MHV 4

Nimen hao! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures, if you've had a chance to check them out. Things have been relatively unexciting the last few days (well, compared to last week, at least), although I did embark on one great adventure. On Thursday, I did a big hike from Yangdi to Xingping, along the Li River; this stretch arguably contains the finest karst scenery in Guangxi. I had a good laugh when I got on the bus to Yangdi, as the driver looked at me incredulously and asked "yi ge ren ma??" (basically, "no guide??"). A lot of people can't seem to grasp the fact that some foreigners do in fact speak Chinese and that it is not absolutely necessary to have a local guide holding your hand any time you leave the confines of town. I also found it amusing how the locals in Yangdi attempted to convince me that a hike all the way to Xingping would be nearly impossible (that the terrain is all uphill - despite the fact that such a route heads downriver - and the distance too far) and that I should hire a boat to take me there. Of course, I had already taken a boat down the Lijiang (from Guilin), so I insisted that I wanted to hike to Xingping. So, after talking to the locals in Yangdi for a while, I set out towards the river. Because the karst cliffs often rise directly out of the river on one side, it is necessary to cross the river three times during the hike. Fortunately, I had received instructions and village names from Yuan before leaving, so I knew where to find the first ferry and easily crossed the river to continue hiking. Nevertheless, things soon got confusing (don't they always?)... Yuan had told me I would have to hike for about an hour before arriving at the second ferry, so I worked my way down the trail at a pretty good pace, chatting with villagers along the way and enjoying the gorgeous scenery. After a while, I started climbing over a mountain and turning somewhat away from the river - which surprised me - but I continued hiking, as I hadn't seen a ferry or any sign designating a ferry stop. Eventually, I came to this extremely muddy area where the trail branched off in about four or five directions. This is where things became kind of chaotic. Each time I would try a trail, I would eventually come either to a dead end or to someone working in a field who would tell me to turn around (apparently, I was on their land). I kept backtracking and walking in circles, getting muddier by the minute. Then, this guy who had been watching me for a while came over to help. Although I didn't realize it at first, he was unable to talk and could only make a loud, rather unsettling sound - like a squeal or grunt. He kept making this sound really loud and pointing in different directions frantically, and, although I was pretty sure he was trying to help, I was getting a little freaked out. Then, some lady started walking very fast along a parallel trail not far away, in order to intercept me as I continued along my trail. With the mute man following me and the lady attempting to intercept me, my mind began to conjure strange images of xenophobia-induced incarceration and torture. The lady apparently just wanted to help too, but she did not speak very good Putonghua (more of a dialect) and the entire time she was talking, the man was squealing loudly and pointing and jumping all around. Not surprisingly, I said thank you, good-bye, and quickly took leave. At this point, I was totally confused and was also getting very overheated. To make things worse, as I tried to walk down a muddy slope to the river to ask directions from a man on a passing raft, I slipped and fell, becoming entirely covered in mud. Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper... After sitting down in the shade for a while to try to calm down and straighten things out, a lady appeared on the trail and explained to me that that I had passed the second ferry some time ago. She was also heading to the ferry (from the opposite direction) and said I could follow her. After climbing back over the mountain (which had been totally unnecessary) and hiking for a while, I eventually saw the ferry (although there was nothing to designate it as a ferry, and it was nearly impossible to see from the opposite direction). I was very grateful to the lady, and we chatted for a while - about her children, the river, my home - as we waited for the boat, and she eventually told me I should stop at her home on the other side of the river for lunch. After my detour I was short on time, but I was also pretty hungry, and I decided that the latter was more important. So, I enjoyed lunch with the nice lady, during which we continued our previous conversation. Afterwards, I decided to pay her two friends to take me down a short section of the river on a bamboo boat so that I could make up some lost time. Of course, I say bamboo "boat" only in the sense that this vehicle was, for the most part, buoyant. It could more accurately be described as about ten narrow bamboo stalks tied loosely together with some string and controlled by two people with crude wooden oars. Nevertheless, my two valiant oarsmen paddled our vessel downriver, often angling sharply across the river to avoid mostrous riverboats which threatened to overrun us. Waves splashed over our craft and small rapids threatened to capsize us, but we pressed on. Eventually, the great Jiu Ma Hua Shan (Nine Horses Fresco Hill) came into view, and my oarsmen decided that our little version of the QEII would go no farther. I disembarked and hiked to Jiu Ma Hua Shan, where the third and final ferry was supposed to be located. This time, I found the ferry on my first try, and, after making a short detour to bypass some not-so-friendly-looking water buffalo, was bound for the opposite shore. From here, I enjoyed a splendid two hour hike along the river, through several villages. Along the way, I met a band of four very friendly children who chatted with me for a short while as I walked. I eventually found an overlook from a cliff above the river, where I watched a brilliant sunset over these spectacular karst peaks - a truly awesome sight. Just as the day was nearing its end, I entered Xingping, found the bus station, and hopped on the final bus to Yangshuo just as it was leaving (I know my luck is going to run out eventually...). On the way home, the sky seemed to be on fire, casting a red-orange glow on the mountains, and another excellent adventure came to its end.

Well, that was my only really good adventure in the past couple days (although I did enjoy a couple of wonderful sunset runs along the river), but I have had some fun in Yangshuo. I spent a couple evenings in town meeting people and did quite a bit of bouldering at LL. Friday night I went disco-hopping with a couple girls my age (another chance for you to gossip!), during which time I noticed that a lot of foreign guys seemed envious of my ability to speak Chinese... It was a fun evening, and I also met up with some climbers who invited me to join them on Saturday, although I ended up sleeping in late instead. Today, I was planning to do a major bike adventure to the town of Baisha (and then continuing on a large loop), but I again decided to be lazy (as I wrote earlier, it's summer!). However, I need to rest, for tomorrow I embark on a new adventure!

One of the dilemmas that I face when I travel is how to balance my desire to move around and see all the scenery in an area yet stay put long enough at home to truly experience the daily life of the locals (as part of a homestay). I've been working for the past few weeks on an itinerary which will allow me to see some of China's greatest scenery in a minimal amount of time, so that I can return to Moon Hill Village and resume my homestay experience. The adventure which I will embark on tomorrow will take me through several of the surrounding provinces, including Yunan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hebei, and Hunan - altogether, an enormous region - yet I hope to finish my mini-journey in one week. Here is the tentative plan: Tomorrow I will fly from Guilin to Kunming (Yunan), where I will change planes and continue to Lijiang (Yunan). I will spend the night at a guesthouse in the "Old Town," a quaint, historical area. Tuesday morning, I'll take a bus to Qiaotou, where I'll embark on a trek in Tiger Leaping Gorge, a must-see for any adventurous traveler in southwestern China. At this point, I'll be close to the border of Tibet, so mountains rise above 18,000 feet; and TLG is, in fact, one of the deepest gorges in the world. Late Wednesday, I'll hopefully finish the hike and then bus back to Lijiang to spend another night in the Old Town. Thursday, I'll take a 6:30 AM bus to Panzhihua/Jinjiang, where I'll arrive just in time to connect to a 6:30 PM sleeper train to Chengdu (Sichuan). I'll disembark before arriving in Chengdu though, instead getting off in the town of Emei, around 4:30 AM. There, I'll begin hiking up Emei Shan, which Buddhists consider to be one of the four holy mountains in China. It's about 11,000 feet tall, so I'm planning to finish in time for the sunrise on Saturday (ideally). Then, I'll take a chairlift down (even holy mountains are not immune to China's fondness for mass tourism) and bus over to the nearby town of Leshan. From there, I'll be able to view the Grand Buddha, the largest Buddha in the world. Hopefully, I'll finish in time to take the 5:00 PM bus from Leshan to Chongqing, where I'll spend the night. Sunday morning, I'll leave early on a hydrofoil boat (as opposed to the standard tourist boat), in order to view the entire Three Gorges in one epic, eleven-hour day (as opposed to two or even three days). I'll disembark in Yichang and make my way back towards Yangshuo (I may have to stop in Huaihua and/or Liuzhou). Thus, my one week China mini-odyssey... I'll try to stay in contact with Yuan when possible (and she knows where I'm going and all the details), but I will almost certainly not have access to email and will not have time to check it anyway. I've done my research, feel confident about my Chinese, and will act always with extreme caution and with respect for the wild lands I'll be traveling through. I'm very excited about what will surely be one of my greatest adventures, and I look foward to giving you all the details when I return in approximately a week. Until then, goodbye.