I'm Back!

WooHoo! She's back.  In relatively full health, with a somewhat normal sleep schedule, and a hopefully renewed vigor for blogging...I'm back! 

I think I'm doing a pretty good job of assimilating back into Wisconsin life, but I suppose it will be a slow process. The good news is that I still have plenty of fun days in China and Taiwan to blog about! Before that fun-ness though I have a few observations I've made in the last week:

1. Wisconsin is FLAT! I'm not sure if the overwhelming, "holy crap I can see for miles!" feeling is because Wisconsin isn't a volcanic island where you're lucky to find a square meter of naturally even ground, or because Wisconsin isn't consumed by a fluid network of metropolises (metropoli?) and mini-metropolises. Either way, it's flat here.  Weird thing for me to notice. 

I know it is a little blurry but I was in a moving bamboo raft, forgive me. Yangshuo is not flat.  Wisconsin is flat.  

2. It smells good!! When we get to Beijing you are going to hear more than an earful from me about pollution, but suffice it to say I just love breathing here. Even the dairy air, I'll breathe that stuff in any day.  Fill your lungs folks, it's good here. So good. 

3. So gosh darn peaceful!!!!!!!!!! (Breath) !!!!!!!!!!! Last week I ventured to the grocery store on my own after a few days of recuperation.  I'm not sure how to explain this, but the same grocery store I've gone to for the last decade, I remember shopping there with both of my parents, my aunt and uncle, my grandparents for many a moon...it just didn't look the same. I think in my Wisconsin mind the grocery store used to be a hub of hustle and bustle, everyone went at some point and it seemed to have a fair amount of life even late at night. It seriously does not look the same anymore. I caught myself thinking, "how the heck can they stay in business with so few customers?"  Oh yeah, not every place in America has to be packed beyond capacity every moment of the day. I'm not sure how my Taiwanese friends would feel in an American grocery store, I think it would freak them out. 

You know, just a typical day on the Beijing subway as an Amazon white woman. 

I am sure there are more but the big thing I realized so far is this.  When I landed in Taiwan back in May, I knew I was getting myself in over my head and that it would be on me to dig myself out. It was a challenge I was expecting and was, for the most part, prepared to face head on. I acclimated to the jet lag fast, I soaked up the culture, I put myself out there because that is what I knew I had to do.  Despite fervent warnings of the dreaded "culture shock," I thrived with no clue what I was supposed to be afraid of. Now, I'm home and I actually think I know better what those warnings were about.  I am not shocked by Asian culture, but by American culture.  Somewhere on a bus in rural central China, I started admitting to myself that I was ready to go home.  Don't get me wrong, I was extremely excited to be there, but when the time came to get on the plane I would be ready. I didn't prepare myself to come home like I had prepared myself to go to Taiwan.  I was going home, what preparation would I need? I would be landing in an airport I've flown in and out of probably 100 times, I was going back to the home I have lived my entire life in, all my friends and family would still be right where I left them. Prepare? Psh.  For three months I relied on myself and the few resources at my disposal.  Every day was an active one, no matter how simple. Everything was so much thinking.  I think that was the most exhausting.  But, now that I am home, the transition from that mode of thought to the take-it-easy, calm, familiar environment one I am supposed to have is a lot harder than I expected. Oh believe me, it is nice not to have to ask myself 21 questions just to grab lunch, but the transition back to 'normal' is not as smooth as I had subconsciously assumed it would be. I suppose my transition has been complicated a smidge, but I didn't ever think I would have to remind myself that I'm not in Taiwan.   

That's all for now.  If the mechanic putting my new tires on takes much longer, you might even get a post about my time in Haining and Hangzhou with Grace.  Lucky for you, but might not be so lucky for him.  Bess no happy. 

Huh?

Well folks,

I wrote you a post before I left and published it but apparently it never showed.  You didn't miss much.

I am back in Wisconsin now, after 30+ hours of traveling.  I made it 12 hours on the ground before I wound up in the ER.  Apparently my appendix and Mr. Crohn's are not very happy with me.  Lying low for a number of days, I'll post when I can. 

B

Flying in China (and internationally in general) - A Guide.

We had booked flights from Guilin to Hangzhou.  It should have been a short and easy trip. In the States it would have been. Instead it was a hassle of unexplained delays, difficult communications, and mild frustration.  

Chinese air space is a clustered mess of disorganization, corruption, and purchased priority. Our flight was on a budget airline (not made of gold here!), and so as soon as the airspace in Hangzhou got crowded, which was immediately since Hangzhou is only about an hour train ride from Shanghai, we lost our spot. In addition to that, shorty after our flight arrived, the airline decided that our plane would be better suited to a different flight which wasn't supposed to board until an hour after our departure time. So now, with no plane and no departure priority, we were indefinitely delayed.  Thanks. Oh, and of course they didn't tell any of this to us. The screen just read "delayed." 

Now, if you have ever traveled with me or have seen me deal with a situation as this then you've heard what I call my 'big girl voice.'  Things happen when I use my big girl voice. As the daughter of a pilot, an experienced flier in all kinds of aircraft (from 3 seaters to 300 seaters), and a general go-getter, I know just enough of the lingo, the right smile to give, and the right questions to ask to get the whole story.  While we watched the Chinese sigh and sit back down (average ontime departure time for Chinese domestic flights is somewhere around 40 %), the foreigners, especially Americans, began to ask questions. Our poor gate agent spoke 10 words of English and none of them applied except "delayed."  Big girl Bess was on a mission. We were going to Hangzhou to meet my really good friend.  I hadn't seen her in a year, she was picking us up from the airport, I was tired and eager to get on the ground in Hangzhou.

Allow me to introduce Big Girl Bess' Guide to Handling Delayed/Cancelled Flights in a Foreign Country. 

1. Smile. 

When you are dealing with major communication barriers, conversations become based almost completely on non-verbal language. When strong words would maybe work in America or England, being soft and open (at first at least) is crucial. Never cross your arms. Don't gesture wildly, or even strongly.  Smile and make eye contact. Nod your head a lot. Use every little bit of a common language you can muster. Even if it is poorly timed, an extra Thank You can go a long way. 

2. Sometimes it is okay to play dumb.  

After all, you are already the silly tourist in their eyes, so sometimes it is okay to act like one. You don't understand the system. You don't know the way things usually work. This is not only helpful at the airport but in almost any situation involving "officials." For example, I narrowly avoided being kicked off a train in Austria for having purchased the wrong (more expensive) ticket by "not understanding" German. In fact, it is working for me right now. I'm just about to take off at Beijing Airport, and although over the music in my headphones I have heard the announcements to shut off electronics in Chinese, I've feigned ignorance and the attendants walking past multiple times have also. Maybe it is cheating the system, but show me proof that my non-cellular ipad will affect the flight controls negatively more than the ipad the pilots are using and I will be the first to power down. You can't, so I will continue to type. 

3. Pick your target. 

A gate agent with an angry horde of foreigners isn't going to see you as a person with a reason, she is going to see you as a hungry stray wolf looking for a snack or as a hair in her beef noodle soup, either way she isn't going to be super helpful. It isn't her fault, it is the nature of the job, and there isn't much you can do about it so don't even add to her problems.  Stash your bags with a travel partner and leave your gate. 

First, try to find a customer service gate for your airline. Most airports in North America and Europe will have these. If you act fast you can get to one of these before the spill over of unsatisfied wolves from the gate realize they aren't getting anywhere and expand their hunting grounds. In the event that the customer service desk doesn't exist or the tasty agent has already been devoured, your next step is to hunt solo. Find an airport or airline agent who is walking, don't go to a desk.  Not someone who is on a mission, if they are walking with a purpose then you are not their purpose and you will strike out. Grab their attention and BE NICE, you have ten seconds to convince them that your problem is more important to them than the bathroom break, security check, or delivery that they are supposed to be doing. "I'm sorry to bother you, but may I ask you a question?" or "I would like some more information, is there someone I can talk to?" work well. Also, if you are quick and willing to gamble (this works especially well for women) identify your subject, stand in their direct path and look around hopelessly confused. No matter where you are the male instinct to protect and help a woman exists. Let down your hair, put on that pretty sun hat, and give it a whirl. By my experience, women are more likely to follow the rules.  Men are more willing to bend the rules.  I am not sure what that says about society but if you are trying to squeak by something that might not be 100% kosher, well you might just get farther with a male ally.  (5 our of the 6 times I've been upgraded, it's been by a male) 

4. Be specific, but not overly. Be flexible. 

Once you have a conversation started, explain that you just don't understand the situation with your flight. This will prompt your ally to lookup, call, or search for your flight and read the little all-knowing screen that holds the truth about the commercial aeronautical world and decides the flying fate of us all at some point. Great. Now your ally is more informed in the situation and should hopefully give you a smidge more information. (If not, ditch 'em and pick a new target).  Here is the tricky part. These people have heard every reason under the sun for why someone needs to get somewhere. No matter what you say, it won't impress them. Your grandmother's funeral (real or not) doesn't phase them.  Your connecting flight (especially on a different airline or alliance) doesn't mean anything to them. If you have a real, visible, and conflicting physical or health condition that is affected by the situation (You're flying to the hospital which just called to say they have that heart transplant that you've been waiting for for the last 3 years) then by any means communicate that and any person with a soul will bend over backwards to get you there.  In the absence of organ transplant and severed limbs, it might just be better not to give a specific reason. Unfortunately, thousands of people before you have lied to these people to get some priority. It is quite possible that just being honest and not exaggerating will get you a lot farther. It has certainly worked for me. I use things like, "It is really important for me to get to Hangzhou this afternoon, I'm concerned."  

5. Understand that sometimes there are no solutions.

 Particularly in the  case of weather and natural disasters, there may be absolutely nothing you or your ally can do. As much as it sucks to be stuck in Tokyo because of a typhoon in Taipei, there isn't much you can do unless you have a favor to call in with the big guy. If there is flooding on the runways in Beijing and your final destination is Beijing then you are just going to have to snuggle in and wait it out (which will be a while, silly Beijing). 

6. Know what to ask. Be flexible.  

In the absence of earth type issues with your flight (weather, disasters) and government conflicts (closed air space because of diplomatic or political matters), you have a surprising amount of options. This is where it is important to be informed and to know what to ask for. 60% of all flights are operated by an airline that is tied to an alliance. Alliances are conglomerates of airlines that have agreed to share the responsibility of getting passengers from here to there. They are terrifically complicated involving international business, airspace laws, and diplomatic associations. I could write pages on alliances and their inner workings but what you need to know is what airline you are flying, if it is part of an alliance, which one, and what other airlines are part of it. An airline will be far more willing to transfer you from their flight to a fellow alliance members flight than an unrelated airline because of a reduced cost to them. The alliances and their main American member are: oneworld (American Airlines), Star Alliance (United Airlines), and SkyTeam (Delta).  Each of these have multiple other members all over the world. For example, Cathay Pacific (a major Asian airline) is in oneworld. If I were on a delayed Cathay flight but there is an AA flight and a Delta flight going the same direction, it would be much more feasible to transfer to the AA (in-alliance) flight over the Delta flight. In fact, I wouldn't even bring up the Delta flight unless absolutely necessary. 

Asking to change flights can be a sticky business. It helps to have Internet access and to do the leg work before you get down to asking for it. Know what your flight options are. Be willing to make a different layover, take another stop, etc. Be aware of times and departure gates as well. For example, I once was on a flight destined for Rome from Chicago but had a layover in Philadelphia.  The flight was dead in the water because of weather in Philly. (avoid layovers in Philadelphia at all costs). I found an in-alliance flight on Luftansa ending in Rome a mere hour after my initial arrival time but it was routed through Dusselfdorf. So now what was a domestic flight to Philadelphia just became an international flight to Dusseldorf. I had a really tight turn around time to get to the international terminal.  It ended up working just fine and I was rewarded with an upgrade to Premium Economy but I could have easily missed that flight and would have really been stuck. Be careful what you ask for.  

If you've already checked bags with your delayed flight you should probably just take a seat. No airline is going to send a baggage guy into the bowels of the airport to search for your black bag that is identical to the next 7,000. If the baggage has already been put on a plane they will not take it off and then the chances of your bags getting lost or drastically delayed triple. If this is the beginning of your trip this can be far more inconvenient than being 12 hours late to your destination. 

If you are traveling in a group of three or more people your options are much more limited unless you are willing to split up. With today's economy being especially hard on airlines, flights have a very narrow margin of available seats. 

7.  Be a frequent flyer. 

Not the real kind. You can fly once every ten years for all I care. You need to be a FF. Planning a trip? International or not, go right now to aa.com, delta.com, and unitedairlines.com. Sign up for their frequent flyer programs. AAdvantage, SkyMiles, and MileagePlus respectively. It costs nothing. Write down your login info, password and member number for each. Almost every flight you book can be associated to one of these numbers through alliances. Enter the appropriate number at booking or at the airport. When your ally looks up your flight and ticket information, if they see you are a FF they might be more willing to help, evenif there isn't a single mile in your account. FF accounts are great for a lot of things but I will save that for a different post. 

8. Know when to throw the towel in. 

There are no other flights. All of the other flights are stuck with the same problem as yours. All flights are full.  The gig is up. Stop pestering your ally, let him finally take that bathroom break.  Go sit down, plug in your iPod, and patiently wait. Maybe things will change and you can start the process over. Maybe you will just have to wait. 

So how did our flight to Hangzhou turn out? See #8. 

I did end up finding a walking target. He spoke less than 10 words of English but used his personal cell phone to type in Chinese characters, translate them to English, and I did the same in reverse. He was the source of all of the information I had. Turned out our problem was because of cluttered air traffic around Hangzhou. Nothing I could do. There were other flights I could have gotten on but they would have had the same problem. My ally was incredibly kind and even stopped by our gate later to make sure everything was good. We were wheels down in Hangzhou three hours behind schedule. 

Yangshuo - Day 2 Part 2: Kayaking

After cooking school we hurried back to the hostel. They offered a kayaking trip down the river which we really wanted to do but they had initially told us that there wouldn't be time. We had hoped to convince them we could make it work, especially since it was our last day in Yangshuo. 

Alas, after a little persuading they said, "okay!" And we had ten minutes to change and go. Our driver from the kayaking company came to pick us up. We had a 40 minute drive to the best spot to start on the river. He had excellent English and answered our many questions about Chinese culture and customs. He explained the layout of Chinese farm homes, their attitude on children and child rearing, marriage culture and even about which family the grandparents live with. It was a very educational ride. At the river we hopped in two nice, albeit very basic, kayaks. We had a three hour journey ahead of us. 

Because of the wet nature of kayaking, I opted not to take my camera. Nancy had a waterproof bag for her iPhone so we used that for photos instead.  

There wasn't a single other kayak on the river for the entire three hours. We passed a few tour boats, some fishermen on their bamboo rafts, many water buffalo and their farmers, and some of the most amazing scenery. It was peaceful and interesting. Thankfully it was pleasantly overcast and so although it was warm we didn't roast in the sun. 

Nancy took this that morning. Can you imagine a better place to spend a day on the river? I can't. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the kayaking trip. Then we headed back to our hostel for some dinner and to pack up. Off to Hangzhou in the morning!! 

Map

Steve commented a really good idea that I had been considering but hadn't gotten around to executing yet.  I am not sure this helps but here is a map of my travels this summer.  Points are not accurate, neither of lines of travel.  The order is: Blue, Purple, Green, Light Blue, Pink, Yellow, Red.  However, I encourage you to follow the link at the bottom of this post, it will give you the dates of cities and travel in a list view that helps.


View Bess' 2013 Asia Trip in a larger map



Enjoy!

If you can't get the map to work, try this link.

I'm Back!

Yay, Bess is back in Taiwan and has access to the civilized words (facebook, google, and blogger) again!  

But wait, how can that be?  You were just in Guilin. 

Yeah, you see, when you are traveling at a lickity split pace, sometimes you don't have time to write every day and so I'm a little bit behind.  Also, it was a lot of work to ask my mom to post everything for me.  So posts should be coming daily now, or maybe twice a day, to catch up. 

We have had an excellent trip so far and I am excited to write it all out for you guys.  Thanks for sticking with me. 

I am excited to be back in Taiwan, the people here are just a cut above when it comes to being nice.  It is a refreshing change.  Also, the Beijing pollution is as bad (or worse) as you have heard.  I can't believe that they had the Olympics there!  I spent three days there and I feel horrible.  I have sinus issues I need to get over in the next couple of days before I get on a plane for 15 (and then another for 6) hours. 

Anybody have any questions for me over the last week and a half?

We are in a hot spring resort for a night outside of Taipei.  I think it is about time I go draw a natural hot spring bath and steam all of the pollution out of me. 

Yangshuo - Day 2 Part 1:Market Trip and Cooking School

Yesterday when I saw that there was a cooking school option I reverted to my 6 year old self and internally threw my hands in the air, shook my behind around, and gave a little shout. I. Love. To. Cook.  

It is one of the things I missed most about being in Taiwan. My access to cooking facilities was limited for the majority of the time and even when I had a kitchen to use I was pretty flabbergasted by all of the foreign ingredients and the best forms of preparation. 

Our cooking class would take us to the market with an English speaking local. She walked us through the massive area pointing out interesting foods. Answering our millions of questions. And generally being the most patient woman in the world. Nikki was her name. We spent about an hour at the market. She had already purchased everything we would need for class but it was really interesting and helpful to see all of the ingredients I had been eating for the last four months in their natural state. 

We were instructed that we could take photos but we couldn't have any people in them. This made me very sad. People are the most interesting part. Even still, the market was very colorful and I still found things to take photos of.

Some pretty purple eggplant.

I have never been a big fan of eggplant. Nor have I ever even attempted to prepare it. The purple gourd shaped vegetable terrified me. It's spongy and seemingly fibrous raw. I disliked its lack of flavor and it isn't something you see a lot in Wisconsin.  I have vague memories of finding an eggplant growing at the bottom of our yard just on the border of the farm field. Mom, could this be true? For being such an innocuous food, I had a completely  irrational distaste for it. I think perhaps its shape is part of the problem. I really, really dislike squash.  Of any kind. It is a texture thing. 

Well, good folks of the interwebs, I was wrong. 

Eggplant, how I love you! I apologize for ignoring your ability to be dense and flavorful my entire life. I am sorry I scoffed at your pretty purple color. How dare I compare you to those nasty squashes?  You are far better than that!! 

Keep reading to see what I made with my new friend, eggplant. :) 

We were introduced to some new vegetables as well. These are horse beans. We have them in Taiwan and a favorite snack of many Taiwanese is to roast these beans until they are crunchy and then sit around chewing the fat and crunching horse beans. 

This is how they look raw, they are about the size of a quarter. 

I like the pretty colors. 

We also saw this giant cucumber. It was probably 8-10 inches in diameter. There were quite a few of these. 

These are also kind of like a cucumber. The inside is the same color as the outside. We didn't use them for the cooking class but I prepared them later with the Yangs in Haining. (Stay tuned for that cooking adventure!!) 

I'm addition to vegetables and fruits this market had another whole section for eats, of all kinds. Live, cooked, raw, etc. 

Perhaps if you are squimish, a member of PETA, or just generally a pet lover, you should skip this paragraph. We saw some things that might make you uncomfortable. I considered not including this but it is very much part of the culture here and since this blog is mostly about all of the things I see and my experiences, I decided I would be missing a big chunk if I didn't talk about it. In the meat section of the market there were many caged animals.  Your range of fowl and poultry, rabbits, fish, some lizard type things, and cats and dogs. Our guide needed to pick up another member of our group so we had about 15 minutes to explore on our own. Before she left, she told us that we might not want to go in a certain section and pointed it out, but being the stubborn woman I am, the moment she said I didn't want to, I wanted to. Nancy and I worked our way across the market and eventually came across the section of interest. There were old, hardened women reaching into cages of chickens and choosing the unlucky one, raising a cleaver and adding a whole new meaning to a phrase I use all the time - running around like a chicken with its head cut off. None of this really bothered me, the cute fluffy bunnies seemed out of place but I'm not a fan of rabbit stew and meat has to come from somewhere. Without going into too much detail, the dogs and cats were harder to swallow. The sad eyes peering back at me from cages put a pit in my stomach. The cooked selections hanging whole from hooks in the ceiling made me cringe a little. The big vats of boiling water made me wonder if there wasn't a better process. Hearing the whimpers from across the hall almost made me run away but I think this is one of those "facts of life" I stayed the course and it was informative and an experience I'm sure not to forget... Ever. After all, that was one of my goals for this trip. 

Okay squimish folks, you can join us again. We saw all kinds of prepared meats. The Chinese love to eat chicken feet. The first time I saw a Chinese teenaged girl dig into a chicken foot like she was digging into chocolate cake i was chanting "Bruce, Bruce, Bruce" in my mind and was probably staring with my mouth open. They are more tasty than most Americans would think. 

I purchased some spices at the market that I don't think I can easily get n the States. I'm really hoping to recreate some of the foods I have had here back home. 

After the market, we took a 15 minute mini bus ride to the kitchens. Probably one of the most beautiful settings for a kitchen I could imagine; I was so excited. We took a short break and sat outside eating Huang Pi. Say what? These little yellow skinned fruits (huang pi directly translates to "yellow skin," funny how that works) are the best! 

It took me 24 hours to track down the name for you though because the little buggers are elusive. Apparently they are grown all over, even in Florida, but search all you might and the information available is incredibly limited. I actually had to email the owner of the cooking school to find the name. 

About the size and shaped of red grapes, they have kind a fuzzy skin that you can eat if you are a fan of bitter things. If not, just peel back the skin and pop the insides in your mouth but you might want to watch out for a couple of seeds. Another option is to pierce the skin with a finger nail and just suck the insides out, it is a nice way to avoid the seeds and the awkward business of pulling seeds out of your mouth and then what do you do with them?  The texture is similar to lychee if you've ever had it, slightly denser than a grape. The best part? They are like mini balls of the best lemonade ever!! So refreshing! Apparently the Chinese use them for a variety of medicinal purposes which is awesome. They make the best tasting medicine I've ever had! 

After indulging in far too many huang pi and washing the correlating stickiness from my hands, it was time to cook!  

This was our kitchen. The entire left wall was big doors with glass panes. The view was spectacular. The woman with the cleaver was Nikki, our teacher for the day. She was great.

There were five students: myself, Nancy, two Irish girls (Edel and Carmel), and Courtney from Portland. 

We each had an apron and a station with everything we would need.

Yes, they gave me a cleaver. They clearly don't know me. :-p. I am proud to say that I wielded that thing like a professional and left with all digits attached. 

The first dish we prepared was a variety plate of pork stuffed items. Nikki showed us how to do everything and then we had time to do it on our own. Here was her example:

We stuffed the pork mixture into a shiitake mushroom, a tofu ball, and a pumpkin flower. Here is my plate: 

The mushroom is pretty straight forward. As is the tofu ball (hint: it is a ball of fried tofu and that is hollow inside).  Let me explain the pumpkin flower. You can see it a couple photos up in my station. It is a light orange flower with a deep throat. We stuffed the pork mixture in the throat of the flower. Then we folded the petals over and broke the stem off. We shoved the stem through the folded over petals to hold it all in place. 

Once everyone had completed our tasks we stacked the steamers on top of each other and Nikki placed them on an upside down bowl in a wok with water. This is a way of steaming the food. She explained that because of the convection process of steam the food on the top layer would cook at the same rate as that on the bottom layer. 

The final product was delicious! 

Next we prepared all of the vegetables for the other four dishes. Lots of chopping, smashing, and julienne-ing (is that a word?) 

Smashing? Yup. We used the flat side of our cleavers to smash garlic cloves and fresh ginger. Nikki said that it was important to yell "yah!"as you smashed so we all had a good laugh doing that. 

Once all of our preparations were done we made our first dish: stir fried eggplant with blackbean chili paste. Cooking was a pretty involved process, especially since most Chinese cooking is done in a very hot wok and goes very quickly. I apparently was so distracted by the amazing smell of the finished product that I wasn't able to focus the camera properly, but you get the gist of it. It may look like an unappetizing pile of mush but it was oh so good.

My only regret with eating it all? There were still four more dishes to come!! 

Next up was a local specialty called beer fish. We each got a catfish filet and a mug of beer. 

We seared the fish so it had a crispy skin, then added vegetables and seasoning. Eventually we added the beer which foamed up and immediately filled the air with a sweet smell.

We let the mixture cook until the beer reduced to a sticky sweet mess. 

We were instructed to let the fish rest while we cooked the rest of our meal. Maybe this is some form of torture? 

The final product delighted all senses. The aroma was sweet with a hint of spice. The added chili peppers gave the crisp vegetables just enough of a bite. The skin on the fish was crispy while the meat itself was fall apart tender without being overcooked. The whole dish was brought together with the perfect amount of oyster sauce and salt. The peppers retained their originally crispness but a absorbed the combined favors of the fish and seasonings, especially the garlic and ginger because of the rest period. I can't believe I'm saying this, but as good as this was, there is better to come!! 

Next was stir fried chicken with cashews, carrots, and garlic sprouts. 

This was my absolute favorite!! It was fun to make, beautiful to look at, and exceptional to eat! 

The carrots were slightly caramelized. The garlic sprouts offered the perfect crunch and hint of garlic flavoring. The chicken was tender and juicy. The cashews brought the flavor of the carrots out and gave a great textural juxtaposition to the chicken. I could eat this dish every day for the rest of my life. (Maybe) 

Our final dish was a version of something that is at every Chinese meal - stir fried vegetables. In this case, we had locally grown greens (you could use bok choy, romaine, or spinach, or basically anything that is green and leafy). This dish is very simple. Hot wok. Oil. Fresh greens. Minced garlic. Sliced red chili.  Some salt. A little water. Stir fry. Ta da! 

Those were our five dishes. Together we sat around and ate the remaining four in view of some of the most amazing mountains. We drank locally grown tea, glanced at the garden where much of our produced was grown. Sat under the shade of the Huang Pi tree. 

Take me back. 

 

 

 

See that?  That is the cheesy smile I get when I'm having one of those life defining happy moments. 

I will come back to this place. 

I will take the week long course they offer. 

Maybe I will come back with Zac.  He can rock climb while I cook. I can't think of many things I would love more. 

Check back for Yangshuo - Day 2 Part 2: Kayaking.

Yangshuo - Day 1 Fishing, Bird Style

Today we took an hour bus ride from Guilin to Yangshuo. Still very much in the same region, Yangshuo is incredibly beautiful, known for its Kerst Mountains, rock climbing, and tourism sectors, Yangshuo was a natural stop for us. If only we had gone earlier.
The morning was spent waiting for the bus, the afternoon spent on the bus, and the late afternoon resting. By evening time we were ready to head out again and so we allowed ourselves to be talked into a Cormorant fishing show by the hostel folks. We didn't really know what we were in for.

A short minibus ride into town and we were sitting on a bamboo raft with 6 other foreigners. We met a Vietnamese-American woman from Kentucky who has been teaching English in China for the last 5 years. We had a good chuckle though since her English was quite poor by our standards. As darkness fell our boatman fired up the engine and we headed down river. After a couple of minutes he began to shout into the darkness and a man on a non-motorized bamboo raft floated over. On his raft he had about a half dozen ducks.

Each of the ducks had a string tied around the bottom of its throat to let only the smallest of fish through. The ducks had been trained to keep fishing though, filling their necks with fish that would then be emptied into a basket by the fisherman. We floated down river like this for quite a while, watching the fisherman pull the ducks in with his ore, and the ducks diving back under for more fish.

It was very dark except for a big light on the front of the fisherman's boat. It was hard to get clear pictures but I did my best.

Eventually we beached and the fisherman brought one duck on shore and let us take photos.

I really wasn't keen on wearing his hat but he put it on me anyway.
The duck's claw did dig into Nancy's arm a bit and drew a little bit of blood.
I think this is my favorite photo from the night. I like the shadows and the duck in profile.

Finally, we steamed back up stream and called it a night. We had a cooking class to go to the next day.
I do apologize for the delayed posting. We go, go, go every day and by the time I get home at night I'm so beat I can barely think let alone blog. I hope to catch up in the next couple of days as we have some more travel time.
Thanks for reading!!!

Guilin Day 2 - Rice Terraces and More

Prepare yourselves for photo overload.
Saturday we went to the rice terraces and it was easily in the top three most beautiful places I've been!
Before that, however, a quick note on safety and security. I am following very closely the global issues affecting traveling right now, especially for Americans. The US State Department has issued a Global Travel Warning which I have read through thoroughly.  The fact of the matter is that I am probably safer here in rural China than you all are back home. It seems that al Qaeda is targeting large groups of westerners and to put it simply, that doesn't exist here. We may be the only Americans for a couple kilometers in any direction for all we know. Being in a relationship with a US Marine means, by nature, I have to be a news junkie because diplomatic matters as we are experiencing now affect him more than most people and by proxy myself as well.  I am very up-to-date on current issues and receive regular updates from the State Department for the region of the world I am in. If you ever plan on traveling internationally I recommend that you enroll in STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). You give information about where you will be and when and if something comes up you will receive an email from the State Dpt. I've received them for typhoon warnings and the global travel warning. It is a handy way to stay informed with very little effort. Should tensions begin to rise in China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, I have a number of options available to me.
With that business out of the way, back to the rice terraces.

 How's that for a view?
We hiked from the small mountain town of Dacia to Ping'an. It took us about 4.5 hours to hike close to 7 km. It was a marvelous hike, the only problem was that the scenery was so pretty all you wanted to do was look out and not look down at the uneven path.
We were hiking with a couple from Prague, Ivana and Pavel that had signed up for transportation through our hostel as well. The drive from Guilin took 3 hours and as we started to climb the mountain roads it began to drizzle slightly. In my last post I mentioned accidents. We saw 7 in total. This one was the worst.

Thankfully our driver slowed way down and was very cautious until the roads improved. When we arrived at Dacia, we worked out a plan with our driver to pick us up in 4 hours in Ping'an. He gave us his second cell phone so we could call him if we needed to and we were ready. The traditional woman of the area never cut their hair, when it is down it can fall to their ankles but usually they have it wrapped around their head ending in a bun at the front to the right. They wear comfortable but traditional looking clothes, have hats, and carry large wicker baskets on their backs. We had several women who really tried hard to be our guide to Ping'an but as we got out of the village they fell away because we refused to pay them. Armed with a very small map in Chinese, a minimal knowledge of where we were and even less knowledge of where we were going, we set off.
The views started off amazing and got better as we went. I have more than an appropriate amount of pictures of the rice terraces. I think I stopped to look then sighed, "wow..." a dozen or two times. Thankfully it was an overcast day and there was a slight breeze. The elevation changed regularly and we were sweating even without direct sunlight.

The terraces themselves are astonishingly pretty. The farmers use every nook and cranny they can. Unfortunately the rice wasn't turning yet, in a few weeks it will turn yellow and the mountains become a kaleidoscope of colors.

We encountered a few people along the way. One of them I have named the Bamboo Man. He was taking a little rest in one of the gazebos that were built periodically along the path. He had to be in his 70s or 80s, had very few teeth, and had clearly just harvested bamboo. I came upon him first of our party and I gestured to see if I could take a photo. He said yes, and then after staring stoically out at his fields he started laughing. A open-mouthed laugh like a child stuck in an old man's body. As each of the rest of our party came around the corner we each took a photo or two of him and the laugh repeated.

As we continued our journey I glanced back and saw him standing in his gazebo, looking out at the mountains, over the land that he and his ancestors have lived on, cultivated, and respected for centuries. It was a moment of realization of what kind of history these mountains have seen. It was a window into a time when harvesting bamboo and carrying it down the mountain was a full days work and a white woman would never have been seen on her own in the mountains of Guangxi, let alone one with blond hair.

Another reminder of this came as we hiked further and crossed paths with this mountain woman bringing down a basket of greens. She was old. And hunched. And weather worn. She walked with a short stick but she carried that basket with a back stronger than my own.

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Life in the mountains comes with inherent beauty but also hardship. Transporting building supplies seemed to be a big chore. We saw a couple of donkeys, one carrying bags of feed and the other bricks.

Much of the journey was just between us and nature. I could fill thirty blog posts with the photos I took but here is a selection of the views and wildlife we saw along the way.

At one point we had pair of pups who acted as our guides for a while. They trotted along with us for about 20 minutes. Occasionally cutting off to hunt in the bushes or to nip at each other.

The path was far from clearly marked. Often we just guessed which way to go and whenever we came across someone we would attempt to ask which was the way to Ping'an. With only minor back tracking we made it in the perfect amount of time. I asked this girl which way to go and then asked if I could take her photo.

I haven't any idea why she is wearing a jacket but I love her expression and pose.
We also saw these little fluffy ducklings. It seemed that the villagers would put out feed for them. I'm not sure if they were clipped so they couldn't fly away and would eventually become dinner but they sure were cute!!

We arrived in Ping'an in good spirits and climbed down a seemingly endless number of rocky steps and found our driver. As we were leaving the narrow parking area we encountered a dispute over a parking spot. All traffic in both directions was stopped and a crowd was growing as two people fought over the spot. Our driver, a man maybe in his thirties, threw the van in park and set out to get us home on time. I've heard that in particularly rural parts of china when such disputes happen and a crowd grows, onlookers can declare themselves a defacto jury and make the decision. I'm not sure if that happened here but it appeared that our driver summed things up pretty quickly and got everyone moving again with some loudly spoken words and we were on our way home again.
That night was a very easy, low key, air conditioning type evening. We planned on leaving for Yangshuo the next day.