(Cady)Hey everyone!
So, first off, we've received word that a LOT of people are actually following the blog this year (including most of my extended family- hi g'ma, g'pa, nanna, popop and everyone else!!), which is awesome! Thanks to one and all for reading about our excellent asian adventures. We can't actually see our own blog here so I didn't get to read Drew's account of Nick's inadequate toothbrushing methods or what Em wrote about our absolutely amazing electric scooter tour of the countryside around Yangshuo. Since we left off in Yangshuo though, I will begin there (yesterday, which was wednesday, Feb 13).
Actually, yesterday was pretty uneventful since nearly the whole day was spent traveling. We did the whole sleep in, pack up our rooms which manage to get incredibly messy on the two night stays (anyone in my family can probably imagine the clothes strewn across the hotel room floor...). Rico picked us up from the hotel at quarter to eleven and we headed across the street to the Mei You Cafe. The only reason I am including this is because lunch was amazing, delicious, fantastic- do I need any other adjectives ? Some favorites were the sweet and sour orange chicken and the eggplant (Nick and I are having a field day with all the eggplant here!). I find that I am thouroughly stuffed after every single meal here because the food is so good. Everyone has tried pretty much everything. Drew's parents- you will be happy to know that your son has been tranformed into an all-eating machine and any previous picky eating habits have been abolished. So, that was lunch, after which we bought DA BAI TU (chinese milk candy) and headed off to the airport. So, it was goodbye to Rico (who, I don't know if you all have been told, but is adorable and looks like a parakeet ), and hello to several hours of sitting on planes and in the airport. Guilin to Kunming, then Kunming to Lijiang. We were left rather exhausted but Em and I did get to go some good people watching in the airport.
So, we arrived in Lijiang, very tired, at about 9 last night. We met our guide, Kathy, who is adorable and full of energy. She realized sometime during her rapid fire speech on the Naxi people and the city of Lijiang that we were not quite up to remebering anything of substance and decided to save the rest for today. Some highlights of what she told us though- there are about 300,000 Naxi people left. They practice the dongba language and religion. The religion actually has a lot of similarities to that of native americans, including the use of totem poles and the idea that everything has a "guard," one of the most famous of which is the life guard. Naturally, every time she starts talking about the life guard I want to say Drew is a lifeguard too! No really though, it's all very interesting. The Naxi people themselves are fascinating. First of all, the women do all the work. One of the first things that Kathy told us about them was that to be darker and larger is most beautiful to the Naxi people because it shows that a woman is strong and able to work. The men on the other hand, are raised to do no work, and basically spend their childhoods doing whatever they want (this has changed a bit, though all the guys we saw today in the village WERE rather thin and lanky...) a lot of what we've experienced so far today has had to do with Naxi culture. (end of yesterday...)
Today we has to rise and shine at 6 am. which was easy when we were still jetlagged, but not so much any more. We set of at 7 for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Our first impression was, why on earth would they stick so many adjectives onto the name of one mountain? But, we learned that it's because there really is snow on the mountain, and to the people who named it, the mountain, which has many peaks, looks like a dragon. And since it looks almost delicate, and since the mountain is holy to the Naxi people, they called it "Jade" too. So there you have it. The mountain itself was beautiful! We took a chairlift to get up to the higher observation point, which was a lot like a ski lift. Kathy said that usually this time of year there is a lot of wind and the chairs usually shake back and forth. That wasn't actually a problem for us though, and we made it up very quickly. We walked around this sort of valley at the foot of these enormous peaks and it was absolutely breathtaking. I mean the figuratively and literally of course, since we were at altitude. It was exactly how we picture the foothils of Tibet, and it probably IS very similar, considering how close we are to tibet. We had quite a few things on the schedule, but decided to cut out the really touristy attractions and stick to the authentic stuff.
After the snow mountain, we has lunch at this ornate little inn that served us yet another amazing lunch, involving many different dishes. My family would remeber the egg and tomato dish that Ella made for us- we had that, which was actually Em's favorite. Ric and I were big fans of the eggplant (yes, eggplant again!) and pretty much everything else. yum. After that we visited the Yufeng temple (I think that's the name), which is a Tibetan temple that is still very much in use. The temple itself is very decorated with all sorts of colors. There are silks and tapestries, tapestries, and carvings everywhere. The monk who was inside gave us incense and showed us where to bow (pray) and where to put them. Then we hiked up another breathtaking set of stairs (this time I mostly mean literally) to the camilia courtyard. The courtyard has this gorgeous camilia tree growing in the middle which the current lama of the temple guards every day. The tree is several hundred years old I believe, and at one point they wanted to cut it down and sell the wood, but the lama said that if they wanted to cut the tree then they would have to cut him first. Pretty cool, right? They also call it "couple's tree" because it is actually two camilia trees that have grown together to make the beautiful shape. Since it's valentines day, and taking a picture with the tree is supposedly good luck for couples, Terry and Ric obviously seized the opportunity (yes, yes, adorable). Nick has a soft spot for people asking for money so he gave a couple RMB to some little old ladies who were singing in front of the temple. What a gentleman. We went out the other night in Yangshuo and he ended up giving one hundred RMB to a man playing the erhu (chinese instrument). Just thought that story was amusing.
Back to today though, after the temple we went to the village closest to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. None of us can remeber the name right now, but it still preserves the Naxi culture, and in fact you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who speaks mandarin there, as most people speak dongba. It is also the previous home of an American named Joseph Stone, who came to study plants of the region and ended up spending 27 years in Lijiang. He's pretty famous in the area, as he was the first to bring in western influence (this was around the 1920s acording to Kathy). It was nice walking around the village- the houses are so old and beautiful (a very used word in this entry, but bear with me, when you all see pictures you'll see why), made of wood and bricks with tile roofs, basically exactly the way you would picture an old Chinese house. There weren't any hawkers either (a VERY rare thing here) which made the whole experience feel extremely authentic, just like riding through the villages on our electric scooters did.
After that it was back to Lijiang, which is a great mix of new and old. We walked around the "ancient neighborhood" where our hotel is actually very conveniently located. Kathy showed us around and we were able to take in the (I have to say it...) beauty of it all. The buildings, like the village, are old and ornate, though a little more modern and less run down. There are tons of shops, and colors, and OH the sky is open here! What I mean is that we've had a lot of cloudy weather in China so far, but when you're this far west and up in the mountains, the air is a lot cleaner and the sun is usually out. So although we were freezing earlier this morning, it got really nice towards the afternoon. Not being on the SNOW mountain helped too. One of the prettiest aspects of the old city part of Lijiang are the canals that run all through the area. They're not big enough to boat in, and they don't smell, even though they have fish in them. It's kind of like having a big fish pond running along side the streets of an entire area. We asked Kathy how the fish get there and she told us that it is a tradition for people to buy the goldfish of golden trout (both types are in there) and release them in the river/canal while making a wish. So, naturally we went out and found a place to buy our wish fish and release them into the canal. The lady selling them scooped the goldfish up with a copper ladel and one by one we got to release them into the canal while whispering a wish to our fish. The whole thing felt really special, and it was just fun being able to set one more lose in the canal.
After that we came here to the internet, where I typed half of this, but more on that in a bit. Then dinner- a Naxi style hot pot. We were led into a room with an old carved table and chairs, that I include because Ric and Drew, having rather long legs, didn't actually FIT under the table. oh well. The hot pot was literally a HUGE copper pot filled with broth, veggies and pork, and then out on our table were all sorts of other leafy greens and meate and mushrooms. We got to add all of those to the broth ourselves. Is hearing about the food boring? I hope not, I think my family will enjoy it at least. Besides, food is an important part of any culture, especially here. BUT ANYWAYS, after dinner we went to see a show of dances from China's different minorities. The dances were quite good and some were actually hilarious. Well, sometimes we humor in parts that I don't think we were supposed to such as two men on stilts coming out dressed as swans in tight white jumpsuits, flapping their majestic wings. oh boy. The show itself was supposed to be funny at parts though, and we all ended up liking it a lot. That brings me to right now- sitting in a HUGE room full of computers and teenagers playing every RPG possible. Especially WOW (world of warcraft)... in other words, we are in Drew's idea of heaven. But now the boys have left and Em is waiting for me so I must bid you all adieu. Sorry for any spelling errors, I'm not going to check this one over. Happy valentines day everyone!
See you all in one month and three weeks!
So, first off, we've received word that a LOT of people are actually following the blog this year (including most of my extended family- hi g'ma, g'pa, nanna, popop and everyone else!!), which is awesome! Thanks to one and all for reading about our excellent asian adventures. We can't actually see our own blog here so I didn't get to read Drew's account of Nick's inadequate toothbrushing methods or what Em wrote about our absolutely amazing electric scooter tour of the countryside around Yangshuo. Since we left off in Yangshuo though, I will begin there (yesterday, which was wednesday, Feb 13).
Actually, yesterday was pretty uneventful since nearly the whole day was spent traveling. We did the whole sleep in, pack up our rooms which manage to get incredibly messy on the two night stays (anyone in my family can probably imagine the clothes strewn across the hotel room floor...). Rico picked us up from the hotel at quarter to eleven and we headed across the street to the Mei You Cafe. The only reason I am including this is because lunch was amazing, delicious, fantastic- do I need any other adjectives ? Some favorites were the sweet and sour orange chicken and the eggplant (Nick and I are having a field day with all the eggplant here!). I find that I am thouroughly stuffed after every single meal here because the food is so good. Everyone has tried pretty much everything. Drew's parents- you will be happy to know that your son has been tranformed into an all-eating machine and any previous picky eating habits have been abolished. So, that was lunch, after which we bought DA BAI TU (chinese milk candy) and headed off to the airport. So, it was goodbye to Rico (who, I don't know if you all have been told, but is adorable and looks like a parakeet ), and hello to several hours of sitting on planes and in the airport. Guilin to Kunming, then Kunming to Lijiang. We were left rather exhausted but Em and I did get to go some good people watching in the airport.
So, we arrived in Lijiang, very tired, at about 9 last night. We met our guide, Kathy, who is adorable and full of energy. She realized sometime during her rapid fire speech on the Naxi people and the city of Lijiang that we were not quite up to remebering anything of substance and decided to save the rest for today. Some highlights of what she told us though- there are about 300,000 Naxi people left. They practice the dongba language and religion. The religion actually has a lot of similarities to that of native americans, including the use of totem poles and the idea that everything has a "guard," one of the most famous of which is the life guard. Naturally, every time she starts talking about the life guard I want to say Drew is a lifeguard too! No really though, it's all very interesting. The Naxi people themselves are fascinating. First of all, the women do all the work. One of the first things that Kathy told us about them was that to be darker and larger is most beautiful to the Naxi people because it shows that a woman is strong and able to work. The men on the other hand, are raised to do no work, and basically spend their childhoods doing whatever they want (this has changed a bit, though all the guys we saw today in the village WERE rather thin and lanky...) a lot of what we've experienced so far today has had to do with Naxi culture. (end of yesterday...)
Today we has to rise and shine at 6 am. which was easy when we were still jetlagged, but not so much any more. We set of at 7 for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Our first impression was, why on earth would they stick so many adjectives onto the name of one mountain? But, we learned that it's because there really is snow on the mountain, and to the people who named it, the mountain, which has many peaks, looks like a dragon. And since it looks almost delicate, and since the mountain is holy to the Naxi people, they called it "Jade" too. So there you have it. The mountain itself was beautiful! We took a chairlift to get up to the higher observation point, which was a lot like a ski lift. Kathy said that usually this time of year there is a lot of wind and the chairs usually shake back and forth. That wasn't actually a problem for us though, and we made it up very quickly. We walked around this sort of valley at the foot of these enormous peaks and it was absolutely breathtaking. I mean the figuratively and literally of course, since we were at altitude. It was exactly how we picture the foothils of Tibet, and it probably IS very similar, considering how close we are to tibet. We had quite a few things on the schedule, but decided to cut out the really touristy attractions and stick to the authentic stuff.
After the snow mountain, we has lunch at this ornate little inn that served us yet another amazing lunch, involving many different dishes. My family would remeber the egg and tomato dish that Ella made for us- we had that, which was actually Em's favorite. Ric and I were big fans of the eggplant (yes, eggplant again!) and pretty much everything else. yum. After that we visited the Yufeng temple (I think that's the name), which is a Tibetan temple that is still very much in use. The temple itself is very decorated with all sorts of colors. There are silks and tapestries, tapestries, and carvings everywhere. The monk who was inside gave us incense and showed us where to bow (pray) and where to put them. Then we hiked up another breathtaking set of stairs (this time I mostly mean literally) to the camilia courtyard. The courtyard has this gorgeous camilia tree growing in the middle which the current lama of the temple guards every day. The tree is several hundred years old I believe, and at one point they wanted to cut it down and sell the wood, but the lama said that if they wanted to cut the tree then they would have to cut him first. Pretty cool, right? They also call it "couple's tree" because it is actually two camilia trees that have grown together to make the beautiful shape. Since it's valentines day, and taking a picture with the tree is supposedly good luck for couples, Terry and Ric obviously seized the opportunity (yes, yes, adorable). Nick has a soft spot for people asking for money so he gave a couple RMB to some little old ladies who were singing in front of the temple. What a gentleman. We went out the other night in Yangshuo and he ended up giving one hundred RMB to a man playing the erhu (chinese instrument). Just thought that story was amusing.
Back to today though, after the temple we went to the village closest to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. None of us can remeber the name right now, but it still preserves the Naxi culture, and in fact you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who speaks mandarin there, as most people speak dongba. It is also the previous home of an American named Joseph Stone, who came to study plants of the region and ended up spending 27 years in Lijiang. He's pretty famous in the area, as he was the first to bring in western influence (this was around the 1920s acording to Kathy). It was nice walking around the village- the houses are so old and beautiful (a very used word in this entry, but bear with me, when you all see pictures you'll see why), made of wood and bricks with tile roofs, basically exactly the way you would picture an old Chinese house. There weren't any hawkers either (a VERY rare thing here) which made the whole experience feel extremely authentic, just like riding through the villages on our electric scooters did.
After that it was back to Lijiang, which is a great mix of new and old. We walked around the "ancient neighborhood" where our hotel is actually very conveniently located. Kathy showed us around and we were able to take in the (I have to say it...) beauty of it all. The buildings, like the village, are old and ornate, though a little more modern and less run down. There are tons of shops, and colors, and OH the sky is open here! What I mean is that we've had a lot of cloudy weather in China so far, but when you're this far west and up in the mountains, the air is a lot cleaner and the sun is usually out. So although we were freezing earlier this morning, it got really nice towards the afternoon. Not being on the SNOW mountain helped too. One of the prettiest aspects of the old city part of Lijiang are the canals that run all through the area. They're not big enough to boat in, and they don't smell, even though they have fish in them. It's kind of like having a big fish pond running along side the streets of an entire area. We asked Kathy how the fish get there and she told us that it is a tradition for people to buy the goldfish of golden trout (both types are in there) and release them in the river/canal while making a wish. So, naturally we went out and found a place to buy our wish fish and release them into the canal. The lady selling them scooped the goldfish up with a copper ladel and one by one we got to release them into the canal while whispering a wish to our fish. The whole thing felt really special, and it was just fun being able to set one more lose in the canal.
After that we came here to the internet, where I typed half of this, but more on that in a bit. Then dinner- a Naxi style hot pot. We were led into a room with an old carved table and chairs, that I include because Ric and Drew, having rather long legs, didn't actually FIT under the table. oh well. The hot pot was literally a HUGE copper pot filled with broth, veggies and pork, and then out on our table were all sorts of other leafy greens and meate and mushrooms. We got to add all of those to the broth ourselves. Is hearing about the food boring? I hope not, I think my family will enjoy it at least. Besides, food is an important part of any culture, especially here. BUT ANYWAYS, after dinner we went to see a show of dances from China's different minorities. The dances were quite good and some were actually hilarious. Well, sometimes we humor in parts that I don't think we were supposed to such as two men on stilts coming out dressed as swans in tight white jumpsuits, flapping their majestic wings. oh boy. The show itself was supposed to be funny at parts though, and we all ended up liking it a lot. That brings me to right now- sitting in a HUGE room full of computers and teenagers playing every RPG possible. Especially WOW (world of warcraft)... in other words, we are in Drew's idea of heaven. But now the boys have left and Em is waiting for me so I must bid you all adieu. Sorry for any spelling errors, I'm not going to check this one over. Happy valentines day everyone!
See you all in one month and three weeks!
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