Where everything was beautiful and nothing hurt (except my mosquito bites)

Taxing home on a rare clear skies day.

After an early morning gym session (yes, I actually used my gym pass for the first time since the winter) and a tasty brunch at Azul, I decided to actually try to update again. My original goal with this blog was two entries a month. (If you've bothered reading older posts, you'll see that like many things in life, I have failed at this.) But the 31st still counts as May, so pat me on the back.

That's right, fancy fruit flavoured gym water.

Peruvian breakfast and margaritas? Sure.

                                           

Look, sometimes I can't explain these photos either, ok? It's China. Accept it.

This week was our post's Consular Leadership Day which I helped organize. And when I say organize, think lots of emails, conference room meetings, printing nearly 200 name tags, begging colleagues to stay and help cut and stick them into name tag holders, and running off to restaurants and trying to convince them to book me tables and preorder lunch in bad Chinese ("Yes, I would like sixteen tables for ten. No, ten. Not four, ten.") We were pretty lucky and managed to get a training session in customer service from a private sector giant known particularly for their ability to provide a magical experience, if you know what I mean. My personal pride was the donation drive we threw together and had a local charity come pick up bags of toys and clothing. Everyone seemed to have fun even if people complained about the characters I picked for teams. I mean, doesn't everyone remember Pongo? 

(Just kidding.) I really do love my job.

What better way to celebrate a tiring week of staying up to write the wrap up cable? Interconsulate trivia!! That's right, our CLO (Community Liaison Officer) threw a fantastic event together by working with a handful of other consulates in the area (Kiwis, Aussies, Brits, and I think Canadians?) to join us obnoxious Americans in a 8 round battle to the (metaphorical) death. The questions ranged from 'China', 'World Leaders' (anyone honestly remembered the name of Iceland's erupting volcano back in 2010? Major bonus points.) 'Geography', 'Music', 'English Language', 'Airlines', 'True or False', and 'Will it sink or will it float' which was basically the emcee dropping random items into a bin of water to get us to guess the results. (Captain America floats, fyi.)

You know you shouted that in your head. 

Important result: Americans won! Our team "Thor's Mighty Hammer" came in second, which is not too shabby. We all scored these antiquy style plates from Madame Mao's Dowry, a local souvenir shop adored by the expat community. It's nice to have our red white and blue egos stroked from time to time.

We are not impressed by the team that came in first. Not at all. (Can you spot the flying pen of unimpressed?)

Wall decor at Boxing Cat where the event was held. 

Here's some more of the random food I eat since I'm so lazy, I don't even attempt to cook anymore. (Except cookies, which let's be honest, doesn't qualify as food so much as edible guilt topped with chocolate chips.)

Korean bibimbap. No egg, sigh.

Random stir fry stand I bumped into after getting out of work at 10PM one night. Made for a quick and cheap 13rmb meal. 

Shanghai Fried Dumplings a la Yang's Dumplings. 

A local outdoor venue nearby has a summer play list- movies, live singers, and performances during the weekday evening. I indulged in fancy tea, cheese and fruit platter, and a good book. Very relaxing.

Music was pretty good. Lots of covers, my favorite.

My big photo heavy adventure though was a weekend trek through Guilin, Guangxi. Known for its impressive limestone karst and the most beautiful scenery in China, it is probably one of the most heavily touristed spots for Chinese as well as foreigners. It's easy to see why, even if it was very difficult to photograph due to the haze. One will have to forgive my photos as being unable to capture its beauty. (Not to mention I was dumb and only brought my long range lens...)

The landscape is impressive, with lush green and fertile grounds everywhere you go due to the subtropical climate (think short winters and long wet summers). Back in the Triassic Period, all of the area was underwater and when it became above ground, the wind and more acidic rains wore away unevenly at the limestone mountains creating the unique sharp cliffs and hills you see everywhere. That's beauty 70 million years in the making. Talk about patience.

But yes, we explored Guilin (which is actually a rather boring city) and then trekked out on a 20 rmb bus ride to Yangshuo, a touristy resort area filled with people riding rented bicycles and bemoaning the flooded Li Jiang which prevented bamboo rafts or river cruises from heading out. Our hotel basically opened out onto the river banks and you could enjoy your cup of coffee or tea while relaxing in the buzz of nature attempting to distract you from your wechat messages. 

The best food to recommend is the most common Guilin Noodles, simple rice noodles topped with your selection of spicy and crunchy toppings. I nearly ate this the entire weekend and had no regrets.

There is some downtown spots with touristy restaurants- all very unimpressive but nice to walk through and relax, especially with a nice view of the river that cuts through the town. You're here for the nature, although I would have liked to give the rock climbing a try. 

We had a weird obsession with water buffalo during this trip and kept looking for the "shoo moo moo". Our driver probably thought we were nuts, but we found one! 

I am a big fan of wikitravel will going on escapades, but it outdid itself with this suggestion for nightlife in Yanshuo: Yangshuo has a boisterous nightlife along the West street but nightclubs are packed with shy and lumpy dancers. This led to a discussion of what a lumpy and shy dancer would look like and well, that's where the water buffalo came in. (Look, you had to have been there while we were trying to watch Eurovision at 1 AM, okay?)

Underground caverns.

Can you see it? 

My favorite treks were to see the scenic location on the 20RMB bill and the stone villages up in the mountain. When we arrived, it was just the two of us and a little 72-year old lady with the nimble climbing skills of a mountain goat who offered to take us up the mountain for 30 RMB. Liao Nai Nai as we learned her name to be had lived in these mountains all her life and told us stories of how the villages used to have huge limestone walls around them to protect from robbers. The stone buildings were made without cement or filler. Most of them were now abandoned and those few that were still in use were slowly being replaced by cement houses even as we watched from the side of the dirt road. 

Wild chickens wandered the village as we picked our way up damp stone and muddy paths(Liao Nai Nai claimed to be able to tell which household the chickens belonged to). Up in the mountains, flowers and greenery was slowly starting to reclaim the grey limestone buildings that had once housed hundreds before modernization moved the village closer to the main roads. As you picked your way across worn rocky paths dotted here and there with spring green forcing its way through cracks in the walls and floors, you wonder how much longer it will be before this becomes a forest once again. 

After taking the photo, she looked at it on the camera and said quietly to herself, "Ah...the hair is all grey now." I would like to bring back a hardcopy to her one day. 

Hopefully when you make it out there, you'll pick a better time than A & I did and it will be watercraft friendly. Do mind the mosquitoes, they love visitors. 

Until next time.