fail to capture that.
Nanjing Road spills onto the Bund, an area that runs along the banks of the Huangpu River and which houses a number of handsome historical buildings.
Across the river from The Bund lies Pudong, the city's financial district, filled with the most spectacular collection of skyscrapers I think I've seen. At the center is the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower. Wow. It's silver-grey and magenta, and it's absolutely marvelous. It reminds me of something you might stick on top of a Christmas tree.
We'd planned to avoid tourist traps like The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, but we were caught up in the drama of the skyline and the energy of the crowd, so what the heck, why not sit it a metal pod, roll through a tunnel, and look at pretty lights? This short ride seems to have nothing to do with the Bund, but the lights are colorful, and the experience is narrated by someone who says inexplicable and hilarious things like "sea cadence," and "nascent magma." Here're some shots including one fluke photo. I have no idea how I did it--must have something to do with that nascent magma.
The rain was pelting us as we left the tunnel, and we were cold and tired, but after a little break, we decided to go up in the Pearl. We rode an elevator up to an observation deck in the second pearl on the strand, and the views were amazing.
Here's a close-up of a cruise ship sailing down the Huangpu River.
The fog was starting to roll in while we were up there, and little by little, the tops of the skyscrapers were disappearing.
As we were heading down, we came to a second observation deck, this one with a see-through plexiglas floor. It took me a while to get up the nerve to walk out on it, but Cindy loved it. Look at those skyscrapers beneath her!
Here's the shot I'll leave you with. A baby, creeping along the plexiglas deck, in split pants. Adorable.
We only saw a small slice of Shanghai, but it seems like a fascinating city. I'd love to go back someday, and I hope it retains its many contrasts. That's what makes it so interesting, I think.
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This was our last full day in Shanghai, and we had such fun. After the chicken incident, we walked to the site of the First National Congress of the National Party of China. This is where the soon-to-be Chairmen Mao and his political buddies first met to initiate China's Communist system. I had a photo op outside with Cindy, while Dwight toured the museum there. We also found a little postal museum across the street where Cindy discovered a photo booth where visitors could have their picture taken and printed on a stamp placed on a postcard of Shanghai. Of course, we had to make some of these. After that, Cindy and I walked to a street market jam packed with lots of interesting items. There were Buddhas in every style, fans, statues of Mao, acupuncture models of the human body, tea sets, silk scarves, and even teashirts of Barak Obama in a Mao suit. I didn't end up buying anything, but I enjoyed looking. Here's my picture in front of the CP site and one of the market.
With Cindy's expert navigation, we walked to the gorgeous Fuxing Park to meet Dwight. The park is in the French Concession, just as our B&B is. From what I've read, Shanghai's French Concession was established in 1849, when the French obtained a proclamation from the Governor of Shanghai, conceding a portion of the city to the them for a settlement. The concession was retracted in the 40s, but the name remains. Fuxing Park is decidedly French in style, and when it opened in 1909, it was only open to French citizens. It still looks European, but it's filled with lots of Chinese people enjoying afternoon strolls or flying kites.
We wandered around a bit and then had a nice lunch in a western microbrewery. Our next plan was to enjoy some Shanghai-lights: Nanjing Road, The Bund, the Pudong area, and the amazing Pearl Tower. Our afternoon itinerary gave us a taste of Shanghai's fancy pants side. Nanjing Road is a long pedestrian shopping district, crowded with people and upscale shopping--though there are lots of souvenir shops along the way, too. There were so many people! This was right up there with the Xi'an Expo and the Beijing subway as one of the most populated sites I visited in China. For some reason, photos fail to capture that.
Nanjing Road spills onto the Bund, an area that runs along the banks of the Huangpu River and which houses a number of handsome historical buildings.
Across the river from The Bund lies Pudong, the city's financial district, filled with the most spectacular collection of skyscrapers I think I've seen. At the center is the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower. Wow. It's silver-grey and magenta, and it's absolutely marvelous. It reminds me of something you might stick on top of a Christmas tree.
We'd planned to avoid tourist traps like The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, but we were caught up in the drama of the skyline and the energy of the crowd, so what the heck, why not sit it a metal pod, roll through a tunnel, and look at pretty lights? This short ride seems to have nothing to do with the Bund, but the lights are colorful, and the experience is narrated by someone who says inexplicable and hilarious things like "sea cadence," and "nascent magma." Here're some shots including one fluke photo. I have no idea how I did it--must have something to do with that nascent magma.
The rain was pelting us as we left the tunnel, and we were cold and tired, but after a little break, we decided to go up in the Pearl. We rode an elevator up to an observation deck in the second pearl on the strand, and the views were amazing.
Here's a close-up of a cruise ship sailing down the Huangpu River.
The fog was starting to roll in while we were up there, and little by little, the tops of the skyscrapers were disappearing.
As we were heading down, we came to a second observation deck, this one with a see-through plexiglas floor. It took me a while to get up the nerve to walk out on it, but Cindy loved it. Look at those skyscrapers beneath her!
Here's the shot I'll leave you with. A baby, creeping along the plexiglas deck, in split pants. Adorable.
We only saw a small slice of Shanghai, but it seems like a fascinating city. I'd love to go back someday, and I hope it retains its many contrasts. That's what makes it so interesting, I think.
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Paradise Lost
I'm just sitting in my room in Shanghai. We leave this afternoon for the US, and I feel simultaneously ready to get home and reluctant to leave. This has been an incredible trip. I've learned so much, and I've seen even more. I've been pretty busy withn China tourism the last few days, so I've neglected my blog. Here's an update on our first day in and around Shanghai.
On Saturday, we decided to visit Hangzhou, a city 120 miles from Shanghai. It's often called paradise on earth by the Chinese, heralded by poets and explorers for its natural beauty. At the heart of the old town is West Lake, and the lake is surrounded by pagodas and gardens. We were looking forward to this side trip; we'd even read an article in the New York Times recently chatting up the place. Honestly, I was also excited about the idea that we could take a super high speed bullet train to get there. That sounded just plain fun to me. Sadly, this was a kind of failed day. We got a later start than anticipated, found all the bullet trains sold out, arrived in Hangzhou later than expected, felt pretty well scammed by a couple of cab drivers who didn't use their meters, and found "paradise," the so-called "breath of fresh air" just outside the megatropolis of Shanghai, shrouded in the heaviest blanket of smog I've seen. Dwight's white shirt was flecked with black soot pretty quickly, Cindy's throat was feeling sore, and my eyes were burning and I was sneezing like mad. This was no day for a nature walk. Paradise seemed pretty hellish.
Can you see what looks like fog in this photo? It's smog enveloping Hangzhou's West Lake.
We decided to get a cab and drive out to see the area of town where a famous Chinese tea is grown and processed; it's called Longjing tea. The smog was just as thick there, but it was interesting to see how tea grows--this variety grows in short, round bushes--and to stop at a teahouse to sample some. They brought the hot tea in tall glasses, and since it was fresh, it didn't really need to steep at all. They also brought us snacks like watermelon slices, sweet peanuts, and sunflower seeds. We had a nice break. We wandered through the National Tea Museum there pretty quickly since we had to get back to the train station for our pre-booked return trip, but we bought lots of tea related souvenirs before we left. We got back to Shanghai and found it just as smoggy, but now it was starting to rain. The rest of the night involved a whole host of problems that left all of us periodically anxious, angry, and frustrated. I found a big cockroach in my room, we had a couple of upsetting misunderstandings with the staff at the restaurant we went to for dinner, and we were followed part way home by someone who pretty clearly seemed to be up to no good.
Even though it felt to the three of us like a lost day, we did have some fun. Here are some shots from the happy parts of our day. First, a tea field. I thought it was fascinating to see how it grows.
Dwight enjoys a steaming glass of Longjing tea.
We saw this happy couple several times that day, each time dressed differently and in some different spot in town. We understand from someone at the B&B that engaged couples in China who can afford to do so, have a an extensive series of photos taken before the wedding, with lots of rented costume changes and a variety of locations. We saw these kinds of photos being taken everywhere we went in China. Aren't they cute?
I'm happy to report that by the next day, we found plenty of humor in this lost day, and that we more than made up for any adventures lost by having a fun-packed day two in Shanghai.
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On Saturday, we decided to visit Hangzhou, a city 120 miles from Shanghai. It's often called paradise on earth by the Chinese, heralded by poets and explorers for its natural beauty. At the heart of the old town is West Lake, and the lake is surrounded by pagodas and gardens. We were looking forward to this side trip; we'd even read an article in the New York Times recently chatting up the place. Honestly, I was also excited about the idea that we could take a super high speed bullet train to get there. That sounded just plain fun to me. Sadly, this was a kind of failed day. We got a later start than anticipated, found all the bullet trains sold out, arrived in Hangzhou later than expected, felt pretty well scammed by a couple of cab drivers who didn't use their meters, and found "paradise," the so-called "breath of fresh air" just outside the megatropolis of Shanghai, shrouded in the heaviest blanket of smog I've seen. Dwight's white shirt was flecked with black soot pretty quickly, Cindy's throat was feeling sore, and my eyes were burning and I was sneezing like mad. This was no day for a nature walk. Paradise seemed pretty hellish.
Can you see what looks like fog in this photo? It's smog enveloping Hangzhou's West Lake.
We decided to get a cab and drive out to see the area of town where a famous Chinese tea is grown and processed; it's called Longjing tea. The smog was just as thick there, but it was interesting to see how tea grows--this variety grows in short, round bushes--and to stop at a teahouse to sample some. They brought the hot tea in tall glasses, and since it was fresh, it didn't really need to steep at all. They also brought us snacks like watermelon slices, sweet peanuts, and sunflower seeds. We had a nice break. We wandered through the National Tea Museum there pretty quickly since we had to get back to the train station for our pre-booked return trip, but we bought lots of tea related souvenirs before we left. We got back to Shanghai and found it just as smoggy, but now it was starting to rain. The rest of the night involved a whole host of problems that left all of us periodically anxious, angry, and frustrated. I found a big cockroach in my room, we had a couple of upsetting misunderstandings with the staff at the restaurant we went to for dinner, and we were followed part way home by someone who pretty clearly seemed to be up to no good.
Even though it felt to the three of us like a lost day, we did have some fun. Here are some shots from the happy parts of our day. First, a tea field. I thought it was fascinating to see how it grows.
Dwight enjoys a steaming glass of Longjing tea.
We saw this happy couple several times that day, each time dressed differently and in some different spot in town. We understand from someone at the B&B that engaged couples in China who can afford to do so, have a an extensive series of photos taken before the wedding, with lots of rented costume changes and a variety of locations. We saw these kinds of photos being taken everywhere we went in China. Aren't they cute?
I'm happy to report that by the next day, we found plenty of humor in this lost day, and that we more than made up for any adventures lost by having a fun-packed day two in Shanghai.
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Friday, May 20, 2011
A Day of Delays
I'm in Shanghai, in bed in a little B&B in the French Concession. It's a nice little place. Small stylish rooms, good air conditioning, and a comfy bed: what more do we need? We had a hard travel day today. After our 1.5 hour taxi ride to the airport in Guilin, we went through security and discovered that our flight would be delayed. We sat for what seemed like ages, and we finally boarded at about 3:20, just over two hours late. The cab ride form the airport was about 45 minutes in heavy traffic, so all we really had time for today was dinner. We went to a place just down the street, and while it wasn't our best dinner, it was fine. We managed to avoid things on the menu like bowel meat (yikes), so that's good news. We got back to the B&B and planned tomorrow's agenda. We're actually going to jump on a bullet train and go to Hangzhou, a town about 120 miles from here. We'd all read about this place and really wanted to see it, so even though it means more travel, we're up for it. We'll explore Shanghai on Sunday. That's not enough time for this big city, but it's all we have. This trip is winding down fast.
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Biking to the Moon
Before I report on my day, a little background. I love biking, but I'm not a big fan of riding on the street. I generally stick to bike trails. If I'm feeling adventurous, I might bike around side streets in my neighborhood, but I never bike on busy streets. Never. And I always wear a helmet, too. Until today, that is. We rented bikes this morning for the equivalent of $3.00 each for the entire day. Our plan: to ride about 40-60 minutes through town and out to a park called Moon Hill. It gets its name from the park's central feature: a big, mountain sized rock with a round hole straight through it, kind of like a big, full moon. What a ride. We cycled through an area with a long covered bridge where vendors were setting up souvenir stands, snd then we were in town. Cindy took a tumble, but thankfully she wasn't hurt, just dusty and a little scraped, so on we went. When we got to the main road, traffic was picking up--both bike and car traffic. Until the return trip this afternoon, this was the most traffic I'd ever ridden in. We rode around roundabouts and out past rice paddies. It was a great ride. I've seen so many bikers in China, but I never thought I'd be doing it myself. Frankly, it seemed awfully perilous before I did it. It was really fun, though. Here are some shots from the ride.
When we got to town, I stopped for a few shots. Here's a man lifting a broom out of a big stack. In the next shot, a woman carries her load of goods in the traditional manner.
As we got further out, the scene turned rural. Here's what I believe to be a newly planted rice paddy. In the shot after it, you can see a more mature paddy.
We saw lots of farmers out today. Here's one of them.
We rode over s bridge over the river, and we saw more bamboo rafts.
On the same bridge, we met a lovely woman named Mar, and she ended up joining us for our Moon Hill excursion. Moon Hill itself is quite picturesque, but I'm not sure that that's enough of a pay off. When we arrived, we were met by several women selling water and postcards who simply refused to take no for an answer. They followed us and asked over and over again if we wanted water. We said no, to no avail. To reach Moon Hill, you must walk up about 1,250 steps, that according to a guide book we referred to, and the women followed us as we walked, asking over and over if we wanted water. Mar spoke to them firmly but politely, and they finally left us, though we ran into others on the way up and back down. they have to make a living, I understand that, but it doesn't mean i have to like their persistence.
The walk up was physically tough for me--much tougher than the Great Wall. I suppose some of that is because of the difference in climate. It's hot and humid here, and that makes everything harder. And the stairs could be steep.
Rock climbers love this part of the world, and we saw a couple at the park today.
This sign at the gate might or might not be saying that climbing is prohibited.
We did eventually make it to the top. Here's Moon Hill itself.
Here are the four of us after our long climb to the top.
We walked back down and had lunch at a restaurant in the park. We met an English woman named Sarah there, and the five of us spent a nice hour or so chatting. Both Mar and Sarah are on solo travel expeditions that will last six months or so. I admire them both so much; I thought my six week adventure in China was something until I met them!
Our ride back to the hotel was through some pretty heavy traffic, but we made it back. As usual, we were exhausted by the end of the day. Tomorrow is another travel day. We pack up and head to Shanghai, our last destination.
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When we got to town, I stopped for a few shots. Here's a man lifting a broom out of a big stack. In the next shot, a woman carries her load of goods in the traditional manner.
As we got further out, the scene turned rural. Here's what I believe to be a newly planted rice paddy. In the shot after it, you can see a more mature paddy.
We saw lots of farmers out today. Here's one of them.
We rode over s bridge over the river, and we saw more bamboo rafts.
On the same bridge, we met a lovely woman named Mar, and she ended up joining us for our Moon Hill excursion. Moon Hill itself is quite picturesque, but I'm not sure that that's enough of a pay off. When we arrived, we were met by several women selling water and postcards who simply refused to take no for an answer. They followed us and asked over and over again if we wanted water. We said no, to no avail. To reach Moon Hill, you must walk up about 1,250 steps, that according to a guide book we referred to, and the women followed us as we walked, asking over and over if we wanted water. Mar spoke to them firmly but politely, and they finally left us, though we ran into others on the way up and back down. they have to make a living, I understand that, but it doesn't mean i have to like their persistence.
The walk up was physically tough for me--much tougher than the Great Wall. I suppose some of that is because of the difference in climate. It's hot and humid here, and that makes everything harder. And the stairs could be steep.
Rock climbers love this part of the world, and we saw a couple at the park today.
This sign at the gate might or might not be saying that climbing is prohibited.
We did eventually make it to the top. Here's Moon Hill itself.
Here are the four of us after our long climb to the top.
We walked back down and had lunch at a restaurant in the park. We met an English woman named Sarah there, and the five of us spent a nice hour or so chatting. Both Mar and Sarah are on solo travel expeditions that will last six months or so. I admire them both so much; I thought my six week adventure in China was something until I met them!
Our ride back to the hotel was through some pretty heavy traffic, but we made it back. As usual, we were exhausted by the end of the day. Tomorrow is another travel day. We pack up and head to Shanghai, our last destination.
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Fuli Market and a Bamboo Raft
We only have two full days here in--where are we? I keep getting it wrong. We're just minutes outside Yangshuo. I think I spelled it wrong in the last post. Anyway, I think we used today really well. We had a good breakfast here at the hotel, then we hired a cab to take us to Fuli, a village thirty minutes from here. They have market day there on any day of the month at ends in a two, five, or eight--days considered lucky by the residents of the village. Today is the 18th, so off we went. I loved it. It was one of my favorite China excursions, just because it was so completely foreign. We saw fruits and vegetables we couldn't name, live birds and fish for sale, fresh eggs from many varieties of birds, dried teas and tobaccos, tailors and dumpling makers, butchers and dentists. I saw a man sitting in a chair outside a storefront, with a dentist ready to pull one of his teeth out with a pliers. Outside! There were dozens of woks sizzling, and big piles of baked goods or meats on sticks for sale. The market was filled with locals, lots of them elderly, chatting and shopping. There were lots of little kids, too. The place was just buzzing with activity. We didn't get much notice, actually. I think the Guilin/Yangshuo area draws lots of tourists, so even little Fuli sees plenty of westerners, even though we saw few there today. Here are some market shots.
After we wandered through the market, we asked the driver to take us to a Buddhist temple Dwight and Cindy had read about, one for the protection of seafarers, located close to the banks of the Li River. They allowed us to take pictures there.
We drove back to the hotel, had lunch, and headed out for our next adventure: a bamboo raft ride down the Li, through one of the most magnificent landscapes I've ever seen. It's just unbelievably beautiful and strange, like something out of a Dr. Sueuss book. Here's our raft. As you can see, the bamboo is mostly on the benches.
The colors and shapes on the exposed rocks were lovely.
Just look at these shapes. Aren't they wonderful?
Our raft driver took this shot for us.
We stopped in an area full of vendors and photographers who would take your photo for a fee. We sent the time taking photos of our own and looking at the interesting rocks on the shore.
This is the landscape on the back of the twenty Yuan note, give or take a Karst mountain or two.
We got back to the hotel at about five, relaxed for awhile, had dinner, and crashed. It was a great day, filled with so many new things. You know, I'm really proud of us. We're doing this on our own, outside of official tours, solely with the help of locals and our own travel books. And honestly, I think we're doing a wonderful job.
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After we wandered through the market, we asked the driver to take us to a Buddhist temple Dwight and Cindy had read about, one for the protection of seafarers, located close to the banks of the Li River. They allowed us to take pictures there.
We drove back to the hotel, had lunch, and headed out for our next adventure: a bamboo raft ride down the Li, through one of the most magnificent landscapes I've ever seen. It's just unbelievably beautiful and strange, like something out of a Dr. Sueuss book. Here's our raft. As you can see, the bamboo is mostly on the benches.
The colors and shapes on the exposed rocks were lovely.
Just look at these shapes. Aren't they wonderful?
Our raft driver took this shot for us.
We stopped in an area full of vendors and photographers who would take your photo for a fee. We sent the time taking photos of our own and looking at the interesting rocks on the shore.
This is the landscape on the back of the twenty Yuan note, give or take a Karst mountain or two.
We got back to the hotel at about five, relaxed for awhile, had dinner, and crashed. It was a great day, filled with so many new things. You know, I'm really proud of us. We're doing this on our own, outside of official tours, solely with the help of locals and our own travel books. And honestly, I think we're doing a wonderful job.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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