Ready Yet?

  Yangshuo, Guangxi Zhuang, China
May 17, 2009

We woke up late and went down for breakfast (not included in the cost of our room). I ordered porridge and just wanted fruit, but receive fruit and yogurt. The porridge is very runny and has sugar and milk in it. I added peanut butter to get some protein. Bill had an apple pancake which was a crepe, but it did not look or taste right. The green tea was really good.

At the front desk we arranged to get ticket for the Light Show for tomorrow night. The show is directed by the same guy who did the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics! They also arranged for us to go kayaking tomorrow and bikes for today. We were warned that you can only park your bikes at a parking lot in Yangshuo otherwise the police will take them. We also acquired a phone card so that Bill can call his Dad, he only got voice mail though. I was also able to call my Mom. I was able to talk to her this time! Sounds like things are good, but the farmers are getting too much rain. I also called someone about my EI, they wanted to meet with me on the 20th of May, and obviously I can not make it back.

We started out on the bikes, but Bill had to go back because his had a flat. With a new bike, we were on our way. I was carrying the normal pack today and Bill is carrying our laundry. The mountain bikes are big. I have to stretch out my arms and fingers in order to sit upright. The seats are making me very uncomfortable too, but switching gears is handy on the hilly parts.

We dropped our laundry at the end of West Street, on the main street. We paid extra to use the dryer and it will be ready at 6:00 tonight, so we have the whole afternoon to hang around in town or go see some caves and then head back to our hotel after dinner (that was the plan anyway). But, everything did not go according to our well laid plan due to the weather and the untimeliness of the laundry...

We found a spot to park our bikes for 10 yuan ($2) and then went to Cloud 9 restaurant. I had Yangshuo style soft stuffed tofu with minced pork and green onions, Bill had Yangshuo style braised duck. I also ordered veggie dumplings, but they were out, so I had pork dumplings instead. Bill and I had Liquan Beer and I had orange black iced tea (orange juice with a Lipton tea bag thrown in, I bet it would be good if the tea had been steeped). We could have ordered bee larvae, dog or rat, but did not.

There was a fight among a few women across the street. It went on for quite some time and was only broken up because the rain started.

We wandered around town in the rain looking for an internet cafe. They simply do not exist. Some cafes have one internet that is free if you order, but we would both like to use the internet. Finally we found a hotel that had two computers and were able to pay 6 yuan per hour ($1). We spent 2 1/2 hours trying to catch up on the blog (me) and planning our trip and ordering flights and hotels (Bill).

At 5:00 we checked to see if our laundry was done. The lady laughed and said that they had not started it yet (good thing we went to the most expensive one in the city, we are really getting our money's worth) and it will not be ready until 7:00. That possess a problem because we will want to be back to the hotel before dark (7:30) and we thing it will take us more than 1/2 to get back.

We went to a grocery store and bought toothpaste, coke, water, peanut, cashew and almond snacks.

We rode back 15 minutes toward our hotel to go to Butterfly Cave. Bill was trying to get there in 10 minutes, but I was holding him up. I think he is going to try out for the Tour de France after our trip. You can not miss the place, there is a huge butterfly positioned above the entrance to the cave. We were held up to go with a tour guide and group for our 35 yuan each. Too bad she did not speak any English, she seemed to know a lot about the cave and the surrounding area. The other people seemed to enjoy the commentary.

Inside the cave, there are many stalactites which the have lit up with coloured lights. One is in the shape of a butterfly and another is in the shape of a couple embracing in a dance. They were both so perfect that Bill and I think it is a hoax. We were able to cross under a waterfall coming out of the hill. It is a great place to view the surrounding hills and take some good pictures. We asked one guy to take our picture and he ended up taking 6 -10 pictures for us. Bill returned the favour for him and his buddy. At the end of the tour there is a butterfly garden. I saw lots of plants and flowers, but only two live butterflies. They had plenty of dead ones for sale...

We rode back into town and our laundry was still not ready. We killed some time by buying and eating ice cream. I had a toffee and chocolate Magnum. Bill had a vanilla ice cream with chocolate and oatmeal coating. The toffee one is not as good as the chocolate coated chocolate ice cream from yesterday. I wonder why I am gaining weight on my vacation??? I also bought 3 apples from a lady at the market. She must have really overcharged me because she gave me a plum and mango for free.

We finally picked up our laundry around 6:45 and peddled like mad to our hotel to beat the onset of darkness. We made it back on time! Whew! It took us about 37 minutes. We probably rode between 15 and 20 kms today.
 
We returned the bikes and spread our clothes out to dry. We ate the mango and plum and they were both really good. The mini mango had a small flat pit.
 
At 8:00 we ordered dinner at the hotel. I had Gong Bao chicken breast with carrots, cucumber, peanuts, garlic and chili. Bill had sizzling beef (in a cow dish), it was a bit chewy, but pretty good with peppers, onions and steamed rice. I miss sticky rice, it was perfect for soaking up the sauce from dishes. Bill and I shared Tsingtao Beer, water in shot glasses, and a coke.
 
It began to thunder and lightening while we were eating and then it rained again (4th time today).
 
Bill used the computer while I wrote on behalf of Nigel for Karen's class. Nigel has gone to Myanmar and will meet back up with Freddie in Vietnam before they both head into China. Those guys are quite the world travelers! I relieved Bill of the computer, so he went to the room to read.
 
It was a late night!