Train of Thought

We had no idea on our 18 hour train ride from Liuzhou to Haikou we would get caught up in a political discussion with complete strangers. 

Last month Andrew and I went on a dinner and shopping date where we both set out to buy what we considered to be a very Chinese sweater. I bought a black a white striped, fur collar, gold chain hanging get-up while Andrew bought this fist pumping one pictured below.

We've asked a person or two in the past what it meant and they would just say they didn't know. Either their English wasn't good enough to explain or they don't keep up with current events as much as our bunk mates on our long train ride. The moment they saw Andrew's sweater they seemed to overreact with a little bit of pride and laughter seeing an American wear such a thing. He asked what it meant only to find out that he was making a political statement on the streets without even knowing it.

Over in our neck of the woods the ownership of the Diaoyu Islands is a heated battle between the Chinese and Japanese. There are even stores in our city that put up signs saying, "No Japanese". Apparently his sweater is declaring that the Islands belong to China. Which lead one man, with very good English, to ask Andrew who would win in a war between the two. Andrew, not wanting to offend the man, claimed that of course China would win. It got a little uncomfortable when he told Andrew that if America does not help Japan than China would win the war. 

This was all theoretically and Andrew really has no opinion on the matter either way. But he posed for our new friends to take photos and made sure to cover his face in case it winds up on some ad where an American is supporting the Chinese ownership of the Diaoyu Islands.

We also had a cooking lesson on the train with our new bunk mates who were amazed by what we deemed to be "science food". It's typical to take prepackaged bowls of ramen noodles on the train and cook them with the boiling water spouts in between each of the train cars but we decided to switch things up a bit.

We found these ready to go rice and vegetable meals that came with a water pouch and some white powder that when combined creation a chemical reaction which resulted in boiling water. Wayne said what the powder was but I've forgotten..sorry. Maybe you're more savvy in chemistry than I and know what it is. Either way, you place your bowl of rice on top of the water & powder pouch, pour over your vegetable and sauce pack, and put on the lid. A mere 15 minutes later and you have a delicious, hot serving of Kung Pao Chicken. Delicious but spicy.

Everyone was fascinated, us included, by what seemed like magic causing the water to boil and heat up your meal. They're going to be on the look out for them. Out with the ramen and in with the science! We may have just started a new trend.

2 buses...3 trains...1 taxi...and a little more than 24 hours later...

....and we are in beautiful, sunny SANYA-the southern most point of China! I have known and heard about this place for the past three years. Andrew shares stories all about spending Christmas on the beach here years ago. I was over joyed to be here with him.When I saw the Palm trees at the Haikou train station I knew I had arrived!

Rain on Our Parade

cloudy.damp.muddy.

cold.drizzly.grey.

These six words describe our final day

in the little village of Xingping

along the Li River.

With not much to do in 

such crummy weather

I took it upon myself to try 

to capture life in Xingping

through my camera lens.

I was able to walk from both ends of the 

town and photograph all along the way. 

Join me on my walk!

Show Me the Money

We might have a slight addiction to renting motor bikes and riding them around remote places in 

China but it really is the best way to explore and see the most. We rented bikes yet again in Xingping from a guy up the street from our hostel. The Chinese language here is a lot harder to understand because they 

don't speak as clearly and they don't understand our Chinese as easily as up north but we 

negotiated a price to have the bikes the entire day. 

Our first stop was the river to throw more fireworks  into the water and watch them explode.

They were far more powerful than we imagined and throwing them into shallow water was been the best way to enjoy them. People would even stop along the bridge to watch to water shoot up from the explosion.

It's all very exciting.

We didn't really have a plan for the day other than driving around to see what was around Xingping.

We stopped at what looked like a perfect spot and saw some other people standing around with money 

taking pictures. It was then that we realized we were looking at the actual image

on the back of the 20 RMB bill. Now we are inspired to visit all the landscapes found on the money. 

Two down, four to go! 

(100 Yuan bill has the image of The Great Hall of the People in Beijing)

We all paid to take pictures with a cormorant fisherman. He trains his birds to dive into the water to fill their mouths with fish. It is a unique way of fishing that is popular in this area.The bamboo pole with the birds was much heavier than I expected. 

I don't know how everyone around here carries things from food to children around like this. 

He was a nice man who was happy to pose with us when we asked. 

I'm pretty sure they've also been trained to strike a pose. They were all business when the cameras went up.

We took our motor bikes on a ferry across the river to drive around on small area that seemed like

an island even though it wasn't completely surrounded by the river.

We saw this area from on top of the mountain yesterday. It felt even more remote than any other area 

we've visited with nothing but bumpy roads, orange orchards, little alleyways that lead to peoples homes,

and all the best views of the mountains. 

Andrew and I each found a heart-shaped rock to remember the best view we've had yet on the river road.

Oh, and this is just one of Andrew's master pieces he drew in the Cafe's "memory book" where we stayed.
They had drawings all over the walls that travelers hung, depicting where they came from.
We found one from Palacios, TX and some in FL too. He wanted to leave our mark in a unique way :)