The Yang Shuo Life

Good Times.....Good Times....

A Strange Resemblence

Anyone notice that these two look a lot alike (Connie and Cat). THIS DAMN CAT WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY. I sat on it 5 times during breakfast and it kept coming back to the same spot. I don't mean that I "brushed up against it.."....I SAT ON IT...COMPLETELY! It got scared...I got scared....it was awkward for the both of us. Anyways....IM NOT A CAT PERSON.

Chinese Show and Tell

Chinese Show and Tell. Lesson One: The Birds and The Bees

Eating a Hot Dog

Though New York is known for it's Hot Dogs (Gray's Papaya, Street Vendors, etc...) China has it's own variety. I've been here for 3 months and I haven't tried dog yet......nor do I plan to. I like strange foods, but everyone that I've asked says it's not that good and it's just served to pay respect to guests because it is a relatively expensive food. It is served at high-class banguets and major occassions.
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The dog in the picture belonged to the hotel owner.....NO He's not dead....but I later realized that he's sick. I probably should not have played with him like this......if I get some strange dog disease we will all know why.

Rhyme Karaoke

Rhyme singing Karaoke - she actually has a really nice voice.

More Chinglish

The Case Wraps Up the Person = The Clothes Make the Man?

The Hard Seat Cafe = The Hard Rock Cafe Knockoff?

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Some of these signs are really amusing.

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Also, on the bottom sign I noticed that New York is the furthest city that is listed. 12,736 Kilometers. WOW! So that means LONG ISLAND IS 12,716....Why aren't the Five Towns up there?

Not For All the Gold in the World

No amount of money would make me take a job like this. No safety harness....no net...no support. Look at the picture full-size and see how the guys are working on the building at the top. Do you believe this? That is rough.

Strawberries

Stopped to buy some home-grown grade-A, sweet, delicious, strawberries. Mmmmm!!

Yang Shuo IIIII

By the way....I don't know roman numerals that's why I keep doing I,II,III,IIII.....in the titles. Here are some more scenic pics. Too bad the telephone wires spoil the view a little.

Just Monkeying Around

Monkeying around as usual.....

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I think I've found my long-lost brother. I wanted to take the monkey home....he thought about it....and then threatened me with the lead pipe that he is holding. It was a close call, but I am still in one piece.

Yang Shuo IIII

I liked the trip so much that I spoke with the government and decided to become the Chief of Yang Shuo. Connie is the chiefette of Yang Shuo. They denied my application so I will have to stage a coup de tat (I hope the Chinese don't take this blog too seriously)

I Can Do It MYSELF!!!

Didn't seem that hard....So I figured I'd commandeer the boat. ONWARD TO NEW YORK!!!!

Yang Shuo III

There is no avoiding Chinese people trying to sell you stuff......While we were biking they tried to sell us fruit, water, and flowery hats. When we were walking to the boats they tried to sell us water guns and duck statuettes. They are really aggressive about it too.....jumping in front of you to get your attention, grabbing you (I'm NOT A PIECE OF MEAT!!!). Then once we got on the rafts I thought we were FREE.....but guess again. There were vendor rafts trying to sell all sorts of random stuff. Beer, GOT IT....Fried Chicken, GOT IT....Skewered fish, GOT IT, Sugarcane, water guns, pamelos, intestines...GOT IT!!!

Yang Shuo II

Still rafting........

Yang Shuo I

Absolutely stunning views....I love it. Here we are taking a bamboo raft trip down the river. The trip lasted around an hour and costs 70RMB ($9USD).

Anywhere, Anytime, Anyhow

Chinese will play cards anywhere, anytime, anyhow.....they are masters at the game. On more than one occassion i've seen a group settle down at a bus stop, sit on the floor....and break out into a card game. They are master gamblers....

The Flower Girl

Just enjoying nature.......I suppose this is why the don't ask don't tell policy was created.

Connie, Rhyme and Candy

Enjoying the Pamelos

My Dear Pamelo.

Pamelos (is that how you spell it?) are delicious. Here we made a stop so the tour guide could cut up some of the fruits for us. Guilin is known for it's Pamelos and exports them all throughout China.

Chinese Solution : Gas Tank Problem

I love chinese solutions to everyday problems.....VERY CREATIVE PEOPLE. Last week we had some guys come to MIDEA to check if our smoke detectors were functioning. Normally you would have someone come in.....climb a ladder....press the button....wait for the beep.....come down the ladder....fold the ladder.....bring the ladder to the next detector....and do it all over again. GREAT, but not good enough for China. We had a guy come to our office...smoke a cigarrette and blow smoke out of his mouth into a long straw that reached the fire-detector. Not exactly the orthodox way to do things.....but still an excellent idea.

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In this picture we have another solution....broken gas tank...how do you fix it? OH, maybe sticking a Sprite bottle into the opening would resolve the problem!!

Refreshing Refreshment

Made a pit-stop to get some water from the well

Appreciate

I had to stop for a moment and appreciate the state-of-the-art technology that is utilized in constructing facilities in Yang Shuo.

And We're OFF

Here We GO

Traffic in the main area (surrounding West Street) was horrendous, but once we got out into the surrounding area it was nice and quiet.

Ridin' The Hog

For the first part of the trip - we rented bicycles (cost $.75 for the DAY) and took a 2 hour guided trip through the fields. We were led by a tour guide so the whole experience cost 90RMB or $11USD per person including rafting and dinner.

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This is Connie inspecting the quality of the equipment.

Hungry Like a Wolf

Candy was hungry......Ate 5 bowls of noodle soup and some Snickers Bars.
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PS - I have already informed CANDY that her name is commonly used by porn stars, strippers and showgirls.

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P.S.S - She still insists on using it.

Street Vendor

Chinese food vendors will sell anything and everything on the face of the earth.......ITS EXCELLENT. Nothing is better than veggies and kebabs after a lengthy trip.

Traffic Jam

TRAFFIC JAM (Click on the Picture for Full Size)

YANG SHUO...Here I Come.

I just came back from a FANTASTIC trip to Yang Shuo, Guilin in Guanxi Province. We got there by taking the train...sleepers for 12 hours from Guangzhou. I was prepared for the worst but the journey was quite comfortable. Round-trip tickets cost 430RMB or about $60USD. Though I offered to be on top (6 bunks to a compartment) noone wanted to sleep on the bunk below me, fearing that the bunks could not bear my weight....so here I am, bottom bunk.