Regency Holiday Hotel Yangshuo

... by 2 women with the pole over their shoulders with a basket dangling from each end. You won't believe what was in the baskets - small children!!!!! We had to pay them money to take a photo of them with the children in the basket before we could pass!!! Next to them was a lady doing something in an irrigation canal & man with a buffalo walking up the track. Always something to ...

... impressive as it was all performed on the river, with the karst mountains lit up behind as the backdrop. The Chinese did what they do best in performance (in my esteemed opinion) which was using a lot of people (i.e 400 people in this case) with carefully synchronised movement to create a collective image or impression for the audience. Everything was executed perfectly. Which brings me to an interesting fact I learned on my travels. Apparently ...

... 1493; 04;י, ויקחו ממני את מצלמת 97;.
ובשע
492; ארבע וחצי בצהרי יום שלישי, דחפו רגלי את אבני המזח של גו ...

... the non - Chinese!
Feeling a little like Chang Mai in Thailand we quickly exhaled a sigh of relief and took in the scenery. Most importantly - THERE WAS BLUE SKY!!! It certainly was a pleasant surprise to see the sun for the first time in a month, but that is only the beginning. Limestone peaks covered Yangshuo's terrain. Crystal clear, emerald-green water covered, stretched, meandered it's way along the side of the town. We got off the coach, which only took us 2 hours ...

... one of the teachers that has been here for 6 months already. His name was Tim and he also was from Canada. We went to Szeshuan and shared a few dishes family style. I thought food, drink, and shopping was cheap in Hong Kong - but here is CRAZY CHEAP! You could probably live for a whole year on 1,000 USD. After eating, we went to a local pub called Alley Bar. Drank many Tsingtaos there and ...

My last day in Yangshuo was very interesting. I have mentioned how amazed I am with the driving habits and lack of accidents. Well, I just missed seeing one that morning. Two motorcycles collided at an intersection that I cross. Maybe it was the wet road from the rain that morning. But whatever it was, it looked like one man assumed liability and was offering an on the spot payment. No cops, no insurance, no real break in the traffic. The only ones to stop and stare were the ...

... 2 hours. I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. I found out later, why they have people selling food and drink in the waiting areas. They have some food carts go by on the train but it is more expensive. Live and learn. Finally 6:15 came and they started boarding the train. Going through the gate I showed my ticket again and then down to the train. I didn't know where to go so I asked someone and my ticket had train five row 15. A row ...

My last blog entry is already a week old - have I been too busy, or too lazy? Well, let's see what happened in the meantime. Day 20: On Tuesday, on my second day in Guilin, I joined my host Leo and attended his English class in the morning. The teacher, a Chinese, was a bit surprised but essentially because she was new to this class and Leo did bring his visitors to classes every now and then. We had a chat how we can change the lessons to make use of the fact me being there and ...

... that. Then we do some row playing with some scripts we made up. All the newcomers are a little shy at first. The problem now is ending the class they all want to stick around and talk. Lots of rain. I am thinking about going North for a couple of days. A friend teaches at Hunan Unveristy at Changsha and I have not been there. Just thought a change might be interesting. Not sure it all depends on the weather here and there.

This really has been such a special time to be travelling through China, with red paper lanterns blowing gently in the crisp winter breeze and people busily buying all of their red and gold decorations with an excitement that, even for us, is palpable. What we are talking about is the Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year, as per the lunar calendar, with 2009 being the year of the Ox. Before we get there, let us begin by telling you how we reached the magical ...