some beautiful scenery and a bit of history
Tuesday August 10
Up we got at 6.30am (yawn) and finished off the last of the brown bread I had brought from Ireland. My last bit of home, sniff, sniff.
We were set for LiJiang, in the mountains. The scenery on the way was spectacular. Starting with a lake on the right hand side and mountains on the left with green crop fields in between. The mountains were poking through the clouds, so it really was spectacular. They grow a lot of tobacco and rice here. It was a real rural area as we wound our way into the mountains!
Arrived in LiJiang Old town. We made our way to the town square and then some of our group went looking for hotels. The local minority people here were all doing some dancing in the square to incessant flute music. (I can still hear it outside and it's now raining heavily outside and the girls are dancing while holding umbrellas!!!).
Had great craic with the cheeky little kid from the Guangzhou family. When we asked him his name he said “bu zhidao” (不知道), which means "don't know". So, that was his name from now on. Can't remember what his real name was. He was a really cheeky kid. I could sort of talk to him in Chinese. He was 8 years old and had studied English for 3 years but wouldn't speak it! He called me over one time and asked me to teach him some English, but he wouldn't speak it the others. Too shy. Seemed like a clever kid. He called me his “waiguo gege” (外国哥哥) or foreign big brother! He was hanging out of me for the whole day and was a big hit with everyone. What a comedian! Chinese kids are so cute. And I think they are a lot more innocent than Irish kids!
We had a pleasant walk around the old town. More souvenir shops and crowds! They had a palace as well, something like the Forbidden City in Beijing, but on a smaller scale, since it was for a local king. Since all the tour was in Chinese, I didn't catch much of it! We then climbed the hill to the small Buddhist temple. It started bucketing down with rain but we had the kid to keep us entertained!!
One thing I found nice is that our group consisted of all ages, from the 8 year old kid to the Sichuan students (who were around 18 to 20), to myself and Jenny, to the parents and grandmother of the boy. The 3 separate groups never knew each other but were happy to be together and got along grand. People in China seem to be very friendly and always talk to each other, even to strangers. It would be different in Beijing or other big cities but this is something that is dying out in Ireland.
The rain eventually stopped and we had a gander around the old town. They sell all sorts of crafts and souvenirs. Got a bite to eat in one of the restaurants. Noodle soup. Very tasty. Food is great in China although the stomach needs to adjust. The odd time I get a craving for a big steak of spuds or something you can get your teeth into!
Jenny got talking to some local guys in the restaurant, and one of them is a tour guide, so he has given us some travel advice.
The hotel we were staying in is like a converted old house, similar to the one we visited the previous day. Interesting but noisy!!
Up we got at 6.30am (yawn) and finished off the last of the brown bread I had brought from Ireland. My last bit of home, sniff, sniff.
We were set for LiJiang, in the mountains. The scenery on the way was spectacular. Starting with a lake on the right hand side and mountains on the left with green crop fields in between. The mountains were poking through the clouds, so it really was spectacular. They grow a lot of tobacco and rice here. It was a real rural area as we wound our way into the mountains!
Arrived in LiJiang Old town. We made our way to the town square and then some of our group went looking for hotels. The local minority people here were all doing some dancing in the square to incessant flute music. (I can still hear it outside and it's now raining heavily outside and the girls are dancing while holding umbrellas!!!).
Had great craic with the cheeky little kid from the Guangzhou family. When we asked him his name he said “bu zhidao” (不知道), which means "don't know". So, that was his name from now on. Can't remember what his real name was. He was a really cheeky kid. I could sort of talk to him in Chinese. He was 8 years old and had studied English for 3 years but wouldn't speak it! He called me over one time and asked me to teach him some English, but he wouldn't speak it the others. Too shy. Seemed like a clever kid. He called me his “waiguo gege” (外国哥哥) or foreign big brother! He was hanging out of me for the whole day and was a big hit with everyone. What a comedian! Chinese kids are so cute. And I think they are a lot more innocent than Irish kids!
We had a pleasant walk around the old town. More souvenir shops and crowds! They had a palace as well, something like the Forbidden City in Beijing, but on a smaller scale, since it was for a local king. Since all the tour was in Chinese, I didn't catch much of it! We then climbed the hill to the small Buddhist temple. It started bucketing down with rain but we had the kid to keep us entertained!!
One thing I found nice is that our group consisted of all ages, from the 8 year old kid to the Sichuan students (who were around 18 to 20), to myself and Jenny, to the parents and grandmother of the boy. The 3 separate groups never knew each other but were happy to be together and got along grand. People in China seem to be very friendly and always talk to each other, even to strangers. It would be different in Beijing or other big cities but this is something that is dying out in Ireland.
The rain eventually stopped and we had a gander around the old town. They sell all sorts of crafts and souvenirs. Got a bite to eat in one of the restaurants. Noodle soup. Very tasty. Food is great in China although the stomach needs to adjust. The odd time I get a craving for a big steak of spuds or something you can get your teeth into!
Jenny got talking to some local guys in the restaurant, and one of them is a tour guide, so he has given us some travel advice.
The hotel we were staying in is like a converted old house, similar to the one we visited the previous day. Interesting but noisy!!
posted by Derek at Wednesday, August 10, 2005
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