Top of the Rock in the River Town of Yangshuo, China

Party Town, Rockin' Town

Apparently this is a town for climbing bums, musicians, chillin' out Chinese tourists, and gnarly kung fu masters. I spent time with each of those groups of folks.

I arrived after a long day on the bus from Hanoi, VN - being savvy enough to catch the direct bus from Nanning, the terminus of my initial ticket, 4 minutes before it departed, rather than go to the train station and risk missing the last train, or waiting several hours, for a train I didn't know existed.... how's that for a run on sentence. I'm writing this all in retrospect, as usual, so trying to capture the noteworthy moments of the past days in China. - I just arrived back in Hanoi, but that is where this post should leave off, not start...

As I got off the bus, I was greeted by loud booms and the clouds lighting up over the sillouetes of the rocky peaks looming around me. Figured it probably wasn't the town getting shelled, but walked in the opposite direction, just to be safe... Or, 'cause I was disoriented after the bus ride, especially since they dropped me at the outskirts of town, rather than at the actual bus station in the center of the action. Oh well, all part of the game. Hope his friends, taxi drivers or hotel managers perhaps, got some other business that day. Finally got turned in the right direction, and let one of the local touts lead me to the hotel she worked for, through the throngs of people streaming away from the fireworks show over the river.

Apparently the party wasn't completely over - I strolled around town late that Sunday evening, to the sounds of loud hip hop and techno music blaring out onto the "pedestrian only" streets in the old part of town. Nice architecture, converted to use as bars and guesthouses. After meandering down a few dark alleys, I located the training studio for the kung fu classes I'd read about on travel blogs and in the Rough Guide. I'd made it there in time to get to class at 8:30 the next morning, only to find no one there...

But, a friendly neighbor directed me towards a place that would have information, and pointed out the instructor as we walked past him. Yes, she still pointed me to the travel agency, who then told me they couldn't contact the instructor now, but that I could swing by the studio, which she thought had moved... so I ended up back where I started, but at least "George" was now there, looking somewhat ready to do morning training. But first we had breakfast - well, I ate, he smoked and drank coffee.

Fast forward to the highlight moments of that segment of my trip:

Kung fu training every morning, for a couple hours. Quite comprehensive; did qi gong first thing, to warm up, with the 84 year old Master Guo. Then moved into a "body training" series of movements to improve balance and harness one's qi, to be utilized when we go through the kung fu moves (forms). I've noticed the similarities to yoga postures and breathing techniques. According to some, the Shaolin style of martial arts was developed

Had acupuncture treatment at a local clinic. It was the most needles I've had stuck in my body at one time... and in some of the most painful places, particularly a knot in my lower back.

Rock climbing on Tuesday. Rest easy, the German guy I was climbing with was alertly German enough to catch the frayed harness and exchange it for a better one. So, I paid attention to the condition of the ropes.

Floated down the YuLong River on Wednesday, on a "bamboo" metal pipe raft. We demanded a trip without the use of the motor. The captain abided by it for the most part, but put up an argument after we stopped for lunch, claiming it would take forever to continue rowing. Throughout the trip, I gave him a rest at times, when I took over the oar.(yes, single oar, pulled in a standing position, rotating sides when the boat started to wind through the water like a snake.

Had an unfortunate day in the toilets (I can go into detail, if requested!) on what is otherwise my favorite holiday. Lets just say I would have appreciated the first toilet of the day to be available the rest of the day - after barely containing it on the short bus ride from Yangshuo to Guilin, the public toilet there was an extra deep trough to squat over...

I managed to enjoy Thanksgiving day, regardless. I was in Guilin, where friends, Fiona and Joyce, who I met earlier (mentioned in blog about dancing in Guilin) treated me to a proper feast. Roast duck and taro supplanted turkey and potatoes as a delicious holiday meal. Practically every meal in China was a feast, actually. I found some good food this time. One favorite was a unassuming place on the main street in Yangshuo. An assortment of veggies and meat is yours to choose from. They stir-fry what you select, and serve it with steamed rice in a clay pot. Good way to get my fix of favorite vegies, and a filling meal for 10 quai (colloquial term for yuan, the currency). Plenty of dumplings. Eggplant was in season.

We climbed up a mountain overlooking the city, which had the luxury of a cable car to get those less intrepid tourists up the hill. And, an actual slide with luge-type sleds big enough for adults to descend half of the slope! Never seen it before on an otherwise regular hiking trail... That's China for you though, always offering a surprise. Finished the day with some plastic-bouncey-ball volleyball with their friends. It makes for a bit easier version of the regular game, except the ball doesn't fly straight and true - much more wind resistance. There's probably been a study on the aerodynamics of this variation... Which bringss to mind that I saw a game of SlamBall on TV - anyone else heard of it? Short court basketball played with 4 trapoline launching points around each basket, to enable more acrobatic dunking. Quite entertaining. Which further brings to mind products with Japanese names, Thai flavors, produced by Vietnamese companies... a bit random association, but today's snack.
Will have more to say about China, but must get this posted...

Tidbits and Tips from Hanoi

Greetings from Hanoi. I made it back here, after some seriously grueling bus rides through Lao, and a hassle to get from the VN border to Hanoi on a series of motorbike, bus, pimped-out SUV, and 14-year-old-drivers bus... The water had receded (apparently the main lake in the Old Quarter rose to street level and washed up to the businesses' steps across the street, a couple dozen people died due to the floods, and other roads were 2 ft underwater).

Speaking of water - went swimming at a public pool in VN for the first time. Yes, they swim like they drive. No lanes, no speed limits, no order - so, there were several moments of certain head-on collisions, avoided at the last second with a swift kick or stroke to the side. So that was fun.

More time on the motorbike the last couple days. I consider it one of their biggest compliments (and one of their few) that they'll confidently rent out their motorbikes to foreigners, with the words "it's easy to drive, runs well." And then send you out to the beehive frenzy of the streets here. General rules: whoever is out front (even by a thread on the tire) has the right of way - correlates with rule that you're only responsible for not running into what's in front of you; no word for U-turn - instead the description of it literally means "turn your head," since that's the only time you do; bigger vehicles trump smaller ones; sidewalks are occasionally necessary to utilize as roads.

Found venues for badminton and pingpong the last couple days. One of the better ways to make them think you're a local. I recommend it while traveling.

Found favorites for street food - bun cha (grilled meat with fish sauce and rice noodles), banh bao (steamed buns), various soups (bun bo, of course pho, and rice porridge with eel); eggplant and pumpkin are in season and delicious. I'll bring a few new recipes back with me...

Let your sense of smell guide you around Hanoi. Walk down the Chinese herbal medicine street (Lan Ong St), then past the durian corner (I wonder if there are zoning laws for that fruit), maybe hold your breath along the metal works (Thuoc Bac St) and granite carving (plaques, portraits on stone, tombstones?) streets. The streets in the old quarter were named after the main item sold there; there are still streets with filled with, for example, wedding and business cards, holiday celebration decorations (incense or, now, cheap plastic Christmas crip crap), tools and tailors.

A couple more days here in Hanoi, then I'll go back to China for a week or so. I want to do some rock climbing on the karst peaks, in Yangshuo (near Guilin), where it also sounds like camping is an option. So, will be good to get out of the city and into nature. Hopefully the weather holds - the last couple days have been downright chilly! After acclimating to the tropical weather, 65C is surprisingly cold - though that would be shorts and t-shirt weather in Seattle late spring or early fall...

Lowkey in Laos

Whirlwind tour in laid back Laos

I arrived in Vientiane, Lao PDR after a 24 hour bus ride from Hanoi, VN. Let me back up and describe part of that journey. After getting deposited on a dark, anonymous street south of Hanoi, on a rainy evening, we (two French guys, rhymes with "keys") waited for an hour before being hustled into a parking lot and rushed onto a bus that took off within minutes (quickest takeoff I'd been on... until the return trip... but I'll get to that later). We drove through the night, and arrived at the mist-strewn mountaintop border crossing at 5:30AM, 1.5 hours before they opened. The ride was relatively comfortable, and the foreign fellas that got on at about 2:00 in the morning were relieved to see some other Westerners among the crew of young men (one of which was "security" - he offloaded an assault rifle at the end of the trip), several other Vietnamese men transporting various cargo, a couple of Lao men, and a lone female passenger. We had the friendly bus, apparently; they even provide free water and a snack. At the border, we encountered another, larger group of travelers, who told of how their bus stopped in the middle of the night, loaded black plastic-wrapped packages onto the bus, which they buried under a layer of bricks in the aisle... They got through customs inspections, however. Our cargo supposedly only consisted of Choco bars and pig feed (40kg sacks of which I helped load in the middle of the night, as my hourly exercise, and attempt to speed up our passage). We arrived in Vientiane without incident. Moved on to Vang Vieng, but declined the innertubing and rope swinging on the river, of which I've heard several stories of broken limbs... Getting wiser in my old age. Then on to Luang Prabang, at which my previous post takes up the story. Yes, I realize this is about 3 weeks ago now, but I've finally been able to come to terms with it... Yes, that's a joke.

Daily Life in Luang Prabang, Lao

Getting familiar with the locals

The past few days in Luang Prabang (after a day in Vientiane, and a run-around 6 hours in Vong Vieng), have been quite pleasant - I can breathe again! After the smog and exhaust, a constant in Hanoi, VN, the air here is refreshingly clean. The Mekong River and lots of forest must help...

Lao people continue to be very friendly, outgoing, and engaging. Two friends and I went to Big Brother Mouse to have English conversation practice with a large group of about 12-15 college-age students. More boys than girls, many studying to become English teachers, impressive language ability, and quiet demeanors. I've hardly heard a raised voice in this country.

After chatting for an hour, it was time to find lunch. We've been sampling the traditional foods of LP, including a beef stew with a piece of "spicy wood," literally a branch that will make your mouth tingle. It's not a hot spice, but definitely provides a unique sensation. Another delicacy is dried, spicy buffalo meat, rather like beef jerky. The fish curry soup has been the best item so far (closely followed by grilled fish). The morning glory is reputed to be tasty, but hasn't been available in the places I've eaten thus far.

In the afternoon, a friend and I ended up babysitting two girls for a couple we met on the ride to the waterfall the day before. They're 7 and 11 years old, so, active and giggly. They are a family from Belgium, and the girls could communicate quite well in English. The older would often translate for the younger sister. There have been more families traveling together than I've seen in the past. Maybe a good market for babysitting services! "Mother May I" and a hand-clap, song-singing game were popular.

Speaking of the waterfall - Kuang Si falls was worth the negotiating with taxis to get us there. First you come upon an 10' cascade into a large pool of silty white/green water, deep enough to jump into from the top of the falls. There are other spots to let the water pound on your back while you perch on rocks. Then, further along, th evalley opens up where a series of longer falls drop over ledges for 200' or so. It was possible to walk to the top, tramp through the swamp-like streams, stand in the middle of the top of the falls and peer over the side. Don't worry, they had a branch across the stream to prevent any falls over the edge...

Tomorrow, it's another bus ride north, to Nong Khiaw, where I will take part in the book-party. We'll distribute books to each child in a village, have a ceremony, and time to read and play together. Should be another great way to connect with the locals.

The vats (Buddhist temples, "wat" in Thai) here in Luang Prabang are numerous, every hundred paces or so! And, quite active. I've gone into several, and the young monks are eager to chat. Most say they're 16-18, doing the culturally expected monk experience for young men. They have the chance to study Buddhism, as well as English (most had their English textbooks out, so it was an easy conversation starter), and have plans to go on to become business people, or study in Thailand (where there's a selection of universities, whereas there's only one national university in the capitol, Vientiane).

Signing off from Luang Prabang. More later, probably after a long bus ride heading east back to Vietnam. Perhaps with a stopover at the Plain of Jars.
Cheers.