23 March:
It is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride north from Guilin to the Longi area. This is a rural mountain area that is heavily terraced for rice paddies. The bus grinds uphill on a narrow serpentine road causing some gasps as those on the downhill side of the vehicle look straight down to the valley hundreds of feet below us. As the road gets even more treacherous, we stop and reload into a smaller van. Some of our group suspect that both drivers are deliberately trying to scare us; probably not. Finally, even the small van parks and we start walking. Charlotte really wanted to hike up to the high terracing but she has a bum knee and knew it would be unlikely that she could make it. The point where we started hiking has many vendors with tiny shops trying to sell post cards, conical hats and other trinkets. Viola, two guys have a reclining chair apparatus slung between two long bamboo poles. They’re offering to carry someone up the mountain. Charlotte quickly negotiates a price equivalent to 14 US dollars. Great! She will now be able to make it up the mountain with us. The hike to the top takes about an hour and the guys carrying the chair are ahead of us most of the way. Vivian, our guide, directed us to a neat little restaurant with a view (truly). After a wonderful lunch we had a leisurely hike back down the mountain, then the small van, the 2 1/2 hours in the bus and almost before we knew it we were back at the Bravo Hotel. However, just before arriving at the hotel, we stopped to pick up the laundry that we had left early this morning at a “Chinese laundry” on the street. When we dropped our dirty duds this am, I had a feeling that their system might be flawed when they marked each of the plastic bags we gave them with a ball point pen. Now, as we pick it up, it was one group price, plus they told us they had lost something, maybe some socks. Regardless of the numbers on our bags, the items inside were a complete surprise. Back at the hotel we all met in Steve and Jennifer’s room and laid out all the laundry on their bed. Each of us picked out what we recognized. Items that were unclaimed were held up and described as if in an auction until someone claimed ownership. This is not my first encounter with “Chinese laundry”, none have been in my favor. This time I was still missing an orange nylon T-shirt.
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Warm and humid. We head for the Longsi Terraces. This area has been farmed for over 700 years by the Zhuang and Yao minority poeples. We climbed up into the mountains AFTER an adventurous bus ride in two legs. Our first bus was too big to make the second stretch. Road gets narrower and narrower until we reach a series of steps and paths leading through a small village toward the top. Charlotte – a real adventuress in modes of transportation – opts for the hand carried chair to go to the restaurant. The rest of us climb “the few steps.” At the restaurant, the view of the terraces is FABULOUS. Chuck, Jerry and Steve and I trek on to the top. Words escape me. How to describe a human accomplishment of sucvh natural beauty! I don’t really think it can be easily condensed into a few words. It is wonder – ful what people can accomplish in an effort to adapt to their surroundings.
Fran