Well it's time to leave Yangshou and head for the even more uncertain and we have just a little time to share some words with you. It's still cold but no snow. Robert the hotel weather forecaster was wrong. Actually he was probably right on. He never expected snow or rain, he just wanted us to book a tour with him before we got into town. It turns out he tried to over charge us severly and we suspect it's because we are from the U.S.
Last night we caught up with our Polish friends for some local Chinese food and then on to a local heated pub/restaurant for hot tea. Although they have since left the Dong Feng Hotel we found out they paid less than us for all three of them and they didn't even speak to him about the tour. We did a tour of our own. For 8 RMB each we rented bicycles, bought a large water, two baguette butter and jam sandwiches and secured our goods in the cage on the back of my bike. So along with our travellers guide and two free local maps we were off to the countryside. It actually totalled 29RMB as opposed to the $80 USD Robert said we should pay him. He was full of crap! *Please note 8RMB = $1 USD
The countryside was a great journey too. Old men were walking water buffalo and cows on ropes with their heavy jackets and pants to break the cold air. We rode through thousands of chickens on open land free to dart from one side of the road to the other. The path was narrow and uneven but that didn't stop the trucks from rattling all over the lane with their loud chugging sounds coming from the vehicle's exposed engine. I kind of felt like we had been put in the middle of some Grapes of Wrath type exploration movie. These trucks were like ancient tractor plows that had been converted into modern day vehicles with a sort of rusted green body and bed that resembled the model T Ford style. I was in awe. The journey was relatively quiet. People worked in the fields as we rode by and school children pushed their bikes up hills and walked to their villages in groups. We met a pig along the way who went from curious to startled to curious again but we didn't stay to make friends with him. I too became very curious when a very small elderly lady was walking from the water pump with two large buckets of water hanging from each end of the bamboo pole drapped over her back. I stopped my bike to let her cross and then watched her short step it through a gate that must have led to her destination...perhaps her house.
After our 20 km ride we parked our bikes above the Li River back in the city and ate our little dinner snack. Just into our quiet evening we were approached by a group of school girls inviting us to their English corner. We thought it might be a scam so we didn't commit but got directions and later rode our bikes to the Wisdom Girls School. It turned out to be one of those cool experiences we know are sure to come. Mateo and I were in separate classrooms helping about 30 young girls practice their English. It was great!
So now it's off to Xian we go. The train ride will take a full day so talk to you when we get there.
Joronda
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