Awesome fun filled day!
We were up about 7 and showered etc and then went out for noodles for breakfast. It is great that for 50p you get a huge bowl of noodles and stuff! The noodles are handed to you with a few slices of meat and an egg and you then choose the veg and chillies and they add a watery soup on top. I did not add very many chillies myself but it turned out that the watery soup was extremely hot! Zoe and Shi Ying Jie were laughing at me and my attempt to eat with chopsticks and with the chillies.
After breakfast we went on our bikes to meet up with a friend of Zoe's that lives in town to see if he had a map in English of the area and also if he had access to cheap tickets to some of the tourist things going on in town. Unfortunately, it was a negative on both of these. It was a good way to see the town on the bike ride round. There are so many really modern things in China but you still have a mixture of old and new. Modern buildings still built by old methods and lots of man power rather than machines. This photo is of a wheel barrow being used to lift bricks to the top of a building. All is done by man power.
Bike Ride to the Caves:
We went with the son of the hotel owner to pick up the tickets for the caves. If you just turn up at the entrance you pay loads but the hotel owners can get reduced prices. The main road south to the caves is extremely popular with Chinese tourists. They all hire bikes and do the 10km or so ride though the hills. It is very pretty. There are loads of little gift shops, cafes and fruit stalls on the way. It is a great little day trip for tourists. Apparently most of the Chinese tourists are from the big cities and many have not cycled before! Every other bike was a tandem.
I found it very funny to see this tall, good looking white guy on a pink girls bike and had to take a photo (much to his amusement!).
This is a photo of us and the hotel owners son on the way to the caves. There are fab views of the river from the bridge. Loads of people take bamboo rafting rides.
When we got to the ticket office for the caves Zoe bargained hard and we got the tickets for about 60 CNY less each. Cool.
There were thousands of ducks wondering around at a farm. It was very funny to watch as the farmer came along with a bag of grain as all of the ducks waddle towards the farmer. The video is better but I do not have a good enough internet connection to upload it right now.
Boat ride and walking in the caves:
In order to get into the caves you have to take a short boat ride. We were told to put on our swimming things under our clothes for the mud baths and the hot springs and also to take a hat. I thought that the hat was just the normal safety precaution that tourists have to take for none dangerous things. It turned out that this was not the case at all. The caves where really narrow in parts and I banged my head many times trying to crawl through. The boat ride itself was through a very narrow space in the dark and at the end Zoe contemplated not continuing as she was really uncomfortable.
The caves really were great fun. I felt sorry for Zoe as she is claustrophobic and really did not enjoy the first part but as the caves opened up she really enjoyed it.
Mud Baths and Hot Springs:
The mud baths were in really cold water and it took us a little while to get in but once we did it was such a laugh. There was a mud slide into the mud which we all braved. It was funny as when covered in mud it hides the fact you are wearing swimming costumes and I have several photos which look like the people are naked! I choose not to upload these here......
After the mud baths they take you to another cold pool which is clear to wash off the mud and then you are allowed in the hot springs. They were so lovely and warm - bath temperature. It was a lovely contrast to the cold mud. The cave where the hot springs are situated are really big and they have done a great job of the lighting and so it is a very pleasant way to spend about 45mins. My skin was all shriveled by the time we left.
Treats on the way back to town:
This is a photo of the famous moon hill which is close to the caves. Tweetie enjoyed the view.
On the bike ride home we stopped off at a couple of places for treats. I tried this jelly and sugary syrup Chinese desert and then we stopped off for coffee and cheese cake (as a cultural exchange of different food types). We stopped off at a cafe by the river for the coffee. It was very civilised.
There were some steps to leave the cafe and Shi Ying Jie decided to try and lift both Zoe and her bike up the steps..... Muscle man failed!
Very late lunch at 4ish. We went to a noodle bar just opposite the hotel. I was really hungry. I am twice the size of Zoe who is never hungry and is very happy to eat a cucumber for lunch and be happy with it.
Lunch was only 3-5CNY (30p-50p) each where as the coffee had been £3.50! I kept on trying to pay for things but I would nip to the toilet only to find out that they had paid for me in my absence! They kept on saying that I am their guest in China and so therefore they should buy everything. It is Chinese tradition to fight over who pays bills. Once I realised this I put up a good fight and managed to buy some things for them in return. Zoe told me that she earns only £200 per month and so going out for a western meal or coffee is a major treat for them and seems extremely expensive.
So much for having a day off the bike. I did about 50km today just pottering round :-)
After lunch I walked into town so that I could have a couple of hours to myself and do some internet and shopping things.
I did not end up having much time for the internet by the time I had visited tour companies to find out about boat rides to Guilin and tried to buy some coffee and a map of the county - all of which I failed at!
Impression Lui Sanjie Show
We left the hotel at 7.15 and Zoe and Shi Ying Jie me to the show (also with the hotel owner so that he could get me the tickets).
It was a beautiful evening and the walk there along the river was lovely as the sun was just setting.
I meet a couple of Chinese people on the way in to the concert that had bought their tickets though the same company and where sitting next to me. It was good as they spoke really good English having studied at Manchester University for 3 years. They kindly explained what was going on.
Info on the show can be found by clicking here.
I was absolutely amazed at this show. It was incredible. Much better than I thought it would be. It has 600 actors for each performance and must cost a fortune to put on each day. The same coriographer that did the Olympic Games Ceremony designed this show.
I had got a ticket for the mid range seats for 160 CNY (£16 ish) but the ticket on the door was 240CNY. I was very grateful to Zoe for organising the ticket for me :-) When I saw how big the show was and how many people are involved I understood why the tickets where so expensive.
The show takes place in boats in the water. Most of the time you can not see the boats in the dark water and so the people look like they are floating. It is all performed to music.
I have seen so much natural beauty on this trip but there is something equally as beautiful: human creativity. The colours and the lights and the music where all so impressive. They lit up the mountains around the river at different times using different colours. The red cloth that they used with the yellow costumes was so vivid. They had costumes with lights attached that the actors could turn on and off at different times. As it was dark most of the time you could not see the actors or the boats until the point in the show where they lit up their costumes or directed light at them.
This kind of show could not have been put on if it were not for people which disposable cash being able to pay for such a visual sensation. It is all very well some people saying that because we are destroying the environment and our health by the current growth in the world and therefore we should all go back to just producing our own food etc but with out people being able to specialise and not having to spend time all their time growing food etc we would not have such beauty. Surly there are ways of stopping damaging the environment and still having economies that can support the arts and human creativity (not to mention businesses)?
Unfortunately I forgot to take my zoom lens and so my photos are rather rubbish. It is not something that you can really appreciate from photos though. The most interesting bit was the women in skin costumes that made it look like they are naked!
The show finished about 9.30 and I walked back to the hotel to pick up the others and head out for a drink. We wondered round town for a while looking for bar 98. It had been recommended to us yesterday. When we eventually found it the place was really quiet and so we went to another busier place call The Alley which was heaving.
I bought a small bottle of wine and the others had a big bottle of beer. I invited a Danish girl (Louise) sitting on her own at the bar to join us. We named Shi Ying Jie Bob as neither Louise nor I could remember how to pronounce his name. He likes his new name :-)
I ended up buying a beef burger at 1am as I had not had any dinner and I got really hungry all of a sudden. It was a good deal as it came with a free local beer and was £2.50 for the burger, chips and beer. I gave the beer to my lovely Chinese friends.
I did feel very bad as Zoe was very tipsy for the last hour or so of the evening. Poor old Bob also had to handle 3 giggling girls talking in a language that he does not understand. He sat there very patiently. Bless him. I felt very guilty. He is very sweet and obviously absolutely besotted with Zoe. Unrequited love though :-( He ended up giving Zoe a piggy back on the way back to the hotel. She could hardly walk after only 2 very small glasses of beer.
I am sharing a room with Zoe and she was extremely talkative when we got back until about 3.30am so it was a late night. It was interesting to have a girly chat with a Chinese girl as it was different to talking to Western girls. I learnt a lot about Chinese culture and relationships etc.
A really fun day. I really like my new Chinese friends :-)
We were up about 7 and showered etc and then went out for noodles for breakfast. It is great that for 50p you get a huge bowl of noodles and stuff! The noodles are handed to you with a few slices of meat and an egg and you then choose the veg and chillies and they add a watery soup on top. I did not add very many chillies myself but it turned out that the watery soup was extremely hot! Zoe and Shi Ying Jie were laughing at me and my attempt to eat with chopsticks and with the chillies. 
After breakfast we went on our bikes to meet up with a friend of Zoe's that lives in town to see if he had a map in English of the area and also if he had access to cheap tickets to some of the tourist things going on in town. Unfortunately, it was a negative on both of these. It was a good way to see the town on the bike ride round. There are so many really modern things in China but you still have a mixture of old and new. Modern buildings still built by old methods and lots of man power rather than machines. This photo is of a wheel barrow being used to lift bricks to the top of a building. All is done by man power. Bike Ride to the Caves:
We went with the son of the hotel owner to pick up the tickets for the caves. If you just turn up at the entrance you pay loads but the hotel owners can get reduced prices. The main road south to the caves is extremely popular with Chinese tourists. They all hire bikes and do the 10km or so ride though the hills. It is very pretty. There are loads of little gift shops, cafes and fruit stalls on the way. It is a great little day trip for tourists. Apparently most of the Chinese tourists are from the big cities and many have not cycled before! Every other bike was a tandem. 
I found it very funny to see this tall, good looking white guy on a pink girls bike and had to take a photo (much to his amusement!). 
This is a photo of us and the hotel owners son on the way to the caves. There are fab views of the river from the bridge. Loads of people take bamboo rafting rides. 
When we got to the ticket office for the caves Zoe bargained hard and we got the tickets for about 60 CNY less each. Cool.There were thousands of ducks wondering around at a farm. It was very funny to watch as the farmer came along with a bag of grain as all of the ducks waddle towards the farmer. The video is better but I do not have a good enough internet connection to upload it right now.
Boat ride and walking in the caves:
In order to get into the caves you have to take a short boat ride. We were told to put on our swimming things under our clothes for the mud baths and the hot springs and also to take a hat. I thought that the hat was just the normal safety precaution that tourists have to take for none dangerous things. It turned out that this was not the case at all. The caves where really narrow in parts and I banged my head many times trying to crawl through. The boat ride itself was through a very narrow space in the dark and at the end Zoe contemplated not continuing as she was really uncomfortable.The caves really were great fun. I felt sorry for Zoe as she is claustrophobic and really did not enjoy the first part but as the caves opened up she really enjoyed it.
Mud Baths and Hot Springs:
The mud baths were in really cold water and it took us a little while to get in but once we did it was such a laugh. There was a mud slide into the mud which we all braved. It was funny as when covered in mud it hides the fact you are wearing swimming costumes and I have several photos which look like the people are naked! I choose not to upload these here......After the mud baths they take you to another cold pool which is clear to wash off the mud and then you are allowed in the hot springs. They were so lovely and warm - bath temperature. It was a lovely contrast to the cold mud. The cave where the hot springs are situated are really big and they have done a great job of the lighting and so it is a very pleasant way to spend about 45mins. My skin was all shriveled by the time we left.
Treats on the way back to town:
This is a photo of the famous moon hill which is close to the caves. Tweetie enjoyed the view. 
On the bike ride home we stopped off at a couple of places for treats. I tried this jelly and sugary syrup Chinese desert and then we stopped off for coffee and cheese cake (as a cultural exchange of different food types). We stopped off at a cafe by the river for the coffee. It was very civilised. 
There were some steps to leave the cafe and Shi Ying Jie decided to try and lift both Zoe and her bike up the steps..... Muscle man failed! 
Very late lunch at 4ish. We went to a noodle bar just opposite the hotel. I was really hungry. I am twice the size of Zoe who is never hungry and is very happy to eat a cucumber for lunch and be happy with it.Lunch was only 3-5CNY (30p-50p) each where as the coffee had been £3.50! I kept on trying to pay for things but I would nip to the toilet only to find out that they had paid for me in my absence! They kept on saying that I am their guest in China and so therefore they should buy everything. It is Chinese tradition to fight over who pays bills. Once I realised this I put up a good fight and managed to buy some things for them in return. Zoe told me that she earns only £200 per month and so going out for a western meal or coffee is a major treat for them and seems extremely expensive.
So much for having a day off the bike. I did about 50km today just pottering round :-)
After lunch I walked into town so that I could have a couple of hours to myself and do some internet and shopping things.
I did not end up having much time for the internet by the time I had visited tour companies to find out about boat rides to Guilin and tried to buy some coffee and a map of the county - all of which I failed at!
Impression Lui Sanjie Show
We left the hotel at 7.15 and Zoe and Shi Ying Jie me to the show (also with the hotel owner so that he could get me the tickets).It was a beautiful evening and the walk there along the river was lovely as the sun was just setting.
I meet a couple of Chinese people on the way in to the concert that had bought their tickets though the same company and where sitting next to me. It was good as they spoke really good English having studied at Manchester University for 3 years. They kindly explained what was going on.Info on the show can be found by clicking here.
I was absolutely amazed at this show. It was incredible. Much better than I thought it would be. It has 600 actors for each performance and must cost a fortune to put on each day. The same coriographer that did the Olympic Games Ceremony designed this show.
I had got a ticket for the mid range seats for 160 CNY (£16 ish) but the ticket on the door was 240CNY. I was very grateful to Zoe for organising the ticket for me :-) When I saw how big the show was and how many people are involved I understood why the tickets where so expensive.
The show takes place in boats in the water. Most of the time you can not see the boats in the dark water and so the people look like they are floating. It is all performed to music.
I have seen so much natural beauty on this trip but there is something equally as beautiful: human creativity. The colours and the lights and the music where all so impressive. They lit up the mountains around the river at different times using different colours. The red cloth that they used with the yellow costumes was so vivid. They had costumes with lights attached that the actors could turn on and off at different times. As it was dark most of the time you could not see the actors or the boats until the point in the show where they lit up their costumes or directed light at them.
This kind of show could not have been put on if it were not for people which disposable cash being able to pay for such a visual sensation. It is all very well some people saying that because we are destroying the environment and our health by the current growth in the world and therefore we should all go back to just producing our own food etc but with out people being able to specialise and not having to spend time all their time growing food etc we would not have such beauty. Surly there are ways of stopping damaging the environment and still having economies that can support the arts and human creativity (not to mention businesses)?
Unfortunately I forgot to take my zoom lens and so my photos are rather rubbish. It is not something that you can really appreciate from photos though. The most interesting bit was the women in skin costumes that made it look like they are naked!
The show finished about 9.30 and I walked back to the hotel to pick up the others and head out for a drink. We wondered round town for a while looking for bar 98. It had been recommended to us yesterday. When we eventually found it the place was really quiet and so we went to another busier place call The Alley which was heaving.I bought a small bottle of wine and the others had a big bottle of beer. I invited a Danish girl (Louise) sitting on her own at the bar to join us. We named Shi Ying Jie Bob as neither Louise nor I could remember how to pronounce his name. He likes his new name :-)
I ended up buying a beef burger at 1am as I had not had any dinner and I got really hungry all of a sudden. It was a good deal as it came with a free local beer and was £2.50 for the burger, chips and beer. I gave the beer to my lovely Chinese friends.I did feel very bad as Zoe was very tipsy for the last hour or so of the evening. Poor old Bob also had to handle 3 giggling girls talking in a language that he does not understand. He sat there very patiently. Bless him. I felt very guilty. He is very sweet and obviously absolutely besotted with Zoe. Unrequited love though :-( He ended up giving Zoe a piggy back on the way back to the hotel. She could hardly walk after only 2 very small glasses of beer.
I am sharing a room with Zoe and she was extremely talkative when we got back until about 3.30am so it was a late night. It was interesting to have a girly chat with a Chinese girl as it was different to talking to Western girls. I learnt a lot about Chinese culture and relationships etc.
A really fun day. I really like my new Chinese friends :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment