To the South of China!

I'd like to first start off by saying that all I want right now is: Easter Candy!! If I could have any wish granted right now, it would be for (Lorena says, "Hi!") Jelly Beans, Recess Peanut Butter Eggs, Sixtlets,...anything! But in all seriousness, I am sad I won't be home for Easter - especially since all I want is (of course) candy, ham, tuna salad, cheese and anything else American related. It's times like these that really make you miss your home nation's traditions.

Village along a river leading to the mountain base

But on a lighter note, things have been great here in China as usual. Last week, we went to the Guilin area for our Rice Terracing course taught by one of our UWRF professors. Taking a sleeper train, we embarked on a 18 hour ride to the South of China. The city lights from home eventually faded into flat farm fields which gradually turned into mist covered mountains. Once arriving in Guilin, we took a three hour bus ride to a base halfway up a mountain. The whole feeling of "mountains on one side and a cliff on the other" was basically the theme of the whole ride. Good thing the driver was texting and driving, eh?

Walking to our village

After safely arriving at the base, we hiked up the mountain to Tian Tao Village. Magical, Majestic and Mighty. Looking out over the valley, I saw mountain after mountain looming far off in the distance with rice terraces covering the smaller hills below me. We stayed in the village for three days collecting data, observing and hiking among the terraces. They were insanely beautiful and it is so hard to imagine that people created these over 1000 years ago. Often, we saw horses running up and down the mountains, cows and water buffalo munching on weeds and snakes and salamanders slithering around under our feet. Even though it was beautiful, there was a large sense of tourism as this village was (as it seemed) a gathering place for the French, Germans and Spaniards. Interestingly enough they all spoke English and we got to converse with them as well as some of the locals.

The view from my window - the mountains in the distance were twice the height you see

Walking back down to the halfway base point, the same driving/texting driver picked us up and we headed down the switchback filled mountain. Adding to the excitement, it rained the night before resulting in, well, an interesting ride down. Usually signs in China aren't always correct but: Watch For Falling Rocks was spot on. I'm surprised the driver dude wasn't texting while going around the pile - good thing, though, because the left side of the van was skimming the edge of a 100 foot drop off. It was one of those: "I'mmmm...just going to close my eyes now" moments.

After four hours of exciting driving, we arrived in Yangshuo, a river city about an hour south of Guilin. There, we got to see the iconic karsts that are legendary to China. Almost any movie that features China usually has a scene that is focused on these mountains; and I can see why!

Moon Hill - we climbed it sat under the arch!

Farm fields with karsts in the background

The highlight of this trip would have be a river boat ride we took up and down a portion of the Li River. We got to ride sketchy rafts and saw the scene on the back of the twenty Yuan bill. This was my favorite part of the whole trip and I want to go back! We also went to a cave to go 'mud swimming' which entailed jumping around in a mud pit. It reminded me of the time I lost my shoe in a cow manure pit - but this time I was all for jumping in fully. After getting all muddy, we jumped into a hot spring that was fed naturally through hot springs filtered through the rocks. The mud and water were filled with minerals that made our skin feel amazing! I didn't dare bring my camera in with me - and it was a good thing because it would have died most likely.

We ended out trip by accidently missing our train back to Hangzhou and had to fly back home after several attempts to get a new train. Even though we lost out on money, I still wouldn't have given up the experience!
This was one of my favorite trips and as I look back at these pictures, I get a sense of accomplishment and gratitude! China is amazing!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! It has been a long and jam-packed month. Sending love to everyone at home and I hope your Easter was Blessed with family and of course food. (candy!!)

Ty

Found this while climbing up Moon Hill. Foot(e) anyone?