Day 9 - Chinese Countryside

We woke up early this morning so we could see the sunrise. I was fairly tired, but Alison was not about to let me sleep in. She told me frankly that there would only be one sunrise while we were in Yangshuo and we were not about to miss it. We spent the morning walking around the river in front of our hotel. Enjoying the beauty and serenity. This is such a peaceful, serene area.

When we were hungry we wandered over to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We both ordered French toast and omelets. Our breakfast also came with a drink. I had orange juice and Alison had watermelon juice. Both were made fresh at the time of order. Breakfast was great. Even better was the view. We sat out right next to the river. It was magical. Alison kept telling me that she never wanted to leave.

Unfortunately, this couldn’t last forever. Lele came to pick us up around 10am. It was really nice to have such a relaxing morning. It allowed us to enjoy the location of this hotel. It is hands down our favorite hotel of the trip.

We had a change of plans today. Originally when we planned this trip our flight was supposed to leave to come home around noon on Thursday. However, the flight plan changed and our flight now leaves at 3pm. This gave us more time on Thursday for an activity. Since we had more time we postponed the activity that was originally planned for this morning and Lele had us pilot a new activity that China highlights is considering launching. His plan was to visit a local farmers' market, pick out some food we would like to make, and eat our lunch at a local farmer’s house. We told him we were game to give it a try.

The farmers market was an interesting experience. The fruit and veggie sections were really amazing. It was fun to pick out the things we wanted to eat. We had a few things we had never tried before, such as honey melon and Chinese raspberries (completely different than the US version). We also got broccoli and these super long green beans. The meat section, however, was terrible. Walking through it I just kept thinking there is no way this is at all sanitary. They have everything you could imagine, and some things you do not even want to imagine. They have poultry in these tiny cages. You can choose an animal and they slaughter it on the spot. We decided to pass on the meat section. It was so gross it kind of made me consider vegetarianism.

Lele picking out some broccoli for us

These green beans are super long

We did end up getting some fish for our meal. There was a section of the market where they keep live fish and other aquatic creatures. The farmers will catch the fish when they are small and fatten them up for sale at the market. We picked out a catfish and the lady killed, gutted, and chopped it up for us all in about 90 seconds. It was impressive. With our food all picked out we were ready to see what life is like in the Chinese countryside.

Picking out a big one

Cleaning the fish

Eels from the rice patties 

Frogs - sold by the bag

Chinese raspberries 

Outside of the market we met up with two farmers. One farmer took the food we had picked out and went on ahead with our driver to begin preparing the meal. The other farmer, who is also a taxi driver, took us to the countryside in what he called his truck (it was more of a motorized bike attached to a trailer). We drove through the countryside looking at the homes and the different crops that they grow in this area. They grow rice, cumquats, grapefruit, peanuts, corn, lotus, passion fruit, taro, sweet potatoes, soybeans, Japanese green beans, and many other crops. We would stop and walk occasionally, partially so we could look at the crops and partially so that our driver could have a smoke break. After driving for quite a while (the top speed on this vehicle could not have been more than 10 mph) we arrived at the driver’s farm. He was very excited to show us the crops that he (or as Lele explained mostly his wife) grows.

Lotus

Rice fields

Our driver's farm

A guard dog. They would bark ferociously at us, but whenever I tried to take a picture they would normally run off as fast as they could.

After visiting his farm we went to his uncle’s home. His uncle lived in a very traditional Chinese countryside home. Lele explained this type of home was more common 10 years or more ago. The family that lived here are fishermen and had nets strewn out all over. They also raised goats, which we got to help feed. They had a very cute little boy, who was very curious to see us. We walked through the home. It was very simple. Lele told us these farmers make around 30,000 Yuan a year (USD 5,000). One interesting point is they have a huge flatscreen TV. It was very out of place. Lele explained the government would subsidize TVs for people in the countryside (paying up to 50% of the cost) so that these people will have access to government-run news channels.

Fishing nets 

We went to our driver’s house to eat lunch. We were pretty nervous after seeing a traditional home (the kitchen was very simple and not particularly clean) and the farmers' market that the food would not be good or sanitary. Fortunately, we were wrong. The food tasted pretty good and seemed to be prepared in a sanitary way. Plus Lele made sure we had fruit that he cleaned himself so that we would feel good about eating it.

I have a few thoughts about this experience. I am glad we got to have this experience. It sounds like it could have been kind of awkward, but it really wasn’t. This family was genuinely interested in meeting us and it was really interesting to meet them. This also was not a common experience. There really weren’t any other tourists in this village and it was pretty apparent they didn’t see many people like us often. Lele told us we are the second group to visit this particular family. He found this family and learned they would be interested in hosting tourists when our driver drove another group Lele was guiding. The group Lele was guiding expressed interest in seeing a local family’s home and the driver volunteered his uncle. This experience is not for everyone. When we talked later Alison and I both admitted the farmers market was overwhelming and uncomfortable. It was one of the experiences where the discomfort is good because it helped us to see how these people really live. For just a moment we got to step into their daily life and it was jarring. It made us profoundly grateful for simple things such as clean food and water. Finally, I think this was a good thing for the family as well. Lele handed me some money to give to the little boy. His company did not want us to pay for this experience and they also did not w to it to come directly from the tour company. I did not really get that part of it, but I was happy to do my part. I handed the Yuan to the young boy and he clung to it. This type of experience can make a difference in this family’s life. Tourism is the #1 industry in this area and the enterprising driver has found a way to bring a little bit of extra revenue into his village.

After lunch, we drove up into the mountains so that we could get a better view of the beauty that surrounds this area. Yesterday we got to see the mountain peaks from the river. Today we saw the peaks and river from the mountaintop. We drove to a nearby mountain and had to climb for about 10-15 minutes to get to the top. It was once again very hot and humid, but the climb was worth it. The views were absolutely spectacular.

We headed back to Guilin and checked into our hotel. We had a little bit of time before dinner so Alison and I went out to explore Guilin. We thought about going to visit this area known as elephant rock hill. We headed that way and found some Magnum ice cream bars along the way. When we got to the entrance to the park the entrance fee was pretty steep so we decided to pass. We just did not have much time to spend there before dinner.

Our dinner tonight was with Rita. Rita was the China highlights representative who arranged our itinerary and has been our main contact person as we prepared for this trip. We even had a call with her to finalize the itinerary. I will be honest, the whole time we were talking to Rita I was never sure if Rita was a real person, or if it was an alias used by multiple members of the China highlights business. It turns out she is a real person. The China highlights company is based in Guilin so Rita thought it would be nice to go to dinner. It is really a brave thing for her when you think about it. Her English is good, but a little rough, and she agreed to have dinner with us where she knew she would have to speak her second language the whole time. We have a lot of respect for Chinese people who learn English. It cannot be easy for them. Rita brought us a couple of gifts, which were very nice, and paid for our meal. As usual, it was delicious. Chinese food in China is the best. We had a great time talking to her about our experience and becoming friends. We cannot say enough good things about China highlights. They are truly top-notch.

Alison and Rita

After dinner, we walked along the river and the lake before deciding to call it a night. It is hard to believe it is our last night in China. We have had such an incredible experience. It far exceeded our expectations. We love our adventure in China.