Guilin to Yangshuo

There's still a lot of settling down to be done, and I have plenty of stuff backlogged to post, but right now everybody's sleeping and I think I'd best do it later. These are some pics from yesterday though, context will follow shortly.



After setting up camp in Yangshuo I assumed things would settle down, but they continue to move as fast as ever. I’d been walking in Guilin for about thirty seconds before a woman darted out: “Help? Do you need some help?” She was on the clock, and not entirely altruistic, but she spoke English and asked my preference ; bus or boat? Boat seemed the obvious choice and off I went. The trip up the Li river took practically all day, but I had some awesome company, namely a German girl, Katrina, a New Yorker, an expat from Macao, and his girlfriend from Brazil. Thankfully, we all got along. The day was well spent admiring the unique Guangxi scenery.




After landing in town I made my way to Zhouyue English College in time to eat dinner and conduct English Conversation Corner directly afterwards. Conversation corner is blast everyday so far, everyone is curious about Alaska, and especially Kung Fu once they figure out why I’m here. The young people at school have no clue about Kung Fu at all, to them it’s basically magic, and they love to hear about it. But, conversation drifts wherever we want it. On Thursday I talked forever on carpentry tricks of Dad’s and old, European superstitions.



Man, I don’t think I can organize these thoughts into anything coherent. The days, only four of them, have been so packed it feels like a lifetime since I got here. Thursday is a great example of this. I woke up, showered, set out to familiarize myself with the town, and walked for a long time. I knew I was getting myself lost, but I didn’t mind. It’s a small town, and I knew basically the direction I needed to get back. Eventually I’d been going so long I figured I’d better start running, or else miss lunch. So I ran. Somehow I ended up in a park. Chinese attendants accosted me, demanding 50 Yuan for admittance. But, I figured I wasn’t there to enjoy anything, and certainly not on purpose, so I shouldn’t have had to pay. They were impotent young women, so I made an executive decision and ran past laughing like a villain.

I expected to wind up on a certain road; instead I wound up in the forest. Nevertheless I was confident in my course, I must have just misjudged the distance. The hunch proved correct and I emerged in the center of town, totally muddy, scratched, and exhausted in time for lunch. We ate, and I left to wander the town. Before dinner I gave an hour’s speech on western cooking, and then two more hours of conversation afterwards. Then, as I was leaving the school, two Chinese girls ran up to me. They were students from a different English school, visiting for a couple days in Yangshuo, with a homework assignment to speak to foreigners and collect their signatures as proof. Since I live in a hive of foreigners I led them around collecting signatures, before meeting up with Jordan, after which we set out for West Street in search of strangers.



West Street lasted awhile (I’ll need to write a small passage on it one of these days), we collected a lot of signatures, I bought a Go set (the stones are nice, actual stone like my ones at home, but the board is just a cloth), and we ended the night at rooftop bar. The girls pressed us to attend a party the following day, to be thrown by their school upon the conclusion of their Yangshuo visit, and we accepted happily. I got home late and went to sleep immediately.