$20 BILL

posted by Alan
click on pictures to see them full size
click on link at the bottom to see the full picture album

We've hit jackpot on our last two China trips. The small river town of Yangshuo is easily one of the coolest places in China. As tacky and overdone as many popular tourist destinations in China can be, Yangshuo manages to be low-key and casual, but still very tourist oriented and comfortable. Daisy and I went down there with three of our friends for a five day trip of river rafting, cave exploring and hiking and biking in the amazing countryside of Southern China.

YuLong River and Mud Cave in Yangshuo
On top of Moon Hill; at the entrance to the Water Caves

The normal trip to the region is between the cities of Guilin and Yangshuo, with the Li River running from one city to the other. What makes it such a popular destination are the crazy looking limestone karsts that are jutting out of the ground like mini, individual mountains. They are literally EVERYWHERE you look. And they're amazing to look at. They've become such an iconic part of natural China that an image of the Li River and karsts is on the back of the 20 Chinese RMB bill.
The famous Li River


The city of Yangshuo itself is nestled into a small valley in between these karsts and along the Li River. There is a section of the town that is completely built for foreigners, with Western and Chinese style restaurants, cafes and hostels lining the cobblestone no-cars-allowed streets. Most of the local Chinese places have also adapted with English menus and English speaking waiters and waitresses. But like I said, just a really relaxed atmosphere. And because it's in Southern China, near GuangZhou and Hong Kong, the cantonese food is really good too. The mountains are lit up at night and the rooftop bars are awesome places to hang out. I totally recommend a trip to Yangshuo for anyone that is coming through China.

The city of YangshuoYao Mountain in Guilin; scooters in Yangshuo
Hot Springs Cave; Claypot spot in Yangshuo

Highlights from Yangshuo:
- My favorite part was the Mud Caves. Natural caves that had a "natural" pool of mud and "natural" hot springs inside of the cavernous caves. The mud was disgustingly fun.
- Climbing Moon Hill. Although the mosquitos were a lowlight. But the use of electric mosquito racket zappers is not only useful, but oddly enjoyable. Another invention the US needs to import.
- Bamboo rafts along the Li River.
- Renting bikes and scooters and taking them out into the countryside to explore.
- Awesome food.
- Browsing Chinese saying Tshirts. Bought a few as gifts....i'll show you mine on here.
- Talladega Nights in the middle of the day.
- Giant spiders in hostel rooms.
- Awesome food.
- NBA Finals and WORLD CUP watching.

Yangshuo at night from the rooftop bar of our hostel

Reflecting in Yangshuo brought this quote to my mind:
"We stand in awe of the ocean,
the thunderstorm,
the sunset, the mountains,
but we pass by a human being
without notice
even though the person is God's most magnificent creation"
- St. Augustine

My prayer after this trip is to allow people to amaze me even more than these incredible landscapes. I do believe that if we give them a chance, they really will.

Click here to see some more pictures of our trip to Yangshuo: Yangshuo 2010 Picture Album
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What a great few weeks for sports. Waking up and watching one of the most memorable NBA Finals in years at the hostel flatscreen and all of the bars, cafes and restaurants in Yangshuo setting up flatscreens and projectors outside to watch the World Cup games. Not to mention the awesome Mets' win streak. I was in Shanghai during the last World Cup in 2006. Watching the World Cup out here is SO much fun. And that USA vs Algeria game was possibly the most dramatic sports moment I've ever seen (surpassing Endy Chavez' catch because the Mets lost that game). Not because I'm so into soccer (which i'm slowly warming up to and starting to appreciate), but because everyone is just so into it. The city is made up of internationals from all over the world, so our community is all rooting for their respective countries. But what I've also noticed is that the US audience is starting to get into it as well. How is it back at home? We gonna have some World Cup watching parties while we're back in July? Mid-summer baseball isn't much to get excited over.. GO USA.

Response to comments:
No love for Steven? How discouraging for future guest bloggers.

Travel

posted by Alan
click on the pictures to see them full size

One of the great perks about living in China is how easy it is to travel. Most Asian countries are only a two to four hour flight away for a few hundred dollars. It's typical to hear of someone making a weekend trip to places like Bali, Thailand, Vietnam or some other exotic location that looks like the Lost island (is that show over yet??). And China itself is so huge and there are so many places within the country to see. We have a long list of places to visit and things we'd love to do just here in China alone. If you're the adventurous type, you can travel anywhere by train for under $100 USD. Daisy made her first long distance train journey back in February. I think she's ready for more.

Moganshan, China; on the train to Zhang Jia Jie; Tioman Island, Malaysia


Our only international trips thus far have been to Malaysia and back home to the US. Within the country, we've been to Hong Kong, Zhang Jia Jie, Beijing, Henan, De Hang, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuyi, Moganshan and Zhejiang. Without Daisy, I've been to Xi'an, various cities in Henan and Singapore. If you're interested in any of those places, feel free to ask. We're hoping to hit Inner Mongolia in August and the Philippines in October.

ZheJiang (we miss you Zoie!); De Hang, Henan; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


This week, we just booked two flights. In two weeks, we'll be flying to the famous cities of Guilin and Yangshuo. They are connected by the Li Jiang River, which features ridiculous looking limestone karsts jutting out of the ground. A picture of them is featured on the back of the Chinese 20 RMB bill. Take a guess as to who's face is on the front?



The other tickets we booked are to the ancient city of New York. Yup, in July we'll be visiting home again. We had planned on coming home for another Christmas visit this year, but we found out we won't be able to, so we decided to make a summer trip instead. Things worked out perfectly where we'd both be able to have the time to come. So from July 6 - 26th, we're looking forward to some BBQ, softball, Jacob's 4th birthday party, NY Pizza, Taco Bell and enjoying the NYC summer heat with you guys. We also chose this time because by then, the Mets should be in first place.


But right now, my brother Steven is probably somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on his way here for an 11 day trip to hang out with us and see how we live. I'll see if I can convince him to do a guest blog...