Tourist boats on the Lijiang (Li River) (Photo: Wikimedia commons)
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 1, Beijing here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 2, The Great Wall here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 3, The Forbidden City here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 4-5, Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 6, Lost and Found, here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 7-8, Xi'an to Guilin, here.
My Crazy China Trip
(Day 9-10)
Lijiang River and Yangshuo
My
Trip to China - Day 9, Lijiang River
Today
I went down the Lijiang River to Yangshuo on a boat.
Part way down We got off the boat to take some photos. First a fisherman came up and
stopped for us. A
fisherman came on his little raft and we got to take photos with the hills in
the background. It was so convenient that he stopped there to fish just when we
turned up. He was riding a little bamboo raft with nets and things
on it. It all looked very picturesk (sp?).
Then we wandered
around a farming village for a while. I saw a young girl carrying a pole with a
basket on each end. She wore a pink shirt which looked nice against the huge
green bamboo plants. I was just about to take photo when she looked right at
me. It was like she was staring right into my zoom lens. I forgot to take the
photo then she turned away and kept on walking. Sometimes you just have to
remember stuff.
We
stopped further down the river at a village. I wandered around for a while
taking photos. I saw some bright red chillies drying in the sun outside a house.
Outside a restaurant I saw a plate of snacks. A lady pointed to them and said ‘chi’, eat, so I did. It turned out it
was fried chilli and just about burned my mouth off.
I drank lots of water and it still
burned. The lady got a milk drink from the fridge inside. I drank that too. I cost
me ten yuan but it was worth it.
Later we went for walk along the bank of the
river. I put my bag and camera down for a while and took off my shoes to stand
on the grass on the river bank. Then the dirt crumbled under me and I fell in
to the water.
When we got to Yangshuo I checked
into my hotel, hung up my wet clothes, yay, I saved some more laundry money,
then went out to look around. I was looking for some souveniers and something
special for my sister. There were stalls selling little stamps with your name
carved on them in Chinese, shops full of Chinese scroll paintings, t-shirts and
all sorts of other stuff. I just couldn’t decide.
I came across a lady making a
picture on a price of flay polished stone by chipping little dots. It was very
cool. I asked the price. It was expensive. I tried to bargain the price down
but she wouldn’t budge. I remembered the Singaporean lady and her cheap
postcards. I reckoned she could go lower. I tried again but eventually I gave
in. I will put it in the lounge with the blue fan and my little terracotta
warriors, if I can get rid of the dust.
The main street is called West
Street. As well as shops there are lots of restaurants selling Chinese and
western food. I saw one place selling pizza. Is that Chinese? I read somewhere
that maybe Marco Polo took the idea of noodles back to Italy, But pizza too?
China is just full of surprises.
When I finished eating I needed to go to the
toilet. I followed the signs out the back of the restaurant. On the door there
was a sign that said: “please flush after pooing.” Good advice. They could make
that their motto.
Day 10, Yangshuo
In
the morning I got up and tried to have a shower but there was no hot water. I
complained to the front desk and they
said the hotel no hot water in the morning. They offered me two flasks of water instead.
It was hard having a shower with that. I looked at the laundry sheet in the
room. It was expensive here too. Must check the exchange rate though.
I went out for breakfast and had
some Chinese food. After yesterday‘s chilli eating I couldn’t taste much but my
tolerance for spicy food seemed to have increased.
I decided to hire a bike and go to
see the famous big banyan tree. While I was there I saw some old women posing
for photos for money. I bargained with them in Chinas. They agreed on a price
but didn’t seem very happy. When I took some photos they demanded more money. I
seemed to me they were doing very well out of all the tourists so I left in a hurry.
After that I biked to Moon Hill. I
climbed right up to the top. I was hot and tired when I got there. I couldn’t
see the moon though. When I got down to the bottom someone said if you look at
it from the right angle a gap in the mountain looks like the moon. I took a
photo and rode back to town.
In the evening I went to see the light and
dancing show on the river. I set up my tripod to take some photos. It was a
great show. I was just moving my tripod to get some good photos in the second
half when I heard a shout in Chinese. I looked around and saw one of the old
ladies I photographed walking towards me waving her arm. Then there was another
shout from my left, and her friend was coming at me too. I looked around. There
was no where to go so I grabbed my tripod and camera and went toward the water.
I stepped onto a little platform. The ladies kept shouting at me and then
started running after me.
What was I going
to do? I have another motto: "Thought before action, if you have
time." I got that one from a book I read, ‘The Edge’ by Dick Francis. I
must read it again when I get home. Maybe my next trip can be a train journey
across Canada like in the book. Do Canadians snore?
Anyway I didn’t
have time to think so I just ran. Toward the river. When I got to the
edge I just kept going. I found I was walking on water, just like the dancers.
They were looking at me strangely and then the lights came up and the crowd
clapped. Then everyone laughed. I thought I better get out of there so I ran to
hide behind the dancers at the back. Sorry I said as I passed through them.
Then one shouted at me I looked around to see who it was and then fell in the
water. Luckily I held my camera up high.
I
waded out of the water downstream, and a friendly policeman helped me get out.
He took me in a police car back to his office for a cup of tea. We had trouble
talking since he didn’t speak much English so it was a bit awkward. He told me
not to do it again and took me back to the hotel.
It was weird walking on water. I didn’t feel
like a messiah. I felt like a very naughty boy. My clothes were soaked through
again. Oh well, I can save even more laundry money.
********
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 1, Beijing here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 2, The Great Wall here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 3, The Forbidden City here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 4-5, Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 6, Lost and Found, here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 7-8, Xi'an to Guilin, here.
Read My Crazy China Trip - Day 11-12, The Longsheng Terraces to Shanghai, here.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
********
MORE STORIES....
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(4 parts)
Arrested Development - A development consultant in China finds life getting out of control. [Rated R]
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My story 'Promised Land' has been selected for the forthcoming anthology "After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis". You can read the other entries here.
A previous set of stories was published in 2012 in a book entitled After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, available from Amazon (Amazon) or in Australia from Fishpond (Fishpond).
Stories set in China:
Winds of Change – In 2022 a migrant worker struggles to realise his dreams and fulfil his family obligations.
Outside In – It's 2050, the country and economy have changed. A recycler studies for an exam to improve his prospects, and an indentured servant plans her escape.
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Stories set in Australia: A North Queensland Trilogy
Robots on Mars – 2025. A space-mad city boy adjusts to life in the country and tries to solve a mystery. (Note: no actual robots or Martians involved)
Promised Land – (Sequel to Robots on Mars). It’s 2050 and development threatens the rural district. Is it what they really need and if not, how can they stop it?
Heart of Glass - (Sequel to Promised Land). The year is 2099, high school graduates prepare to step into adulthood and the community prepares to celebrate the turn of a new century.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
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