adventures in Yangshuo

yesterday, we thought we kind of wasted but it actually turned out to be a good adventure in itself. we started out the day buying bus tickets for back home and there are tons of tours and attractions around here but we just had to figure out which ones and from what place (there are tons) so yesterday was kind of configuring day. but we still wanted to do something, we've stayed local, we wanted to explore.
so first we ventured outside of the hotel and we were right outside of the hostel when a parade literally just attacked us. we were wondering if we'd see any like dragon new years festival things, or dances. we got our fireworks and we figured that was it. nope. we got our dragons. there was a group of 6 dragons manned by 2 people each and then behind them was 2 dragons that had about 7 people under it. there were drums and cymbols and it was just crazy awesome. oh! and our isreali friends from the previous night were there. we didnt talk to them..but i kind of snuck pictures of them?...kind of stalkerish but i wanted proof they existed. that pretty much started our day out good.
so then after we bought tickets and ate (we ate at a place called minnie mao's (like the gov't person) and a picture below was on the wall of the restuarant. haha) we thought about just renting some bikes for 10 yuan. well we got the urge to rent MOPEDS!! (electric bicycles) ha. we've wanted to ride one ever since we came to china. their everywhere and everybody rides them. so we got them for 60 yuan and went off. it was just lorenda, jamee, chantelle and me and we just wanted to go exploring, no real destination in mind. most of the attractions in yangshuo/guilin are just seeing the sights on bike or bus or moped whatever. so there are tons of side roads all around the mountians so we just discovered one and went with it. its so ridiculous how gorgeous this area is. like we're just in a huge valley surrounded by these majestic beasts of mountains. we drove around for about 3 hours and by the time we were done our hands were freezing but it was AWESOME. i pretty much want a moped of my own now. oh and funny story so if you've ever heard brian regan there's a routine he does about borrowing a car that has a shortaged out horn that just honks randomnly. yea. chantelle's was doing that pretty much the whole way back once we got back on the main highway. i was busting up laughing because she couldnt get it to stop and then it just went straight honking with no break. it was hilarious. we finally had to pull over and turn it off and on and fix it. but it just cracked me up.

okay um.. the other thing that happened yesterday was the dress fiasco. so we heard there were places that would make custom dresses for you for really cheap and we heard there were some places here. so we checked around and we saw a couple and just asked them how much they wanted. and it was the traditional dresses you see like made out of silk. so we figured we get one because we can and it'd be neat. but the prices were a little more than we expected so i found one shop that made a more casual dress, it still had a certain chinese-esque to it but wasnt the fancy ones. so i bargain with her down to way cheap and so she takes down all of my measurements (with the length she said the number like she was amazing anybody was that tall.. and kind of embarassing but she also laughed while writing down the measurements for my butt?.. they dont see curves much here i spose..)and chantelle found a dress she liked but they'd have to make it, but they didnt have the color fabric she wanted. so after a long time of saying no, i really dont want it, i left my down-payment and we left. we saw a dress shop across and a couple shops down from the previous so we checked it out. and the lady was a little peeved at chantelle for not buying it and then it got awkward because we figured out that they were together shops so she asked the lady about the cost and she ran over to the other lady we just left. we think the lady was just bitter at us so she told chantelle that she didnt have that dress and then she came to me and told me to follow her.. and it was just really awkward. but she brought me to her friend who spoke english and she told me that the person who makes the dresses wasnt in town anymore and that they were sorry. ha. yea they "werent in town" right. so got my money back and we just avoid the dress shops at all costs. we didnt really really want the dresses anyways so we were happy and dealing with that lady just made us REALLY not want one. so that was..um interesting/frustrating.

okay now today. i'm sorry i forgot to write yesterday so this one is kind of long..

today was country-side bike tour day.
we ended up choosing this one lady named wei wei to be our guide to moon hill (one of yangshuo's biggest attractions). and lets just say we chose right.
we got mountain bikes and rode through yangshuo country. and it was gorgeous, of course. there are a bunch of little paved/dirt roads for the bikes and it was just plain awesome. we ride through country side surrounded by crops and we also go through a bunch of towns. we rode 30 kilometers to moon hill where we hiked up 826 stairs to get there. oh my heck do my legs hurt. its been foggy lately which has kind of been a downer but we could still see a lot. the funniest thing though, right before we got to the hill wei wei warned us that these ladies would follow us and try and sell us WAY overpriced drinks and postcards. and sure enough we passed them and they literally ran over to us and followed us to moon hill. and we had one that hiked ALL the way to the top with us still trying to sell us stuff. there were like 10 of these old ladies each with their own little coolers and postcards. it was quite humorous but quite annoying at times when they didnt seem to understand no (chinese or english) lol.
then we walked back down where we met with wei wei again. coolest part. she actually was born and lives in moon hill town. so part of the tour package was that she took us to her house where her dad cooked lunch for us. and i'm not kidding, this was THE best meal i have had in china. it was cool, before we left she called her dad to pick some vegetables out of the garden. and they used eggs from their own chickens. so this was like authentic. we had a chicken and potato dish, a pork and mushroom dish, cooked cabbage, this awsome bamboo chute like vegetable with peppers and these awesome meat dumplings wrapped in egg. the flavors were unbelievable how good they were. it was ridiculously good. it was just a neat experience over all.
then we headed back but on the way we stopped by and saw another yangshuo tourist attraction, the big banyan tree. this tree is around 1500 years old. its ridiculous. and pretty cool. it had these branches that grew out of it and then into the ground like seperate trees, but it was all connected. so of course we got some pictures.
then we headed back
then we came back and kind of split up and chantelle and megan and me all went back down to west street. it really is just a fun place to be. so we've pretty much gone everyday and been all around west street and bought things here and there. now we have our friends of yangshuo. walking around and realizing this just put the biggest smile on my face. our friends:
-wei wei, of course. she even gave us here personal number to call for more tours and we wave and smile at her.
-the first day we bought watercolor painting from this man and his wife. and we walked by them and they recognized us and gave us a hearty HELLO! and Happy New Year!!
-there are men that sell flutes and just play them along the streets. (its actually quite cool just to walk down the street and hear them play) the first day megan bought one and we talked to him for a while and he played for us. so today we saw him and he was playing in the crowded streets and he sees us and stops playing to say hello! hello! to us. :)
-then we found the nicest lady who paints vials from the inside (its ridiculous how detailed and beautiful these pieces are) and so we met her when a bunch of us bought stuff from her. and every time we walk by here she gets the biggest smile on her face and waves and say hello!
-and of course our israeli friends.. haha. who we saw walking again today. (i keep telling chantelle this is the third time we've seen them, so its a sign. i have to marry isaac now) haha
-and our newest friend, a bunch of people paint shirts and shoes and stuff and its very goodlooking. they mostly do these asian type looking cartoons (not anime) and its very cool and you can get them custom made. so megan bought a shirt that she had an english saying translated on it. and then chantelle bought a bag that she had a sunflower and her chinese name on it. and these are the things that really mean something to buy. its not just another trinket. so i got a black scarf and wanted my chinese name on it along with some kind of picture including stars because my name (xiao xingxing; shoaw shing shing) means little star. so you can see the picture of what's on it down below. and i absolutely ADORE it! when i saw it i was ecstatic. she is a very good artist. so we are now friends with her.
and its those people, that we've bargained for stuff but made friendships kind of along the way that just put the biggest smile on my face. so now we walk down west street and maybe pass their shop give them a big smile and wave and say hello. its just things like that that make me not want to leave and love yangshuo even more :):)