Tuesday April 12th

Yangsho

This morning, all I had for breakfast was a bowl of rice crispies....this was the worst breakfast so far, in Yangshuo.  The Danish pastries were as dry as a bone and the croissants were just normal bread masquerading as croissants.  I couldn’t eat them and I didn’t actually feel that hungry.  Perhaps it had something to do with my cough.  My skin was feeling sensitive all over too, it seemed I’d caught whatever it was off Mathew!  I took some medicine before we went out.

We weren’t due to depart until 9:15am today, so after we had breakfast, Mathew and I decided to climb up a hill (Xilang Shang or “Man Hill”) which was just around the corner from the hotel.  We walked through the park we discovered yesterday to get to the steps.  In the park there were many people doing some Tai Chi, group and aerobic dancing and croquet.  I took a photo of Martin the Dragon before we went up.

The steps were craggy and stony, although stable and the handrail in a similar condition.  There were two pavilions on this hill, one about two thirds of the way up, and the other one at the very top.  The view was impressive from both pavilions, which provided us with a photo of the sprawling city amongst the striking karsts.

We managed to come down the steps, although I was being extra cautious, what with my ability to fall over easily!  Most of the people we passed up and down were people doing their morning exercises, and they seemed to enjoy doing their stretches in the park too.

When we were back down, we walked along a path which we hadn’t seen before, and came across a large pond or rather, a lake with an impressive view of some karsts and the perfect reflection in the still water.  The other thing here was the REALLY loud sound of croaking frogs!  We had seen two on our way here so perhaps it was the mating season.

Back to the hotel in time to leave, we popped up to our room to grab our bags and go.  Now we were on our way back to Guilin, by scenic route.  I have to say the roads were bumpy and the suspension not so good on this bus as the previous one..!  Our first stop was at a Chinese farmer’s house – we would finally get to see inside one of these houses!  The house was 300 years old and 13 generations of this family had lived in it, and the present ones LOVED having visitors!

We were first told about the red banners on the front door – to ward off evil demons (as they hate red) and to hold messages of good luck and prosperity for the house and the family, which was renewed every New Year.  Also, a mirror and scissors hung above the doorway, to ward of demons too.

Farmers House

The first room we went into was like a sitting room, in which there was a large picture of Chairman Mao.  Beyond this was a central courtyard in which potted plants grew, birds in cages were kept, and a corridor to the right in which there was some equipment for grinding soya beans to make tofu and bean curd.  Many people had a go at this, which made me think perhaps this may have been one reason why they loved having visitors – so they could do all the hard work for them haha!

Farmers House

We met two couples here – two brothers and their wives, and they were so happy and friendly.  As soon as one of them saw us, we were all given a segment of Pomelo – a Chinese Grapefruit – a type of gourd with thick yellow skin which was peeled off and dried outside to use later when cooking pork.  Each segment was covered in a very thick pith which you opened to eat the flesh inside, and tried not to eat the huge seeds!  It looked like grapefruit with a more transparent yellow look, but had a sweet juicy fruity flavour, not sour or bitter at all.  The oddest thing was that it was dry and rubbery to the touch but when you sank your teeth in, the juice exploded in your mouth.  As soon as I had finished my segment, a second was thrust into my hand by the tiny smiling lady who was like a little Grandmother fussing over us like we were all her grandchildren!

Farmer's wife and sister-in-law

We then sat in a second sitting room eating Pomelo while we all asked questions about them and the farm, translated by Jessica.  We were then told we could have a little look around, and around the back of the second sitting room there was a second courtyard with more potted plants, a grapevine, and some chickens at the back.  The building itself was basic – very basic – made of bricks and wood.  No carpets, no insulation, just a basic house with all the simple things.  I wondered how cold it got here in the winter?

We also learnt that Chinese people buy their parents’ coffins while they are still alive.  The gift of a coffin is most treasured by the parents, and we saw them at the back, currently being used for storage(!).  They were made of wood, painted black with very colourful patterns at each end, and very very narrow.

Paddy fields

Our next stop was a rice paddy field where many seedlings were growing, covered by poly-tunnels.  They stay here for half a month before being transferred to a fresh field.  Before a crop is planted with rice, it has to have a specific plant grown on it to increase and add nitrogen to the soil, which we’re pretty sure is rapeseed.  The field is then flooded and water buffalo dung mixed in to fertilize the soil.  Only then can new rice be planted in the new field, and each crop takes 4 months to grow.

Back on the bus, we had a 90 minute journey into Guilin, where we had some lunch.  I’m trying to forget the horribly sweet sweetcorn soup!  Eugh!

Next we went to the South China Sea Pearl Centre where we were taken around by a very friendly and enthusiastic lady called Amy, before watching a (slightly cheesy) fashion show to look at an array of pearl jewellery.  We were then taken into the Centre’s HUGE shop where she told us freshwater pearls are oval and many grow in one mussel, while sea pearls are round and there is only one per mussel.  I’m not sure if I have this right but I think she said Iron makes the pearls purple, gold or black, Copper makes them pink, and the most rarest and expensive were the gold and black pearls.  Also, if you rub the pearls together, they feel smooth if they are fake – and the real ones feel rough and grainy.  So remember that if you’re buying pearls – rub them together to feel the rough grainy texture and you have real ones in your hand!

Diecai Hill carvings

We were let loose in the shop, and although I am not a huge pearl fan, I did see a pendant which caught my eye, although it didn’t sit too well on me as it wasn’t totally flat.  I soon found an alternative for the same price, this one had two pearls – one pink, one purple – which I decided to buy.  At 350 Yuan I didn’t think it was too bad a price for silver set genuine South China sea pearls, and Amy later told me that they are a very good colour for my age, apparently...!

Diecai Hill summit

Next, we went to climb a hill called Diecai Hill – also known as a mountain here.  It had about 400 steps but they were much more than the one we climbed this morning.  We had a great view at the top and I didn’t fall over!  Hooray!

Back at the hotel at 4pm, we discovered that air conditioning systems in hotel rooms seem to be automatically set to 22 or 24 C, and rarely can you set it lower than 21, if you’re lucky enough to figure out the controls.  The other problem is that air con in hotels is usually set for the entire hotel, and not usually available for people to set differently in individual rooms!

Sun and Moon Pagodas, Guilin

We rested a while before going out to our Western Dinner which was quite nice despite a second serving of sweetcorn soup! (Blech!).  The rest of the food was really nice, although it felt slightly odd using a knife and fork.  After dinner, we were told about our itinerary tomorrow, and we walked back to the hotel via a park on the riverside with a great view of the “Sun and Moon Pagodas” which are the tallest pagodas built in water, and were lit up at night – yellow for the sun and white for the moon.

Tomorrow we would have a free morning until 1pm where we would have lunch, visit the Reed Flute Caves and have dinner before catching a late night plane to Kunming, bidding farewell to Guilin.