Last Day in Yangshuo and on to Philippines

Wednesday, July 5

We had one last day to either hang out in Yangshuo or go back to Guilin. We opted for another day in Yangshuo and decided to check out one of the local caves. Called the Water Cave, they took up by a small boat into the opening of the cave via an underground river. From there, they did the typical walk through a cave spotlighting things with the flashlight which were supposed to look like something (a Buddha, a girl washing her hair, an elephant, etc.). It was a bit hokey, but still a cave and pretty cool. The highlight of the trip was the mud pit for a bath. Samantha dover right in and covered herself completely as did Jamie, although somewhat at a slower pace. I didn't really want to do it, but didn't want to be a party pooper, so I did, but refused to dunk my face. I have a thing about getting water and such around my eyes, much less a ton of mud. Mom even decided to join the fun and came right in after us. Decent pictures of us in Dad's album.

That took pretty much the whole afternoon and after a quick shower back our our inn and dinner, we were off to the Guilin airport for a 50 minute flight back to Shenzhen. We were delayed over 4 hours due to inclement weather in Shenzhen and didn't arrive in Shekou at our apartment until about 3:15 am all exhausted.

Thursday, July 6

Mom, Dad, and Samantha's last day in China was spent pretty much relaxing. Dad bought him a new mp4 player from a local electronics store, Samantha rested up, Mom and I went to see QSI's preschool, Jamie washed a ton of clothes, and I escorted everyone around while preparing for our trip to the Philippines the next day. Dinner was Pizza Hut because we were all too exhausted to go to IKEA.

Friday, July 7

Somewhat frustrating, but Cebu Pacific Airlines is teh only airlines where you cannot take the ferry from Shekou to Hong Kong International Airport. Go figure. So, instead of escorting Mom, Dad, and Samantha to the airport, we had to say our goodbyes at the ferry terminal and Jamie and I had to go all the way to Central Hong Kong just to turn around and take a cab back to the airport. We arrived at our terminal and gate 5 minutes before boarding after panicing we'd miss our flight to Manila.

We are here in in Manila, Philippines at a small little hostel/inn outside of the ciy. At least Blogger works here in the Philippines, so uploading pictures and such will be easier. Here is a breakdown of where Jamie and I will be going in the next 2 weeks while here in the Philippines.

Manila, Taal Volcano
Coron Island
Boracay Island
Cebu City
Panglao Island

I'll be posting pictures as always as well as keeping you informed our our travels here. It will be a mixture of relaxing on beaches and some sightseeing.

Yangshou - Hot Air Ballooning

From Samantha's Pics

We woke up this morning at 4:30 to get up before the sunrise. Mom and Dad had graciously agreed to pay for us all to take a hot air balloon ride over the amazingly beautiful karst landscape of Yangshuo. Again, it is difficult to describe the beauty, but we had 4 cameras going and taking pictures. The ride lasted about and hour and floated up and over the mountains and hills and over the rice fields. We saw the workers working their fields as well as other hot air balloons taking off. The sharp contrast between the colorful balloons and the landscape was striking.

We actually returned to inn at about 7:30 and had time for breakfast, Skyping with family, and rest. Jamie, Mom, and Samantha then went to a cooking class in the local village we were staying. They went to the market to buy their fresh ingredients, then went to the village to cook 5 dishes. You'll have to ask them for details, but they said it was a great time and they learned so much. They all bought the local cookbook as both a souvenir and hopefully they'll be making some dishes for us. Ask them about it!

Dad and I rest and I uploaded our 2800+ pictures online. After Jamie, Mom, and Samantha returned from cooking, Mom, Samantha and I went down to the Yulong River or a swim. The walk over to the river was well worth it. If you'll take a look at Dad's photo album, then you can see the amazing pictures taken of just this area. The colors of the fields, water, and mountains are gorgeous.

After dinner in Yangshuo at the Pure Lotus, this great little vegetarian restaurant recommended by our hosts at the inn, we were transported the the Impressions light show. Here is what a website has to say about the performance:

"The premiere of the Yangshuo Light Show was on March 20th, 2004 at the Sanjie Liu Sing fair, about a mile from West Street . The performance utilizes the natural surroundings to create a spectacular outdoor theatre which is the largest of its kind. The Li River itself is the stage and twelve mountains serve as the backdrop.

The audience sits on specially designed terraces. The sound equipment is kept hidden from view as the theatre is designed to blend, merge and work with the natural environment. The changing weather and seasons bring something different to each performance and the fantastic lighting effects highlight the beauty of the setting.

The show was directed by Zhang Yimou who also directed the famous 2002 movie 'Hero' [as well at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing]. It has received many awards and is included within most tours of the area.

Impressions Light Show in Yangshuo
The show also includes modern and classical music composed by famous musicians in China. There are also over 600 performers who are all local people.

The show gives us impressions of the life of those people living around the river. It also gives us an insight into the dress and music of the ethnic minorities of the area."

It was different, but very beautiful and great way to end the day that started with such a great hot air balloon ride. None of my pictures turned out good enough for me to even keep, but perhaps you can look it up online. Google "Impressions Yangshuo" and it'll get you there.

Be sure to check out the pictures!

Guiling to Yangshuo - Li River Cruise

From Eric's Pics

Monday August 3rd

Today was a day that I had been talking about for months to Mom and Dad. Almost everyone we have met in China has recommended this cruise, so not doing it when you come to Guilin isn’t really an option. After checking out of our hostel in Guilin, we took a bus ride to the dock in Guilin for our Li River cruise. They boarded us on a river boat, provided us with a river map with pictures, and told us the journey would be 4 hours. We floated down the river enjoying the karst landscape of the region. They tried to point out some things to us, like the “9 horses” on the walls of the mountain (of which I could really only find 2 and the other 3 I found was stretching it). They provided a typical Chinese lunch and we were also able to catch some pictures of the scenery located on the back of the 20 yuan note.

It is really hard to describe to you the beauty of this region. You can of course see the pictures and enjoy seeing the various mountains and hills, but one really just has to come out here and see it to fully understand. Of course, I try my best to provide everyone back home with my own personal viewpoint as I take a zillion pictures. Be sure to check them out in the albums. Between me, Dad, Jamie, and Samantha, you should get a decent idea of what it was like.

The river cruise ended at promptly 1:00, and we were sad to have it end. I think all of us could have sat in the air condition windowed top part of the boat and watch that scenery all day long.

We were picked up at the dock and taken to the Yangshuo Outside Inn, a small rustic inn with cottages that is about 5 minutes outside the city of Yangshuo. I purposely chose this place because I thought it would be a great place to stay after being in city after city and a way to unwind after our long journey through China. It didn’t let us down despite being crazy hot and humid here. We have a small 2 bedroom cottage with aircon downstairs only. We relaxed around the place for the entire afternoon enjoying the food, reading, FINALLY getting on the Internet, and playing pool. A great dinner finished off the day. Despite the heat, we slept like logs; however, we had to get up at 4:30 the next morning for our next adventure…

As always, check out the pictures of the Li River cruise.

Guilin - Longji Rice Terraces

From Eric's Pics

Sunday – August 2

This was an EXTREMELY long, HOT, and difficult day, but looking back, very rewarding. I had been wanting to go the Longji Rice Terraces for some time now, and Jamie and I are forgoing the Banuae Rice Terraces in the Philippines for the Longji in China, so I was excited about this trip. Mom, Dad, and Samantha didn’t quite know what to expect, but were along for the ride nonetheless.

The only problem with the day is that I hardly remember or know any of the names of the places we saw. Our day started with a curvy, swervey, bus ride to a small village at the base of the mountains. On the way there, the country side of China was beautiful as we wound our way through the mountains seeing the karst landscape, mudslides on the roads, while our bus hung on to the curves of the road. After purchasing our tickets to the famous Longji Rice Terraces, we took another smaller bus rapidly up a curvier, narrower road to the next village (pronounced “willage” by the Chinese ). The driver was insane speeding up the hill like that, but I guess he knew what he was doing. We only say 3 other busses that had fallen off the mountain – j/k.

It was already a million degrees outside and now we were an arm’s length from touching the sun. Little did we know we hadn’t even started our journey to the top to see the Rice Terraces. Please keep in mind that we had been seeing rice terraces for the entire morning, but what we discovered at the top made it very worth-while.
First, they made you pass through the village going up small stone steps and paths for a 20 minute hike. We ate lunch at a restaurant at the top of the hill in the village. We all had bamboo chicken and rice (literally, chicken and rice stuffed into a bamboo chute and then cooked over an open flame). I was the only one to think it was delicious. Jamie tolerated it, but Samantha finally asked for her energy bar. Dad and Mom both nibbled, but it certainly wasn’t their favorite dish.

The next part of the journey was another 20 minute walk up smaller, steeper stones to see the “Moon and 7 Stars” of the Rice Terraces. The moon and seven stars refer to the tops of the hills where the rice terraces begin. Since we were there during the summer, the rice terraces are green; however, if you go certain times of the year, you can see them yellow and even “glassy” when they are full of water. It is at this time when they look like a field of mirrors. Our pictures have all turned out well of the top of this place. Be sure to check them out. The journey up and down that hill was especially hard for Dad, but he made it! We were all proud of him for continuing on to the top.

Afterwards, we went to a rather hokey little boat ride down the Yi River. They put us in a small boat and we gently flowed downstream watching “performances” of some of the minorities from the area. Most notable were the Yao Village women with the long hair. Apparently, they have the World’s Record for the group with the longest hair. There aren’t many of them, and they do indeed have long hair. 4 other “performances” were provided before we exited the boat. While going through their tourist trap shop, they made you cross over a bridge and sing a song in your native language. They had just “performed” for us, so I guess we had to for them. I led everyone in “I’m a Little Teapot” complete with hand and body motions. They loved us and let us pass through.
Next was a performance by another minority under a covered pavilion that even Jamie and Mom got to interact and dance as they joined in. Great pictures were taken and they enjoyed the dancing.

Our last stop was at a Tea House for some Green Tea, Flower Tea, Black Tea, and Puer Tea. They had a tea demonstration which was nice and touristy, but neat overall.

We were exhausted, but Jamie, Samantha, and I went to a small western restaurant, Rosemary Café, and ordered some food and brought some back from Mom and Dad. A very tiring, but rewarding day.

Xi'an - Terracotta Warriors and City Walls

From Eric's Pics

From Jamie's Pics

Friday – July 31

Today was our first full day in Xi’an. We decided to take a tour to the excavation site of the Terracotta Warriors. For those that do not know, and I know many in America do not, the Terracotta Warriors are literally terracotta (clay) soldiers built by the “first” Chinese emperor to protect his final resting place. So far, 4 pits have been found and over 8000 terracotta warriors, chariots, and horses have been discovered. The emperor died in 310 b.c., but the terracotta warriors were not found until 1974 by a Chinese farmer digging a well. The Chinese government paid the man 10 yuan (about $1.50 US) for his discovery. Don’t worry though, the guy is doing quite well as we saw him signing books written about him and charging people to take his picture – TIC.
Our guided tour took the entire day but the excavation site was stunning. They still have pit #4 that they have not opened to the public they have just started digging. Pit #1 alone hasn’t even been completed. Take a look at our pictures as they are pretty amazing and Google “Terracotta Warriors” for more information.
We rested that afternoon and ate at the hostel which had yummy food for all meals.

Saturday – August 1

We didn’t fly to Guilin until later that afternoon, so we wanted to see some more sites in Xi’an before leaving. We decided early on to bike on top of the city walls of Xi’an. The city still has its original city walls which are wide enough for 2 cars to drive side by side and over XXX feet high. There are plenty of biking options, so Mom and Dad rode a tandem bike and me, Jamie, and Samantha each had a bike of our own. The city walls are about 5.2 miles around and we had 100 minutes to complete it. Mom and Dad’s tandem bike broke down 2 times and they had to exchange it once, Jamie’s bike broke once and we had to exchange it, and finally it poured down rain on us pretty much the entire time. Mom and Dad have said it was the best time they have had! Great experience and one for the books. We strolled into the bike return taking a little over 2 hours to complete because of the break downs.

We showered and freshened up, but decided not to go back out in the rain to see more city sites. I had really wanted to go to the beginning point of the Silk Road, but Xi’an is a city that Jamie and I think we will return to, so I wasn’t too bummed about it.

Our flight to Guilin was pretty fast and we arrived at the Guilin Riverside Hostel early in the evening. They had fed us on the plane, so we spent the time resting and figuring out what to do in Guilin.
I’m going to post Guilin and Yangshuo on another post, but be sure to check out our albums for pictures of Xi’an!

Beijing Part 2 - after long period of no Internet

From Eric's Pics

This is the first post I’ve been able to do since July 28. For some reason, our wireless hasn’t worked in Beijing and Xi’an at some pretty decent places; but out here in the wilderness at a little village inn, it works great. Go figure. Nonetheless, this post will be rather long to catch everyone up on our adventures since our first day in Beijing…

Wednesday, July 29

We woke up early to catch a private taxi (minivan) to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. First, however, we stopped by the Olympic Village for pictures of the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. It was hazy and smoggy, but the pictures were enough to see. Great venue and we can tell that China planned it quite well.
Our next stop was the Summer Palace. We had all taken Dramamine prior so we wouldn’t get sick from the curvy roads, so we were all quite drowsy at the Summer Palace. We walked along the man made lake and finally saw the Marble Boat before exiting early. Our driver was shocked we made it through in such a quick time, but the Summer Palace is so large, it is difficult to see everything anyway, so we just hit the highlights and went on through. We all knew the best part of the day was coming up.

After a quick brunch at McDonald’s (yeah I know, but you eat what you can), then we all napped on the way to the Great Wall. The Mutianyu section is about 2 hours outside of Beijing and much less crowded than the famous Badaling section, but the views are amazing. You have your option to either hike up to the wall or take about a 4 minute cable car to the top. We opted for the cable car, but walking up the steep slope even to it will just about get you out of breath.

It is hard to describe the Great Wall of China, and I certainly cannot do so on this blog. It is simply something that everyone must experience. You can go to either of our albums and catch the many pictures that we took or you can email or call any of us and ask. Most people just assume that the feeling is indescribable. The day we went was pretty hazy, so the visibility wasn’t really all that great, but the experience is still amazing.
After napping again on the ride home after a long day, we ate dinner at the café next to the hostel and rested up preparing for what would come the next day.

Thursday – July 30

This was our last day in Beijing. It was supposed to be a full day of activities and then an overnight train ride to Xi’an, but the soft sleeper cars of the train was booked solid and none of us wanted to sit for 15 hours on a hard seat on a train. We opted for an afternoon flight to Xi’an instead.

First, however, we went shopping at a rather large market. It has a name that has escaped me, but they call it a Pearl Market. Mom and Samantha enjoyed shopping and bargaining there, while I learned a little bit about how they conduct business after I bought a new memory card for my camera – 8 gig sweet! We decided to skip the Silk Market and instead eat a great lunch at the Hard Rock Café Beijing. Most Beijingers (not sure what a native is called, but I made this up – perhaps Beijingites?) The only sour point of this was that Dad lost his wallet. I guess it happens to everyone, but it is especially frustrating on a trip. Luckily, a vast majority of his money wasn’t in there and the credit card was canceled promptly.

Afterward, we took a couple of cabs to the airport for our flight to Xi’an, where we finally arrived and settled into our hostel – Shuyuan International Youth Hostel sometime around 9:00. For this first night, we had a 6 bed dormitory and shared the room with an Australian passing through. Nice guy.

A final note about Beijing Backpacker Hostel. It is in the middle of the hutongs and we found it especially difficult to find a cab that would be willing to take us directly to the hostel. Most, if any, would drop us off at the nearest street entering the hutongs but then you had to talk another ½ mile to get to the hostel. No big deal, but Dad’s knees were killing him quite a bit and that extra ½ mile or so was difficult many times for him especially after walking around all day.

I’m going to break up this post into another post to discuss Xi’an. As always, check out the photo albums posted to see all of the pictures.

Shekou to Beijing

On Monday, we had to leave early to catch our flight to Beijing. After rushing to the airport by cab, the flight was delayed almost an hour. We didn't arrive to our hostel in Beijing until about 3:00, about and hour and a half after we had planned. We are staying in the Downtown Backpacker Hostel in Beijing. It is a great place so far. We have a 6 bed room with private bath and everything is very clean and the staff is very helpful and nice.

We took a stroll through the famous Hutongs and then to eat at a famous restaurant for Beijing Duck. This place was cool because it had Chinese performances including some magic, long spout pourers, and the world renowned Beijing Opera Face Changer. The duck was great and we had some other dishes to complete the meal.

From Dad's Pics

We were pretty tired despite the fairly slow day, but traveling does that to you some time.

Today was our first full day in Beijing and included the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, and the LaoSha Tea house for some evening tea. Jamie and I had already seen these, but we enjoyed seeing them in the summer time with everything blooming. Mom, Dad, and Samantha was shocked at the shear size of Forbidden City. We were all pretty exhausted, so the afternoon was spent relaxing a bit at the hostel before hitting the town again at night.

I have uploaded Samantha, Dad, and Jamie's pictures they have taken. Samantha has enjoyed taking pictures and has accumulated over almost 300 pictures so far. Check out our Picasa Photo Album for all of these.

Tomorrow is the Great Wall at the Mutianyu section, the Summer Palace, and a brief stop at the Olympic Village to see the Bird's Nest and Water Cube. Let's hope for clear weather!