Monday, March 16 – Cycling Along the Yulong River

We began the day thinking we'd take a tour of one of the local caves and give our sore butts a day off. But the caves didn't really interest us and we soon changed our mind. Ping, our guide, suggests we do another cycling trip. We meet her at the bike rental shop, get on the same bikes we rode yesterday, and set off on today's adventure at around 11:00. It seems that we actually never have an 'early' start, that everyday really 'begins' at noon for us. We cycle north today, out of town on some busy highway again. But we'll go slow and stop often. At Baisha Town we leave the busy highway and turn west. We follow a single-lane cement path that leads to the Yulong River. Part of my mission today is to get a 'perfect' web banner photo with us on our bikes and the karst hills in the background. So we stop and Ping patiently snaps the camera at us. We park our bikes at the foot of the Dragon Bridge. Once again we are awestruck by the scenery. Looking in either direction we see the winding river with village life on either side and the hills and rice fields stretching out into the misty distance. It's surreal. Snap some more photos. We're offered boat rides on the bamboo rafts again but decline. We get back on the bikes and continue on our way. I meet colorful groups of school children coming home at noon – and stop to take a few photos. I should have taken more – the kids look great. We turn off the cement path and once again we're on a bumpy mud and stone narrow path that winds through the fields alongside the river. I follow Ping and Sue, stopping often to snap some more photos. Here's a big old bullock grazing beside the river. A family of ducks quacks at me as I disturb their nest next to the water. A fisherman looks for supper in the reeds by using some kind of zapper which apparently stuns the fish. We cycle on. Our path takes so many twists and turns. We end up in a small village. I take a photo of some children eating their lunch in the doorway of their home as Ping asks directions. We wind our way through the village and marvel at how primitive this place seems – it's hard to believe that people still live in these conditions. We cross streams and cycle through forests. When one o'clock lunchtime arrives we're directed to a Farmer's Restaurant. We park our bikes and enter a dimly-lit two-storey building. I take a photo of the cooks in the 'kitchen' as we enter. The 'lobby' is a total mess with water all over the concrete floor and big pots sitting on benches and tables. Upstairs are a few tables and chairs. Two European tourists are sitting at the window. Well, if they can eat here so can we. The noodles we had yesterday were quite good; I'll order that again. But no, they don't have noodles, only rice. We ask Ping's help in ordering. We order a fried rice dish, eggplant, and some steamed Chinese cabbage. And a big beer. While we're waiting for our food I notice that the chickens downstairs seem to be quite excited – until the loud squawking ends abruptly. Then it dawns on me – that's our lunch! I get up and take my camera to the landing at the top of the stairs. There below me on the 'workbench' is one dead and plucked chicken getting hacked into 'bite-size' pieces and another one getting plucked by the cook. The plucked chicken is sliced into one-inch pieces beginning with the feet and all the way up to the head – and nothing is NOT thrown into the cooking pot! Hmmm' We'll eat vegetarian. Beer here is only 5 Yuan (about $1.00) for a big bottle! That's half-price of what we're paying at the hotel. We don't order dessert. Pay our bill and off we go again. We cycle through some more fabulous country. An hour later we've reached a main highway leading south of town. We opt not to go the 4.5kms back into town – we'll risk doing serious damage to our butts and add a small sidetrip. We head down the busy highway, past the big temple, past the famous 'Water Caves', to Moon Hill. This is a hill that has a hole in it that is the shape of a half moon. We take a few photos and sit down for an ice cream drumstick and a coke. Ping promises that we'll be finished in another 45 minutes. But now we will take a narrow path that leads to her home village. Again, scenery is incredible. More photos. Rudy and Sue with bikes against a backdrop of karst hills. An old woman leading her buffalos out to the fields. Two women carrying their sleeping young children in baskets yoked across their shoulders. Village school kids running home for supper. We enter a small village and Ping stops at an open doorway of an old house standing next to the road. The doorway has the typical red banners with Chinese 'good luck' writing on either side and above the door. We are welcomed into the home of Ping's 78-year-old grandmother. She smiles. Offers us the small Chinese oranges. I take a photo of Ping with Grandma. The inside of the home looks like an old barn – concrete floor, water puddles, a sleeping loft, old tools and family photos and pots and bowls and it's all very cold and dark and you wonder if any of our grandparents or parents could survive in a place like this. But the old woman has a big smile and seemed genuinely pleased to meet us. We say goodbye. Now it really is time to head back. We cycle back into Yangshuo on some very big busy highways. There is NO driving courtesy here – the smaller the vehicle the fewer rights you have. No controlled intersections. Crosswalks mean nothing. Pedestrians on the road and vehicles on the sidewalks. We pass some HUGE hotel and apartment developments that seem to go on for blocks. But they're empty. Ping thinks the economic depression has shut down all development and tourism will probably take a long time to recover. But she'd love to learn more languages so she can get a 'good job'. We get back to the bike shop at around 5:30. We tell Ping that's it – we're done with bike tours. We thank her and wish her well and promise to email her a photo of her grandma. It's my best day of cycling ever.