Got Soup?

We awoke to another cloudy, rainy day. Reluctant to get out from under the warmth of our covers and into the cold room, we lay there discussing our next move.

P- What do you want to do?

G- I don't know what to do, but I do know that this cold, rainy weather is making me very crabby.

P- It's totally making me dislike China. You know how I hate to be cold. This weather just sucks.

G- I agree. There is so much to see in this area, but it's not worth doing in the rain. Plus, I really miss the camaraderie that we had with other travelers in southeast Asia. It sucks that we have not met any other English speaking travelers that we can exchange information with.

P- Most of what we did in the other countries was because of tips we got from other travelers and here we're not getting that.

G- Between the weather and lack of other tourists, well, English speaking tourists, there are a lot of Chinese tourists, I feel very isolated.

P- I'm not liking it either. Let's pack up and go to Yangshuo. The guidebook says it's extremely touristy with very Western parts.

G- Let's decide how long we want to stay in Yangshuo and buy our train tickets to Chengdu before we leave here. That's the other thing I liked better in southeast Asia, we could wait until the last minute to decide when we wanted to move on and where we wanted to go.

P- I liked that better, but the train tickets sell out in China so we gotta book them early. That means we have to make more of a plan on where we're going. What's in Chengdu?

G- The pandas are there and it seems like the next logical place to stop before we go to Xi'an. I don't see a point in staying in this area, which is known for it's natural beauty, since the weather is shit and will likely stay shitty for a month or more.

P- Let's also see if we can eat lunch downstairs before we go. I'm hungry and do not want to have to roam around looking for food.

We packed our bags and went downstairs to do a little internet research on Yangshuo.

G- OMG! It's so damn cold down here!

P- Put on your scarf. Hand me my gloves.

G- Ugh!

Jason - Hello. Do you decide to go on the Li River tour?

P- No, Jason. The weather is too bad. We are going to take the bus to Yangshuo.

Jason - Oh, the bus not very safe. You must be very careful for your bags.

G- We grew up in New Orleans, Jason. We'll take our chances.

Jason - Ok.

G- If you would, please write this in Chinese so I can give it to the ticket clerk at the train station. Also, I want to show you some websites, that westerners read, where you should put some posts about your hostel.

Jason - Thank you, and will you take some papers about our hostel and put them in other hostels or give them to western tourists?

G - Yes, that's no problem. We like your hostel very much. We just wish it wasn't so cold down here and you'd put the heaters on.

Jason - Cannot put the heaters on because winter is finished. Come back in the summer.

P- (to Gina) If winter is finished, why are we freezing to death?

G- I don't know. Apparently it goes by the calendar and not the actual temperature.

The owners of the hostel had an adorable 4 year old daughter who was fascinated by Phyllis. From the moment we entered the lobby, she chatted, in Mandarin, to Phyllis, drew her pictures and Chinese letters, and sat virtually on top of her. It was adorable and ironic as Phyl has never been known as kid friendly, even though children seem to love her. She told us her name about 30 times, but try as we might, we could never say it to her satisfaction. She scolded us each time we incorrectly said it and finally gave up.

As the little girl, climbed on Mt. Phyllis, we perused the menu for lunch.

P- I need some soup.

G- Jason, is this dumpling dish a soup?

Jason - No, not soup, just dumplings.

P- What about this rice dish, is the egg on top of the rice on scrambled in it?

Jason - That we don't have.

G- Do you have this noodle and meat dish?

Jason - No, we don't have. Cannot make many things on menu. Kitchen still being built.

P- Ok. Can we have dumplings?

Jason - Yes. And noodles?

G- Are they on the menu?

Jason - No, not on menu, hostel employees eat that for lunch today.

G- Ok, we'll take noodles. Can we have any of the soups on the menu?

Jason - No.

G- Ok, then just bring us noodles and dumplings.

P- (to Gina) That makes sense, we cannot have what's on the menu, but we can have what's not on the menu.

G- Whatever, I just wish I could have soup.

When the dumplings arrived, they were served in a large bowl of broth, kind've like won ton soup, but with many more dumplings. Also, the noodles, with mushrooms, and what appeared to be bok choy, were in a large bowl of broth. We considered both of the dishes to be soup dishes and just shook our heads, chalking it up to the language barrier, or more specifically, the language confusion. We experienced one more round of language confusion trying to get a taxi to take us from the hostel to the train station.

G- Mai, can you call a taxi for us?

Mai - No call. We find one in street.

We hoisted our packs and followed Mai to the street.

P- This is not a busy street, how long will we wait for a taxi to come by?

Mai - Maybe not long.

P- Wouldn't it be better to call a taxi?

Mai - No call.

G- How much should the taxi cost?

Mai - Maybe 12 or 15 Yuan.

G- How will I know? Is there a meter on the taxi?

Mai - You will pay 12 or 15 Yuan.

G- But how will I know? Will you talk to the driver before we leave or is there a meter?

Mai just looked at me trying to digest what I was asking.

G- Is there a box on the front of the taxi that will tell me how much I have to pay?

Mai - You will pay 12 or 15 Yuan.

G- (to Phyl) OMG! How will we know if we should pay 12 or 15?

P- I guess we'll just pay 15.

G- Ugh!!!

The taxi pulled up and I could see a meter on the dashboard. I never could determine why she did not simply say yes when I asked if there was a meter. Even if she did not know the word, meter, I described it and explained it's location in the car. As much as we were thankful when we found people who spoke English, the language confusion was turning our brains into mush.

The taxi dropped us at the street and we paid the amount (16 Yuan) shown on the meter. As we walked to the station, we were surrounded by people asking if we wanted bus tickets. Negotiating transportation had, thus far, been very stressful, so we could only focus on one task at a time, and the first task was buying train tickets. We ignored the bus ticket hawkers, telling them that we were taking the train, and they soon stopped following us.

Phyl stood next to a column with the bags and I got in a ticket line with my guide book and paper, translated by Jason. As we waited, we were treated to a cacophony of phlegm noises which echoed off the walls of the station. I was becoming extremely grossed out and turned to make eye contact and a repulsed face to Phyl when I saw a man hock up his loogie and expel it onto the ground about a foot away from my backpack. Phyl's eyes were wide and she returned my look of horror. Note to self: DO NOT PUT YOUR BAGS DOWN IN A TRAIN STATION!

We may have been mortified in the station, but the ticket purchasing experience went very smoothly. I slid my request, written in English & Mandarin, under the window. The clerk put my request into the computer, then wrote the amount on a piece of paper and slid it back to me. I pushed the money through and she gave me the tickets. Voila'! Considerably easier than the last time.

P- Grab your bag before someone hocks a loogie on it. We've already had one close call.

This loogie hocking is disgusting! I get that it's what they do, and they think nothing of it, but it is disgusting!

G- I agree. It's a constant assault on my ears.

P- The bus station is supposed to be right next door. I guess we'll be subjected to loogie hocking there too.

G- That is going to be more stressful because I don't have a translated paper to give them.

P- Let's talk to one of those hawkers and see if they have a bus going to Yangshuo and how much it costs.

G- The guidebook says a ticket should cost about 15 Yuan. Let's check the bus station first.

We walked around for about 15 minutes trying to find the bus station ticket office and finally gave up and went out front to the buses. The hawkers immediately descended upon us and I said Yangshuo, and pointed to the name in the guidebook. One of the women nudged out the rest and showed me a paper saying 18 Yuan, so we followed her to the bus. We looked at the placard on the bus window and compared the characters to the Chinese word in the book. Once we confirmed that they matched, the deal was done.

We put our big packs in the luggage compartment.

P- What if we hand her our money and she just disappears?

G- I'll make sure the bus driver sees us paying her.

I made a motion indicating that I wanted to hand money to the bus driver. He shook his head no and indicated for me to give the money to the woman. Of course we were not given a ticket, so we just took our seats and hoped that we wouldn't have any problems. The bus ride to Yangshuo took 1.5 hours and was uneventful. We stopped frequently to pick up new passengers, but no unsavory characters got on the bus. We could not determine why Jason thought riding the bus was a dangerous endeavor.

As Guilin slipped away, we began to see Karsts in the distance. We were surprised to see that this area looked very similar to Ha Long Bay, but the karsts rose from the land rather than the sea. The rain continued to fall, and we arrived in Yangshuo in the late afternoon. We checked several hotels until we negotiated a good, off season rate at a hotel on the main street (Xi Jie), our room having a balcony overlooking Xi Jie.

The Great Hoodie Hunt

The internet signal did not make it up to the 5th floor, so we went to the Arctic Circle downstairs in the lobby, coffee packets in hand, to see what was available for breakfast.

Jason- Hello.

P- Good morning Jason. You are back early this morning.

Jason – Did you sleep ok? Were you warm?

P- Yes, we were warm and we slept good.

Jason – You want some egg and toast?

P- That sounds good.

Jason- Ok. But you must wait because the cook must go to market and he make your eggs when he come back.

G- That's no problem. Can we have hot water for our coffee packets?

Jason – Yes, of course. I can get it. For the breakfast it is better that you eat at 10:00.

G- Oh, ok. I thought yesterday you said we had until 10:30 to eat it.

Jason – Yes, 10:30.

G- Um, ok.

P- What did he say about the market? Does the cook need to go get the eggs?

G- I'm not sure what that whole thing was about. Something about when the cook goes to the market, but it's only 10:00 and they said breakfast was served until 10:30.

P- Even when they do speak English, I'm often unsure of what they mean by what they're saying.

G- Me too. I wish we spoke Mandarin.

Jason brought us a binder of available tours which we read while we waited for our breakfast.

G- I'd like to take the rafting trip to Yangshuo, but it doesn't make sense to come back since we want to stay for a few days.

P- Maybe we could take the raft there and just stay.

G- It's a bamboo raft. I wonder if it's big enough to take our bags.

P- I sure as hell hope it's that big or I don't want to go all the way to Yangshuo on it.

G- Good point. The next question is, will it ever stop raining?!?!

P- Yeah, how can we book a rafting trip in the rain?

G- We have the option of this big boat, but I don't like it as much and it costs more. We won't be able to see good or take pictures from inside the big boat.

P- I'd love to take this excursion into the countryside to see the Karsts and rice terraces, but not in the rain.

G- You want to take the hike in the rice terraces? Who are you and where is the Phyllis I know?

P- No, ass, not the hike, this one.......... you go on a bus. Also, there are some ethnic minority tribes up there.

G- Oh, there's the Phyllis I know. We can't do a damn thing if it does not stop raining.

When Jason returned, we told him about our weather concerns. He advised that he thought there might be a break in the rain, but a weather check on the internet did not support his optimism. Ultimately, we didn't plan any excursions because it seemed pointless to do them in the rain. Jason did tell us that the bamboo boat could take our backpacks and could drop down plastic sheeting to protect us from the rain. He cautioned us against taking the bus to Yangshuo because it was unsafe. We explained that we had grown up in New Orleans, and that the US has far more crime than China, and that we had been traveling alone through Asia for months, but he was not swayed. Finally we told him that we'd take our chances on the bus. He looked skeptical.

The day was not getting any better but there was no point sitting in the cold lobby, so we donned our rain jackets and went off to explore Guilin under our umbrellas. We walked on a wide, stone paved, osmanthus tree lined, walkway along the Li River. The drizzle was light and didn't bother us under the trees. On our way to the Sun & Moon Twin Pagodas we 'happened upon' a gentleman also strolling along the river.

Man – Hello. Do you speak English?

P- (under her breath to me) Just ignore him.

G- Yes, we do speak English. How could you tell?

Man – I teach English.

G- Really, I'm just kidding. I know we stand out and look like we'd speak English.

Man – Where are you from?

P- (under her breath) Why are you talking to him? Don't encourage him.

G- (under my breath) He's not going to do anything to us. (to the man) We're from America.

Where do you teach English?

Man - At a university.

G- Your English is excellent.

Man – Thank you. Where are you going?

P- To the pagodas.

Man – They are very beautiful.

P- I'm sure they would be more beautiful in the sunshine instead of the rain. When will the rain stop?

Man – Maybe not for a month. It is the time for the rain.

G- We picked an excellent time to visit China.

Man – How long will you be in Guilin?

P- Not long.

Man – Where will you go after Guilin?

G- Yangshuo. Is it much smaller than Guilin?

Man – It is even more beautiful there. Yes, it is smaller.

G- Every city in China is much larger than we expected.

Man – China's cities are growing very quickly now. Many people from the countryside are moving into the cities.

G- We came by train from Nanning and I was surprised that we did not see more farmers in the countryside.

Man – Many of the farmers have moved to the cities for work and a better way of life. But it is difficult for them in the city because they don't get much money, because of their classification, and apartments are expensive.

P- What does that mean? What kind of classification?

Man – The money you are paid is based on your classification.

P- If you stop farming and move to the city can you get your classification changed?

Man – It is very difficult. Things are changing very fast in China, but some things not fast enough.

G- What kind of jobs can the people classified as farmers get in the city.

Man – Jobs that pay very little, this is why it is difficult for them.

P- Sounds like the government needs to move faster.

Man – Yes. How will you get to Yangshuo?

G- We are going by boat.

Man – Do you have tickets?

G- Yes. We booked it through our hotel.

Man – You should not book through a hotel because it is more expensive.

P- We'll remember that next time.

Man – Would you like to come to my travel company to look at the tours I can book for you?

G- I thought you taught English.

Man – Yes, but I also I have a tour company.

P- No, thank you.

G- We're not booking tours in Guilin because the weather is bad and we've already booked our travel to Yangshuo.

Man – But maybe you will see a tour that you would like and you will change your mind.

G- Thanks, but no. It was nice talking to you. You have a good afternoon.

We began to walk away, but he followed and persisted.

Man – My sister owns a tea house. Would you like to come drink some special teas.

P- No, we prefer beer to tea and right now we are going to the Pagodas.

G- We have enjoyed talking to you, but now we would like to walk alone. You have a nice day.

P- (under her breath) Go away mofo.

Man – Ok, if you change your mind you take my card.

G- Ok, thank you. Bye-bye.

Man – Good-bye.

We walked away purposefully and he did not follow.

P- You see, I told you not to start talking to him.

G- Why? I enjoyed our conversation.

P- Because he just wants to sell you shit.

G- That does not mean that we have to buy anything. It wasn't too difficult to get rid of him. Plus, I already read, in Lonely Planet, about the tea house scam and the fact that everyone has a tour company, so I knew what to expect.

P- There not our favorite guide book, but they sure do tell you which scams to expect.

The drizzle stopped for a few hours and we spent several hours walking along the river and around the Shan Lake where the Pagodas were situated. The Moon Pagoda is 7stories high and the Sun Pagoda is the tallest copper pagoda in the world. Later, we walked to an outdoor mall which consisted of pedestrian only streets lined with shops. Phyl still did not have a hoodie and we each needed a thick long sleeve shirt. We found the Chinese to be stylish, but also fond of clothes decorated with cartoonish characters. This made finding what we wanted even more difficult.

P- I may never get my hoodie because I'm not paying $80.00 for Nike or Adidas hoodies and I'm not wearing a Hello Kitty or cartoon character on my shirt.

G- We'll find something eventually.

P- You know I hate to shop and I'm tired of being looked at like I'm crazy to think there is a sweatshirt that will fit over my boobs.

G- I know, muffin, but cut them some slack. They've probably never seen boobs like yours.

P- I know, but I'm tired of being the circus freak.

G- Let's stop shopping for a while, get something to eat, and drink a beer.

We found a little shop where we selected a few different meats (chicken, lamb, & pork) on skewers and some vegetables (green onions, squash, & cabbage) that were flash fried in a very hot oil. It seems a little scary, but the food was not oily at all. The man behind the counter spoke a little English and was able to tell us our different meat options. They also served very cold bottles of beer, so we sat outside the shop and watched the people go by while we ate.

Much to Phyl's dismay, we returned to shopping. I was able to find a thick, navy blue shirt that fit perfectly, and was on sale.

P- Did you read what it says?

G- No, what does it say?

P- “I do more splendid”

G- Haha! I love it. Perfect Chinglish. I'm buying it.

P- Look at this one. It would look adorable on you and it's Saints colors.

G- I didn't want another little zip up jacket, but I might have to get this one too because it's perfect for Saints season. Who Dat!!

P- Yes, get both of them and you should be good.

G- Yes, I have the thick socks we bought in Hanoi, the shoes that I just bought in Nanning are very comfortable, now I have this thick shirt, and the warm ski hat I bought earlier. I'm good. But we still have not found you a hoodie.

P- I'm tired of shopping. Forget it.

G- No, we'll check the shops from here to the end of the walkway, then we'll stop.

P- Whah! I hate shopping.

G- Stop whining, Gladys. You hate being cold too and if you don't get a hoodie, or some kind of sweatshirt, you're gonna freeze your tits off in Tibet.

P- Maybe that would be a good thing. People will stop staring at me.

G- It won't be good for me because I'll have to listen to you bitch.

P- I never bitch.

G- Ha! Yeah. I wish that were true. Cold, tired & hungry. The perfect storm that I'm trying to ward off.

Halfway down the lane I went into a narrow little shop that sold sportswear and there, on a hanger, was a navy blue hoodie with the word Classic! written in yellow.

G- OMG! Look at this.

P- What size is it?

G- It's a medium, but maybe there are more. I hope there are more or I might cry.

P- I do like it, but it's more than I wanted to spend on a sweatshirt.

G- * gasp * Gladys, if they have your size we are buying this damn sweatshirt!

Fortunately, they had an XL and we were finally able to buy Phyllis a hoodie. The shopping was done!!

Guilin's Ming Palace Hostel

The time really passed quickly and before we knew it we had arrived in Guilin. As we waited for the doors to open, the man who had put our bags on the shelf helped us get then down. Erin tried to lift one and exclaimed that it was very heavy. The man agreed and told her that he was surprised that we could carry such heavy bags.

Erin was taking the bus, but was kind enough to walk us out of the train station and help us find a taxi. It was not an easy task for her to get someone to take us to the address of the hotel we selected, I shudder to think of the horrors we would have experienced without her assistance. Ultimately, we went in a little thing that looked like a tuk-tuk for a price that Erin considered far too high, but we had few options. We were accustomed to being overcharged because we are westerners, and it was starting to rain harder than the standard drizzle. We felt as though we had imposed upon Erin all that we should, so we hugged her, thanked her, and climbed into the little tuk-tuk.

We arrived at the Ming Palace International Hostel without a reservation and were delighted to find that all of the employees spoke some English. They advised that they had no double rooms available, but could put us, and only us, into a 6 person dorm room that had an en suite bathroom. The only problem...........it was on the 5th floor. Tomorrow we could move to a double room. We agreed and paid the $6.00 USD for the 2 of us to stay in the dorm.

Jason- Follow me to the room. (to Gina) I take your bag?

G- No, I can carry mine, please carry hers. She'll have enough trouble just climbing to the 5th floor without her bag.

P- Jason, do you have elevators in China?

Jason – Yes, some, but not so many.

P- Great.

Jason – Where you from?

G- America.

Jason – Oh, yes? I never meet Americans before.

P- Well now you have.

Jason – You sisters?

G- Yes.

P- Do we look alike?

Jason – Yes, I think so.

G- (under her breath to Phyl) All us westerners look alike.

P- Let's close these windows, Jason, it's cold outside.

Jason – I put on heater for you. Press this button to make it hotter. Sorry we only have this room. Tomorrow we move you.

P- What floor is that room on?

Jason- Floor number 2.

P- Good.

We put the little heater on high and hoped that the room would be warm when we returned from dinner.  Downstair we asked Jason to recommend a nearby restaurant where we could get some soup.

Jason – I finish work soon. If you wait a little time I will take you to a restaurant.

G- That sounds great. Thank you.

P- (under her breath to me) We'll just sit here in the freezing lobby and wait.

G- It is rainy and cold outside and they have the door and all of the windows open. WTF?

P- There's a heater in the corner, why don't they turn it on? They're cold too because they're all wearing their coats.

G- I can't figure this out. It makes no sense.

As we walked with Jason the 4-5 blocks to a restaurant we talked about the newly opened hostel and his job as the tour organizer. He knew about TripAdvisor and asked us to write about them if we were happy with our stay. Jason was in his early 20's and was eager to promote his new employer's business. He also gave us a little history on Guilin which dates back to 200 B.C., is known throughout China for its incredible karst landscape (like Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, but on land instead of water) and is very popular with Chinese tourists.  We walked through one of the very thick walls that surrounded the old city, and emerged onto a brightly lit street lined with restaurants.

Jason led us into a place which, of course, had all the doors and windows open and patrons eating dinner while wearing coats. As we entered, every head turned and every eyeball in the place was on us.

G- Apparently we are tonight's entertainment.

Jason – Many people have not seen westerners.

Jason helped us order a pot of hot tea, soup, and fried rice. He told us it should cost 22 yuan (about $7.00) and he went home. After about 10 minutes the people tired of staring at us and went back to their discussions. We were determined to warm ourselves with hot liquids. It was a good plan, but it was so cold in the restaurant that the tea in the pot quickly cooled.

P- I wish I could have sugar in my tea. Plain tea doesn't do it for me.

G- I'd like sugar and a little milk, but good luck getting that. Just be glad it's warm. The rice is pretty good.

P- It's ok. The soup is way too fishy. I've had enough of this.

G- It's just not very flavorful is it?

P- No, it's boring as shit. Nothing like Americanized Chinese food.

G- We really need to carry Tony Chachere's when we travel.



doors wide open

Our hands were cold as ice, the food was blah, and we never warmed up so we quickly paid the bill and walked back to the hostel.

G- This is why we're losing weight, Gladys. Just by climbing up the 5 flights of stairs to our room we have burned off the 200 calories we consumed at dinner.

P- Great! I'm sure I'll wake up hungry before the night is over.

G- Well, the room is a little warmer than it use to be, but it's still cold in here.

P- Are you gonna take a shower?

G- I want to but I don't want to take off my clothes. Whah! The bathroom is freezing. Whah!

P- Stop whining, Agnes. I'll take a shower first and heat up the bathroom for you.

G- Ok (still whining) This bottom bunk looks more like a double bed than a single. Let's just sleep in this bed and we can stack the comforters on top of each other. Maybe then I'll be warm enough to sleep.

P- Sounds good.

It was still freezing in the bathroom when I showered, but at least the water was hot.  Luckily, we had an electric teapot in the room so we drank hot tea before snuggling under the double layer of comforters for, what turned out to be, a good night's sleep.



tiny toilet paper rolls