down at yang shou town

We have been on a great adventure this past week. The biggest adventure yet, and the hardest part was getting to where we were going. We left for Yang Shou last Saturday afternoon, only to find that our bus had already left us, along with our group. A cab driver stuck his head out of his window and into the rain and started shouting something to us in Chinese. Of course, my response was "wo bu dong" which means, " i don't get you man" (okay, that isn't an exact translation) We got out our plane tickets and pointed to "Nanjing", this is where our bus was supposed to take us to catch our plane. The cab driver's eyes got very wide, and he started pointing intermittently to some other location in the city and then to the backseat of his taxi. So like good little foreigners we hopped into his cab, and he sped away. He kept talking to himself and laughing nervously, which only made us more nervous. We were weaving in and out of traffic on a six lane road for about five minutes when our driver slammed on his brakes, rolled down his window, and stuck his head back out into the rain. He shouted over a cement divider and about four lanes at this bus. The bus stopped, and its driver stuck his head out into the rain and shouted back. The encounter was brief, and loud. Our driver then continued to drive, all the while muttering to himself. He flipped a u-turn at the next intersection, drove about two blocks and there was our bus waiting for us. We paid our driver, and hopped onto a bus that was pretty full. The bus manager kicked people out of their seats so that we could sit in the front, now that's what I call service. When we got to Nanjing we found out that the airport was about another 30 to 40 minutes away. So we hopped into another taxi, pointed to our plane tickets, and also pointed to the time that we were supposed to leave. Seeing that we were pressed for time our driver took off like a madman. We got to the airport just in time for boarding. We were really relieved, except for one thing, our group was not at the airport. We found out later that they took the original bus that was supposed to take us, and they arrived at the airport just as the plane was leaving. After all that, I think Ted and I are ready to be on the Amazing Race.
Yang Shou is absolutely gorgeous and is by far the highlight of our trip. This bustling little town is nestled in the middle of hundreds of karst mountains. Our hostel was tucked away in another obscure alleyway. Ted and I got a room on the top floor that was really cool. The skeleton of the roof was exposed along with the ceramic shingles. There wasn't much keeping the bugs out, and the only thing that kept the rain out was the plexi glass the lined the ceiling.
Our first day we took a boat tour up the Li River. It was a fun time. The scenery was breathtaking. A couple of times we had to dock our boats along the riverside and wait for the big bad government boats to pass. While we were parked we could get out and explore a little. Both places we stopped there were cormorant fisherman holding their birds on a bamboo stick balanced on their shoulders. For those of you who don't know, a cormorant is a bird that dives down into the water, sometimes for a very long time, and comes up with a fish. They are really cool birds, but really stinky.
The second day we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride out in the country. Ted got a pretty good bike, but I got a Giant from the underworld. It was a full suspension bike that seemed to have extra bounce in it. On top of that it didn't shift properly, basically it didn't shift at all. So, I rode an extra bouncy single speed bike all day. I was pretty sore and cranky by the end. It was really hot and humid that day, but the things we saw were really beautiful . I am glad I did it, even though my bum wasn't.
The third day was the best day! We went "rafting". We took an hour bus ride out through rice paddies, and orange orchards and up into a small steep canyon. Once we got to the rafting area, they shoved us into a smaller bus with a bunch of speedo clad Chinese men. We rode that little bus for about fifteen minutes up a really steep windy road. Ted and I looked over the edge of the road to see a highly manicured but quite swift river. I was excited and a little bit nervous. When we got to the top the suited us up with life jackets, helmets, elbow pads, and knee pads, but no paddles. We then followed a line of people down to the rivers edge. We got in a small two person raft and waited with probably about 100 other people. We were all corralled into this small area of the river that they had dammed up. It was a deep calm pool and every boat was touching. We were all squeezed in tightly. As soon as our boat got into the water a huge water fight broke out. I think it started with a small friendly splash in our direction, and by the end everyone had their helmets off filling them with water and pouring them onto the nearest victim. The water was violent with splashing and laughter. It was a really beautiful moment for me. I felt so close to all these strangers that I have never seen before and I am sure I will never see again. We couldn't understand each other's words, but we understood each other's laughter.
It took forever to finally get out of our holding area, but it was so worth the wait. At the front of the dam there is a small opening just big enough for a raft to go through, followed by a cement chute. The first drop was about a 15 ft drop, and in Ted's words "about a 70% slope". It was wild. They had about 5 or 6 of these chutes along the river. Most of the river was manipulated to make as many rapids as possible. They had a guard watching at every bend, and for every guard there was at least 3 people taking pictures of you along the way. Ted and I laughed like little kids down the whole river. It was so fun!
We spent our nights hanging out on West street by our hostel. There were a million things to see and buy. Bright lights and colors in every direction. Ted and I love shopping here in China, not only because it is cheap, but we get a thrill (especially Ted) out of bartering. The more mad they get, the better price you are getting. Once Ted got a little cocky and low balled someone just a bit too much and the guy slid his finger across his throat, which I think meant :" get out of here or I'll kill ya".
Our last day we went to a place called Moon cave. It is a cave you enter by boat. You go up a very small river into a hole in the rock. You have to duck down pretty low in the boat, so you don't bonk your head. Once we got in we hiked around and looked at the many interesting rock formations. Near the end of the tour you get to the mud pools, which is the main attraction for the caves. Everyone strips down to their bathing suits, and gets completely covered with mud. There is even a mud slide. Ted and Steve frolicked and laughed like little boys. I got muddy, but not quite as muddy as they did. Ted had mud all over his face, crusted in his beard, everywhere. Luckily, there is a big pool outside the cave, and we were able to clean off.
We had a really great time this past week, and if anyone ever wants to visit China I recommend visiting Yang Shou. We would love to take both our families here one day! Thanks for reading!
-a.