OK, the old, weak, sick, disabled, pregnant...
and American.
Yes, I'm still obsessed by bicycle parking lots. I'm jealous!
The beach, Guilin style.
a man who gets things done.
contemplation
the public baths
Seven Stars Park
just checking his nets
this is a beauty spot where you can pay 5 yuan to take a photo with the peacocks.
the keepers coming to take the peacocks home for the night
someone doesn't want to go. he was quite happy posing up on his perch.
Harrumph!
into the cart with you, sir.
Bactrian camel hill and the rock memorializing Bill Clinton's speech in 1998.
Dromedary camel hill.
sunset
I climbed the hill on the right to the "viewing pavillion" that was completely blocked by foliage. If you notice, the hill on the left has a perfect platform from which to see the sunset. Argh!
four wheeled vehicles on the right, 2 wheelers on the left.
rush hour
buying chestnut candy
fruit salad, china style
the Li River cruise begins
I wonder what's in that box?
Ack! Souvenirs! Prepare to repel boarders!
Wow.
doesn't this look like the wind has been blowing strong from the right? the way that trees grow in the direction of a strong wind.
the hills were right up on the river and loomed over us.
the humidity was intense, though there was a bit of a breeze on the top deck
hey! there's someone in there!
that hill marks the spot
you might notice that I am on the other side of the railing. what a rebel!
for some reason, i kept thinking of apocolype now and the mekong.
doesn't it seem that we are entering a mythical landscape?
After awhile, it reminded me of being on the TransMongolian train. Yes, it was beautiful, but it just went on and on being beautiful.
I don't know what the Chinese name for this is, but to me, it is clearly 'cat guarding mousehole'. Do you see it?
Do you have a sense of how busy it was on the river? Not exactly the serene experience I was hoping for.
I like how the boat detail echoes the curve of those hills.
heave, ho!
Random statue standing in the river.
chewing river weeds. yum. it's funny though, they actually dive down for the weeds. I never thought of water buffalo holding their breath.
just beautiful
let's go with 'the thumb' for this one.
I like that someone built his home at the base of the 'demon's horns'.
Limestone in action. What will this look like in a hundred years?
it really is amazing to be there.
just some friends. enjoying the shade.
they're still there.
remember me saying in my blog that I was sick of the sight of onion domes... what does that hill on the left remind you of?
venturing into the unknown, accompanied only by an entire cruise ship of tourists.
the sun has started to burn away the haze. it's around noon right now.
bamboo rafts with picnickers.
children playing in the river
so very dramatic.
that water buffalo was watching me. the one hiding in the river. i don't know what he was plotting, but it was nefarious, whatever it was.
he's probably plotting, too. ;)
docking at Yangshuo
My group sticker to identify me as a member of the Panda group. Yippee! He (the guide) even had a flag. Have I mentioned the prevalence of the Chinese tour group led by a guide with a flag?
Yummy chicken feet
hot pot
fruit sellers. The large round green fruit is pomelo, the small round green fruit is an orange! It looks like a lime on the outside, but inside is a normal orange.
guy on West Street watching the crowd
yo ho yo ho, a pirate's party for me.
the party was a complete dud, but the Chinese tourists crowded around to take photos of the foreigners act like lunatics.
West Street
the Yulong River
Moon Hill. That hole in the natural bridge goes from crescent to full depending on the angle you are looking at it from. Cool.
One of the rubber band trucks. Zoom in on the motor (in the front there). Very odd.
Water buffolo don't always live in the water. :)
it looks so peaceful
All up and down West Street are portrait artists who'll put your image on a t-shirt. A step up from the Russian street artists. Though, I don't think that I'd feel comfy wearing a picture of myself.
What a tiny balloon
Or are those hills jsut huge?
Is that me in that basket? Yup.
and they're off.
up
and away!
I was a little nervous at first
then I looked around and saw the beauty.
it was wonderul to be floating over the same ground that I'd just cycled.
and getting further from the main roads than I had gone.
Watching the Yulong rafters from a balloon was even more peaceful.
uh oh, I'd better not lean out quite so far. :)
the everpresent pollution haze. it blankets the entire country.
though, sometimes it can look lovely.
I love looking at the shadows cast by the peaks. They are so thin and yet so inescapable.
Do you see how clear the water is from above?
This just says CHINA, to me.
in the fields.
Just two men and a buffalo. Nothing odd about that.
don't you just want to jump on it and roll?
The rice field
taking time out to watch the sunset
and whatever other entertainment might come along.
breathtaking.
not a hint that on the ground, you can't breathe for the stink.
that darn shadow is still around
it seems as though some diety is about to make an announcement of some sort. i must have zoned out during the message.
a duck farm.
just going fo a swim
when is a road just a road?
don't those peaks look like they're telling secrets? naughty peaks.
the hills beneath, the yellow haze beside and the clouds above. it works.
doesn't it look like a painting? an old oil painting that needs to be cleaned.
the landscape is most dramatic near the rivers, because it is the action of groundwater on limestone that creates the karst topography.
do you see the man pulling his water buffalo?
what a place to live!
that's something that you don't see on every road in the world.
nice to know that we are not alone.
I feel like a spy satellite.
No, this is not the sepia function on my camera.
hello, up there.
She has a metal tank partially filled with insecticide. She's diluting it from one of the wells in the fields.
Now, she's started to spray the field
there's one of the wells.
this is why people flock to yangshuo.
woman-power
the hills are alive with the buzzing of insects. la la la la la...
so detail oriented.
rice, not quite ready for harvest.
this should be on a coin. rice and karst hills.
our landing site
the balloon being pulled
pulled right into a tree. :)
that's a fun photo.
this one is beautiful
how strange to have a giant balloon land in your field. i'm sure that they're paying for the use, but still. very strange.
there are 2 rice seasons annually in China.
this is the annoying flute guy who i swear followed me everywhere i went for 4 days. i never once saw anyone even ask to look at his flutes.
let's go cormorant fishing!
on the job, looking for fish.
The tax man. Except, he takes 90% of the catch.
they are such beautiful birds. zoom in to see the string around his neck, and his pretty green eyes.
someone's caught one!
trying to swallow.
see the bulge in his neck? that's a fish, kept from going down his gullet by the string around his neck.
searching for fish
the catch, guarded by a cormorant. fox guarding the hen house?
too much temptation
being forced to cough it up, literally.
here it comes.
the fisherman with his number one bird.
up close, he was amazing. his eyes were so green.
i love this photo.
just hanging out.
waltzing in the square.
starfruit - tastes almost like a peach, but with a crunchyish texture. interesting.
my mixed greens salad. yum. love my cucumbers.
my transit out to the kayak trip. i went in the middle, beween the two guys. and yes, the road was quite rocky. thanks for asking.
i was expecting a minibus, not a motorbike. i'm very fortunate that we didn't take a spill.
my life vest. i wore it for about 5 minutes until i realized that the overwhelming odour of stale sweat was wafting from my salva vida.
water pump with a bamboo handle
my torture device. an inflatable canoe. does this look like a kayak to you?
that small head in the lower left is a guy who lives on one of those house boats. he woke up, dove in, and set about spearfishing for his breakfast. Wow.
it was at least pretty for a while. paddling that tippy tub, i was not in the correct mental state to enjoy the scenery.
that is a couple cutting bamboo for rafts, etc.
zoom in on her right hand. that would be a machete.
the ubiquitous plastic bag tree. Chimonobambusa plasticea
this is Puyi, the pick-up spot at the end of my kayaking trip.
one of the interchangeable shops along Puyi's one street. it sells various odds and ends.
Puyi's main street.
what a convenient place to keep your clothes!
no words needed
the worst tour seller in yangshuo. if you see this man, feel free to spit on him.
Waiting for the start of "the Impressions of the third Liu sister" show. A theatrical event staged on the Li River, with 600 people and using the karst peaks as the backdrop.
I was seated in the Chinese section. The foreigners were all over in the center. They also came on nice airconditioned buses that were dropped off right at the entrance. I got a minibus with not enough seats for all the people who'd bought tickets and was dropped off quite a ways from the entrance.
the start of the show. those dots of light are the display screens of people's cameras.
using the peaks as a backdrop. it was magical. it really looked like an elaborate set. amazing.
The lighting was just so elaborate. The geniuses who direct this are also in charge of the opening ceremony for the Olympics.
those are red banners that were pulled up out of the river by guys in bamboo rafts. each dot is a man on a raft pulling himself along using the banners.
the climax, when the girl on the moon comes out. the soundtrack to this show must be very popular, 'cause 1/2 the audience was singing along.
some of the longhair women participate, doing a little bit where they take off their white robes to be revealed in nude bodysuits. interesting
the conclusion. those are people in light suits. they all came in, holding hands, from the upper right. it was exciting wondering how many more there could possibly be, and the line kept going and going.
That's all, folks. The pictures really don't do it justice. It was amazing. A complete theatrical performance on a river, using the landscape as the set. Truly genius to have come up with this.
a man with a whole plate of snails. french do you think?
making ginger candy
some of the wares for sale in yangshuo. it's possible for a conservative young person to come here and completely outfit him or herself in the uniform of the international backpacker.
just some dried meat products.
I had to buy these because in the upper right, it reads, "may the breeze bring you the tenderness and warmth from me far from each other we may be Yet still you are her. At the bottom of my heart."All that for a biscuit with cream filling. Wow!
soft sleeper compartment
hard seat.
hard sleeper cars. three sleeping platforms to a rack, no compartment, just a car filled with sleeping areas.
