Rolling On A River

Some reflections on the Chinese people. There is no regard for personal space with this enormous population. People push and shove and walk right in front of you in lines or getting off the airplane. If you push back, no one cares. Spitting on the sidewalk seems like a national sport and gross! We’ve seen many toddlers wearing “split” pants which is a vertical slit down the rear end. When they squat to pee or do #2 the pants open and voila! It is not uncommon to see these little ones running around with their tushies exposed – no diapers or pants. Occasionally you have to step around puddles.

Kids are a national treasure here as each couple is allowed only one child. The doting parents and grandparents could not be more proud of their progeny. We’ve seen very few dogs and mostly little ones. We haven’t been in residential areas and dog meat is eaten here so maybe pets are kept indoor for their protection. In general the people are so nice and kind on a one to one basis. We always get smiles and moms and dads have their kids wave to us and let us take their pictures. The shopkeepers and street merchants are a different story. They pursue you and harangue you and keep saying in your ear – "four for one dollah"or "cheap for you." Jeff replies “bullshit” which sounds like the Chinese bu shi which can mean no or you’re welcome.
All our hotel rooms have been spacious, clean and well appointed. They have good amenities like toothbrushes, combs, lotions, shampoo and two bottles of water. It is not safe to drink tap water. Most have minibars with snacks, booze and condoms!

Today was another gorgeous weather day and we set out by bus to explore the Li River. It takes ½ hour to get to the boat and we are one of many setting out on the river today. We travel downstream for 4 hours (37 miles) and see truly exquisite scenery. The limestone karst peaks are awesome and remind me of the haystacks at the Oregon coast. Huge stands of bamboo line the shores and we see ducks, pigs, cattle and water buffalo. Lunch is served buffet style and pretty good. All in all a great day. We land at a little resort town, Yangshuo, and walk around the market streets. Had ice cream at an air conditioned KFC.

Later we boarded large golf carts with three seats and a gas engine to tour the countryside. Very cool as we went over back roads and saw water buffalo up close walking with their farmers along the road. Everyone wanted to be paid for taking their photo and kept saying, “money.” One lady appeared with a two year old in a basket and the little girl mumbles, “I want dollar” and pats her tummy. We were hysterical. All the ladies had something to sell and kept saying "four for a dollar." We saw some cool limestone mountains formations and visited a farm house. At one point Jeff sat on a water buffalo and posed with two monkeys at another place. It was all pretty commercial, but we loved it.

Back in Guilin we had our farewell dinner at the hotel and went outside to view the artificial waterfall. I was not impressed, but it was a lot of water. Tomorrow we fly to our last stop in mainland China and then take an afternoon catamaran to Hong Kong. Just e-chatted with Brian and he will fly to Hong Kong tomorrow night and we’ll meet up on Friday afternoon. We will have to say goodbye to our national guide, Sun, who is a real gem. He’s been with us the entire trip and uses local guides in each city. Sun is a class act always watching out for us and quietly keeping us safe and happy. He will fly home to Beijing as we make our way to Hong Kong. A few more wonderful days of this exciting trip.