Last Full Day in Moon Hill/Yangshuo
Trip Start
Oct 07, 2008
1
12
15
Trip End
Oct 25, 2008
Moon Hill Village,
Guangxi Zhuang,
China
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The way I walked finally led me to the main road. I walked up the main road observing the people and exploring the area. When I returned to the hotel, Wei Wei asked me which cave I wanted to go to see. I decided to go see Moon Water Cave. The ticket office was right down the road so I was thinking I would walk there but she said her husband would take me. I didn't know why until we got there and he hooked me up with a lower price. I got in a van that took me to the cave.
While I waited for the boat that takes you into the cave, a young woman who worked there and spoke English asked me what I did, where I was from, and why I was in China. In Chinese I told her that I am a teacher, that I'm American, and that I'm in China on vacation. She then said in English, "You're a teacher in America. Are you from Zambia?" I told her that no, I am from America. She was surprised!
To go in the cave you have to wear helmets, shoes with a good grip, and it helps to take one the flashlights they provide. My flashlight didn't work, but it wasn't necessary. I had to change into the plastic shoes they provided because I didn't trust my tennis shoes. They were gross though because I wore them with no socks and the idea of wearing shoes someone else had on with no socks too...Blech! But I got over it. I was going to get on one of the boats with a group of Chinese teenagers but a group of English-speaking educators arrived and one of them asked if I wanted to tag along with them on the tour. I went with them which was good because it was a much smaller group and one guy explained some of the formations and scientific information about the cave. The boat took us part of the way into the cave, then we got out and walked. The cave was eerie and beautiful. There were all kinds of formations with names like curtains and sleeves. Hanging from the roof of the cave were stalactites. There were some formations on the floor of the cave that look like the egg pods in "Aliens." The cave was huge! We just kept going up and up and up. There was good reason for the helmets as we had to fit through short, narrow passageways. I knocked my head several times. When we arrived at the mud bath, some of the people with my group jumped in. It's supposed to be good for your skin, but there was no way I was going to roll around in that mud. Eeeew!
After the stop at the mud bath, we kept climbing up the cave. Knowing beforehand that I was not going to get in the mud bath or in the water outside the cave, I hadn't planned on getting as filthy as I did. The rest of the way, the walls were covered in mud and we were sloshing through muddy water. It was very rocky and slippery. My borrowed shoes were ill-fitting and not that easy to walk in and one of them fell off in the water several times. I slipped once going up some stairs as some teenage girls were coming down and they made sure I didn't fall and kept saying "Careful." Fortunately, at some tricky turns and rocky, slippery parts, there were ropes on the side to hold on to and help guide you. Unfortunately, some of the ropes weren't very taut. We finally saw some light and exited the cave. Then we walked down the mountain. It was a pretty long walk. I survived the cave visit with only a small cut on one of my fingers.
After I cleaned my feet and changed back into my shoes and socks, I tried to find my ride back to the ticket office because I though it would be waiting for me. I went down to the road and saw two vans. One of the drivers was sitting outside his van. I asked, using gestures and my ticket as a prop, if he was the driver to the ticket agency. He told me "Wo bu shi" (meaning "I'm not"), followed by a lot of other stuff. I was so excited that I understood those three words without having to think too much about it, though I didn't understand another word he said. I did notice that he pointed to the Water Cave as he continued to speak. I said "Ni bu shi" (meaning "You're not") and then pointed to myself, pointed to my ticket, and then to the Water Cave. So I walked back up to the Water Cave. I asked the English-speaking lady about the van. She told me we were waiting for some people to come out of the cave and then the van would pick us up.
I got in the van with two French women and their French-speaking Chinese guide. I spoke a little French--pretty much telling them that I don't remember much of my French! I got back to the hotel and cleaned up. When I came downstairs Wei Wei had a cab waiting for me because this morning I had told her that I was going to Yangshuo tonight. I had pretty much changed my mind because I wanted to rest and pack but it being my last night I decided to go. There was a vegetarian restaurant in town that I wanted to try.
When I found the restaurant I walked in and said "Yi ge ren" (one person) and gestured toward my mouth. When I got my table, one of the women who worked there asked me if I spoke Chinese. I guess I got my tones right this time! I ordered some vegetable meatballs with broccoli. I managed to use chopsticks effectively during this meal. I only dropped one or two pieces.
As I was sitting at my table by the window, a little girl stood outside looking through the window and talking to me. She was gesturing to me if she could come in or if I could come out, I think. I pantomimed that I was eating. She pantomimed eating and I realized that she wanted me to get her something to eat. I shook my head a few times and waved goodbye. She waved goodbye and ran down the street. She was so cute! One of the other diners saw her and said that there were a lot of children like her.
When I got back to the hotel I practiced my numbers in Chinese again with Wei Wei's daughter and then she drew my picture. I then went to my room to pack and go to sleep.
