Events

Well, the blogging silence for the last week reflects how busy we have been. I (Maryann) went to work big-time with a group of 25 executives for a development program. It was pretty much a 7x24 work for most of the week. Also met some of my firm's contract employees in Hong Kong.

Needless to say, I was busy and pretty focused on working with them, navigating the culture (we did traditonal dinners, a tea house, major shopping expeditions, customer visits out to industrial areas, and major speakers). I will hit some highlights in a separate blog.

We did get some time to play in Hong Kong this week. An absolutely amazing city -- again, needs its own bog. We are traveling back to the U.S. tomorrow and will catch up on writing.

If you read the theme blogs, you know that we had some special experiences in Yangshou. It is a "small" community of about 300,000. It is tagged a "back packer" town - and that it is. We took a 3 hour boat ride (racing other boats) up the river from Guilin. It was a great ride! The boat was questionable and sported a tag "Sanitized"which made us wonder what that meant! We shared a table with a newly married Italian couple (on a honeymoon across China) and a Mom and son from Beijing vacationing in the south. Food on the boat was surprisingly appetizing but somewhat mysterious.

What is most important is that it was a totally stunning ride. The Li River winds through inverted cones of limestone. The swirling fog (and it poured rain at times) made it so surreal. It was a time in the past, maybe a movie scene. It took at least 500 pictures on the digital cameras to come close to capturing the totally amazing ride.

We arrived in Yangshou to find the "back pack" community. It is quaint and really stunning scenary. It is mostly poor - people constantly followed us and asked for money from us. It is quite rural as well. So, we dived into our expereince. It often rained (heavily) and was tremendously hot and humid.

We took off on a bicycle tour (see separate blog). It was a truly cultural expereince - in intense heat. A local cold beer afterwards was never more appreciated!! The hotel was, well - uniquely Chinese. It was quite nice but not quite the comfort of hotels we had grown accustomed to.

At night, we experienced the most amazing light and sound show. It needs a separeate blog -- produced by the director of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. When you are amazed by what you see, you will see what we expereincecd at night in Yanshou on the banks of the Li River. Nearly 1000 performers ... on the river!
See vide clip:
The cooking class was our highlight. We have to blog that one separately! We did return early to Guilin - where we got to see the Panda Bears at the local zoo and sit in air conditioning in the hotel.

It was a dark and rainy night (it really was) in Yangshou. Here's my story. I received a letter from a woman in Yangshou China. She has a problem; she doesn't know what year it is. This I can handle. She offers me full expenses and a daily fee. After this gig, I'm turning consulant. Give your clients the answer they want. Good money. But back to my story. It is July 1938. How do I know this? Because the Magnolia Hotel flashing neon light is outside my window, and all detective moves from 1938 have a flashing neon sign. I am Peter, P.I. and this is my "Yangshou Mystery."

I take the Pan Am Clipper across the Pacific, land in Hong Kong and catch a crowded sleeper train to Yangshou. I check in to the hotel about midnight. Within minutes, I hear a knock on the door. It's the woman, she's American and beautiful. I fall hard for this women. After I get up (from the fall), she tells me her story. She doesn't know what year it is. "No problem, it's 1938," I reply. She says that strange occurances have made her think it is not really 1938. We will take a bike ride tomorrow morning to check this out. I fall asleep within seconds, a serious case of propeller lag.

The next morning we head out on bicycles.

We ride along the hazy Li River and come across water buffalo. I've seen this before, I think, but I cannot place it.

We continue bicycling by rice paddies where workers with cone-shaped hats harvest the ripened rice.

This is spooky. Now I place it! I'm expecting copters any minute. Mekong Delta 1968. "Yes, yes, see. I really don't know what year it is," the beautiful American yells.

We peddle our rusty bikes and head back to Yangshou. On the way, a peasant farmer passes us, pedaling his tricyle, overloaded with chickens on the way to the market in town. Five minutes later we notice that he has stopped on the side of the road. Does he have a flat? Did the US forces shoot him? No, he is talking on his cell phone! Can it be 2008? Oh, it is so confusing!

We return to the hotel. The beautiful American says she is leaving tomorrow for Guangzhou to conduct some business. Will I come along, she asks, to continue to work on this mystery? Is this a trick question? I will follow her anywhere. Maybe there I will be able to find the answer to my "Yangshou Mystery."

We awaken at 4 am on Sunday, the wakeup time moving by about a ½ hour every day. Not our choice, our brain’s choice. We also note that there is blue sky, what a treat. Turns out to be sunny all day, but hot and humid.
We start at Tiananmen Sq. Vast, stark, hard, little vegetation, tens of thousands of people, many with umbrellas (to keep the sun off). Chairman Mao looks down from the huge portrait on the first gate. Next on the stop is the The Forbidden City which is massive, in square area, size of buildings and number of buildings (9900). A large and deep moat surrounds it all, the largest palace in the world. It takes all morning to get through it all.
Our guide takes us to a local noodle house for lunch. Not a lot of other westerners in there, and few on the wait staff speak English. Noisy, crowded, busy, bench seats, a local experience. Our guide orders a number of dishes. Maryann, who was planning on subsisting on powerbars, scarfs down a noodle bowl with veggies and a soy sauce, which she finds delicious, but which Peter finds icky in taste. Our guide says Maryann is more Chinese than Peter. Ouch! Somebody reading this look up Chinese Haw juice (which we drank) and let us know what it is. We couldn’t come up with a comparable fruit juice to match this. Sort of cherry like, but not exactly.
Desserts are very strange. One had a white mushroom with dates, another was a bean curd cube that had the most unusual texture I’ve ever eaten. Peter was still able to consume too much, as a plate of battered shrimp went fast.
On to a pearl factory where Maryann finds something she likes. Then to the Temple of Heaven. This is in a large park, while charging admissions, that is frequented by many locals who buy season passes. This is Sunday, so a large number of older citizens are dancing to boombox music, singing, dancing with fans. Sort of like street musicians but done for fun, not money. These performances are not allowed in the temple area, which is another large ornate structure devoted to the 4 seasons.
It’s now 3 pm and we are both beat. Nap time. We later meet up the Jana and Dave and go to a local Japanese restaurant that our guide suggests. Good food, but another adventure with no English speaking staff but subtitles on the menu. We then head the famous Chinese Opera, which turns out to be 3 different performances, one musical with traditional Chinese instruments, and the other 2 highly costumed actors and actresses performing what we would consider melodrama. The plots are strange, the acting somewhat over the top, but in a setting where each performer has completely painted faces. The first involved a nun that escapes here nunnery to find a boat to chase over her love! The second was a plot about the Buddha requesting that the evil monkey be killed. A number of acrobatic fight scenes ensue.
Ended the night with a farewell and a wish for smooth travels to Jana and Dave who leave for Katmandu tomorrow and a 2 week trek.