Fending Off Paparazzi in Yangshuo

(Tim)

First blog post of the trip, it feels good. So far the trip has been amazing and we are all having a great time. For the past two days, we have woken up to a nice western breakfast of fried eggs, ham, sausages, vegetables, and assorted baked goods. A great part about this trip is that we aren’t always bound to pre-determined sights. With our free time, we decided to hike up a mountain to visit an old, stone pagoda.

After wandering through the park searching for the mountain, we finally found one and hiked it. It wasn’t until half way up that we realized we got on the wrong mountain and that the real one was next to us, but that didn’t stop the adventure. We decided “YOLO” and climbed to the top. The path was brutal for me due to my almost crippling fear of heights and the sharp, blade like rocks beating me down both physically and emotionally. Max had to help me out a lot, and we eventually made it to the top. Looking down, I immediately knew that the view was totally worth the battle. Almost the entirety of the city could be seen through a film of smog, and the background looked as if it was taken straight out the set of Avatar.

After some pictures, we headed back down for some much needed rest before getting a lunch/dinner, (linner/dunch), of noodles. The area was meant to attract tourists, but somehow we felt like the attractions. I had heard that the locals like to take pictures of foreigners, but I underestimated them. Some photographers were tucking and rolling like they were MI6 to secretly snap photos of the “foreigners” in our group. Others could not be more obvious about it, fumbling cameras as soon as someone caught them and pretending to take pictures of the street signs above us, as if it was the most interesting thing they had seen all day. The night ended with us going to our rooms and passing out.

The next day we found the right mountain and we did find the pagoda. The stairs to the top were steep, uneven, and surrounded by limestone and plant life. The rocks at the top made it feel like we were in “The Lord of the Rings,” and the cutest puppy to walk this planet was the precious. Seriously, think of a q-tip head with tiny tree trunk legs and a tongue and you can imagine the dog. It took willpower to not kidnap it and take it home with us.

Lunch/dinner this time was a small, out of the way dumpling store in the city. The boiled dumplings were great, but the water seemed to be lacking in sanitation. For now we are all fine, but we’ll see how the next few days treat us. The final event was a light show on the Li River. That’s a lie; it was more like a Chinese Opera with cool lights to add effect. Max and I were seated in one row while Dareus, Mrs. Lockrow, and Caitlin were in another. The entire time, none of us could follow along with the plot, but it looked cool so it’s all good.

The day ended with us all getting lost in the city, struggling to make it back to the hotel. Turned out we went the exact opposite direction and had to walk a few miles to get back. By that time we were all tired and cranky so when Max and Dareus raced ahead, the rest of us got annoyed and angrily stomped our way back. That night ended on a good note though. Max, Dareus, and I went out for spicy street tofu and watched a movie until we passed out from exhaustion. So far it has been barely a week into the trip, but we have already experienced more than any book or video could tell us.

Shout out to Erik and Emily.