JAZZY'S TRAVELS

www.flickr.com

So, here I am... alone again. After almost 3 weeks with the guys it's really quite odd to be alone. I almost don't know what to do with myself! Right now I'm in Yangshou, about an hour away from Guilin (the last city I wrote from). It's raining today so I figured it would be a good day to "take care of business": go shopping, read, email and blog. Very important business :P

I've really been enjoying myself the past week or so, which is a good thing seeing I'm leaving China on Wednesday (I decided I'm gonna ditch my flight to Malaysia and just head overland into 'Nam). We got to Yangshou about 6 days ago. Within the first hour we had chartered a little boat for the 4 of us and were out on the waters of the famous Li River. As we puttered up stream at dusk, I realized I'd finally found the China I was looking for. I would definitely allow this part of China to be called "beautiful", "charming", "amazing", you name it. Yangshou is what we all picture when we think of the beautiful Chinese countryside. The little town of Yangshou is definitely charming and despite the fact that it's a tourist trap, I absolutely love it. For once I agree with Lonely Planet's evaluation:
"[A] sleepy yet hip village - and travellers mecca - plunked within other worldly topography[...] Pedalling through the rice fields amid the splended green-topped limestone peaks for a day, or three, is for many their top China experience"(p. 5 /p. 611)

So far, it has definitely been mine.

After our little river cruise we headed back to town for drinks (there are tons of cute bars) and a dinner of "drunk duck", a local specialty which is even better than it sounds (come on being drunk always sounds good ;P). The next day we got up late - something which seemed to happen a lot with the 4 of us - rented some bikes and headed out into the countryside. It was amazing - dirt roads, water buffalo, farmers in fields, small villages and a really sore butt...wait that wasn't amazing, that part sucked! I don't know what it is but I just can't ride a bike comfortably. It's just not meant to be.

The next day (as usual) we got up late, changed hotels (I've never seen Colin so excited) and rented some little motorcycles. When I say little I actually mean tiny. They're these battery-powered motorcycles about 2 1/2' high. Even though my bike was the slowest, and it broke down at one point for about a 1/2 hour, I still had a blast! This is one of the great thing about traveling with guys (especially Colin...he's...hmm...motivated. Which I love by the way, no getting mad Colin!) they get you to do things you probably wouldn't have tried on your own; like renting motorcycles or rock climbing (I'll get to that later).

Anyway, we rode our little BMWs out to this cave where we swam in an underground pond and had a mud bath. I was cold most of the time (surprise, surprise) but it was still a lot of fun. That night we came back and drank waaaaay too much and I wrote some drunk emails...I hope you all enjoyed those. *wink wink*

The next morning, Jon and Rich convinced me to go rock climbing with them. I guess Yangshou is world reknown (how the hell do you spell that??? damn chinese spell check...) for it's rock climbing, and I can totally understand why. There are tons of places to climb because of all the karsts (the hills/mountains that jut up everywhere... you know the scenery you see so much in Chinese art). Anyway, I was worried at first because I'd only been climbing twice, and Rich and Jon seem to do a lot of indoor climbing back in England. Both of them did the first climb before me and got me totally freaked out saying how hard it was, but when I finally went it was a breeze! I guess I'd forgotten that I was actually a pretty good climber for a beginner.

Girls 100,000,000,001 points/Guys 0 points...okay, maybe 2.

[Ha, quick little side note, right now the cafe I'm sitting in is playing "Buena Vista Social Club" their music just makes you feel like a traveler; I think I've already heard it in a couple of other bars in town too :) ]

Yesturday we didn't do anything, the guys left at 5pm and then I found myself alone. I was sad at first. I really enjoyed traveling with all of them. They were a lot of fun, and company is really nice to have, expecially company that makes you laugh... a lot. My sadness didn't really last that long though. I won't see Rich or Jon again... at least not on this trip. They're flyin' through S.E. Asia in 1 1/2 months. I'm pretty sure I'll see Colin fairly soon. They all headed south into Vietnam to Hanoi. I think they were going to head N.W. to a place called Sapa, and after that I think they've gotta head back to Hanoi, so I should overlap with Colin there. I'm also planning to meet up with another girl I met in Xian - Julia. We basically have the same travel route, and have to get to Thailand around Xmas to meet friends/family. We're planning to meet in Hanoi or somewhere nearby around the 7th. So, really when it comes down to it I'm not going to be alone that long, and even if I am, I've learned that it's really not that hard to meet people. I know, I know, people always tell you that, but at first it's scary and you wonder if it's really as easy as everyone says...eventually it is.

Now, I'm sure most of you have noticed this blog is a little more optimistic than most, and I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Even though everyone wants to know what I'm up to, I don't really write about what I'm doing as much as how I'm feeling, because that's more important to me. You will all see my pictures sooner or later (sooner if I ever take the time to figure out how to post 'em on my blog!) and they will tell you what I've been seeing and doing. They will not, however, tell you how I felt after stopping at my first roadside "WC" (water closet/toilet)...well actually neither will this blog, it's so revolting I'll save that one to tell you in person. Although pictures can convey many amazing things, the pictures I take (and most of the video) can't tell you what I think about the people I meet, or how I feel about the food, or what I find annoying, and that's what's most important to me. Remembering the little things, because one day all I'll have left will be the pictures. So bare with me and my cynical quirky style of writing.

Also, I realized that I wasn't really that excited about the things I was doing and seeing earlier, and that's probably why I wasn't writing about it. This could have been a result of culture shock, the fact that I thought the first part of China was ugly, because I just wasn't doing anything exciting or a mix of the three. Either way, I only write about what excites me, and for a while that was...well, it was cheese. (I found a cheese plate and lots of baguettes here in Yangshou, maybe that's why my mood has changed :P).

Whatever the reason, as I sit here writing at a candle little table in a small cafe playing "Buena Vista Social Club" as it drizzles outside on the narrow cobblestone walkways of Yangshou, I can tell you with honesty and confidence that China IS an amazing place... you just have to know where to go.