For Yangshuo, Made In China

The green, quaint town of Yangshuo, awaits any weary traveler heading south from Guilin. Initially the thought of a Chinese “town” automatically congers up images of one to four million people. A Chinese “city” on the other hand easily includes at least ten million or more souls. Yangshuo couldn’t be characterized as either “city” or “town”. Maybe just a hamlet . . for now.

Taking Care Of Business In Bed

Interesting introduction Yangshuo. Several times this trip, touts duped us. But in Yangshuo, experience outsmarted one scamming tout. The CliffNotes version starts with a Chinese tout waiting at the bus station. Like Jay-Z hanging with NBA players, this tout immediately latched on to us like a pariah. He feted a great hotel and the great deal to be had. Along the road warily walking with our new best friend, I slyly questioned two Israeli guys the local prices for a room to size up this local market.

Fast forward to a nice, clean room. For no reason, he sat down and began filling out a receipt at the end of the bed. Rather odd we thought. Rather than finalizing the reservation downstairs at the lobby desk, he felt business best be taken care of in bed. In certain situations, absolutely, but a room reservation, very odd.

Maybe the tout intended on staying with us for the night too. The strangeness crossed the awkwardness threshold of being a result of culture, we promptly left.

At a more reputable hostel, the owner warned us about a guy wearing wire glasses. He was guilty of frequently ripping off tourists looking for a place to stay. It just happened to be the same guy we were just talking to!!!

Where Ya Headed Kid?

Yangshuo allowed us to chill, wander the cobblestone streets, and enjoy excellent food. No harm in that. Nadine had a baby to feed. And everywhere we ate, literally every place, was a great meal. Not a single sorry dish and all juices were freshly squeezed.

Compared to the rest of Asia, basketball courts dotted several neighbors while walking Yangshuo. Teenagers ran around with a basketball in hand. Playing some ball became my Yangshuo goal. In my search to find a game, it got to the point where I conspicuously followed kids holding basketballs. Yes, this tall American shadowed Chinese kids. Their response was one of bewilderment. “Why was this tall white man following me? Is he government? Did I forget to share my lunch with someone? Why is he still following me? RUN!!!”

Eventually by happenstance, I found a game with players with adults. This is after reaching the point that I didn’t think I’d find a game. I didn’t follow anymore Chinese teenagers around town after a couple of games. My remaining basketball needs were fulfilled with Nadine as we played pop-a-shot 4 times a day in the city square.

Nadine and baby White got some exercise as well, but Nadine did all the work while the baby just sat back in its’ comfy womb-chair. Bikes carried us out to the Chinese countryside and Moon Hill. To my disappointment, it’s not a rite of passage to pass through the Moon Hill cave and moon someone. The thought did cross my mind, many times. Moon Hill is actually a large domed-shaped hole at the top of a mountain and perfect for photos of the green rice paddies below.

Escalators and Shopping Galore

Now Yangshuo was a great place, but we had places to go before leaving on a jet plane and couldn’t linger too long. The next stop was Shenzhen.

To reach Shenzhen, we took a form of transportation we hadn’t taken before in our traveling experiences, a true sleeper bus. On the bus were three rows of small, narrow, short beds. Each one was made for a passenger to sleep overnight. Great idea in theory for most Chinese folks. For my body shape, it proved too narrow for my wide shoulders and too short for my long legs. Instead, I threw the blankets down in the aisle and slept in a mummy position.

Shenzhen brought back to the reality of China, large skyscrapers, loads of people, rather clean, and shopping galore. It appears that shopping happens to be the #1 Chinese pastime in Shenzhen. Everywhere you go, people run from shop to shop with a big, colorful plastic bag in hand. A couple of “authentic” DVDS were our purchase. Later we found out one was dubbed into Russian. Anyone want a Russian movie? I’m sure if it was Внезапно повернул назад Гора, Pepper would be the first to borrow it.

Our time was almost over with our final stop in Hong Kong and Macau.