Day 855 Rice Terraces of Guilin, and the stories I gather.

I am happiest when I am out in nature; in the woods, on a
mountain, or sailing the sea. Guilin, located in Guangxi province
is absolutely gorgeous.  If I didn't know any better, I would
think I was in Smoky Mountain National Park!

Today's bus tour began with a ride up in the
mountains, until the roads became impassable for
a large bus.  We stopped here, by this waterfall to
switch to smaller vans.  I wished I could stick my
head in, but this was as close as I could get!

The drive up was still dicey- several times just
one lane due to rock slides! I saw three accidents-
one was a car that flipped and caught fire.
Needless to say, I said a few prayers. Another
hour later, we arrived in this mountain top
village, known as Longi Huanglou Yao Village,
where we had to cross a swinging bridge
over the rushing river to enter in to it.

This village is home to the Yao people.  There
are about 55 ethnic minority Chinese in China.

The Yao people are known as the 'long hairs'.
It is their cultural tradition to never cut their hair. Women can
be seen washing their hair in the river.  Sometimes it is over
four feet long...look at this woman front and center!

We were fed a bowl of 'gruel' to drink.  It tasted like
under cooked barley is some type of greasy beef broth.

It was quite a sight to see them unwind their hair!

 

It's a little difficult to see here, but the ladies wear
their long hair in three styles. On the left signifies
a single woman, in the middle is married with no
children, and on the right with the 'knot' in front
means she is married with children. So interesting.

I met a friend from Hong Kong during the show. She speaks
Cantonese, not Chinese, and I barely know thirty words of
Chinese, but we enjoyed the show together nonetheless :)

 

Leaving the Yao Village, the group split up and
I had my own guide with two other ladies for
the hike up to the rice terraces.

This woman (married with children) was doing
beautiful embroidery with silk thread.

I bought a taro root from these ladies, of a different ethnicity.
They were SO tiny!  And they acted very happy to see me!
Not many people were out hiking the mountain on this
chilly misty day.  I imagine the summer is high season for
them when the rice terraces are filled with vibrant green stalks.

I saw several homes with fires outside. They
were cooking something in stalks of bamboo.

Little did I know, we were stopping for lunch! One bamboo
stalk was filled with sticky rice with vegetables (delicious).
The other stalk was filled with chopped up chicken parts,
ALL the parts. The seasoning was ok, but I can't work my
way around chicken feet and other unidentifiable parts!

We four were the only ones being served in
this restaurant 'home'. Once we began eating,
the daughters and parents sat to play a rousing
game of Chinese poker- they were so animated!

Fortified by lunch, we continued up the mountain to the rice terraces.

What a spectacular view!

Even though the rice has been harvested, and the paddies are
just filled with water, it still was an impressive sight.  I can
only imagine what it must look like in the summer when they
terraces are a vibrant green!  Mike and Susan, this is what you
have to look forward to in July- and it will be DANG HOT
hiking up that mountain- pack lots of water!!! lol.

I arrived back from my tour just in time for my taxi to take me
back to the airport.  My flight ended up being three hours delayed
due to the pollution back in Beijing. (If you remember, this was how
I snuck in an extra vacation- we had three 'Red Alert' days for smog).
My chicken feet had long since worn off (oh, that's right- I didn't
eat any!) so I ordered a delicious bowl of beef noodles at the
airport. The cucumber salad was tasty, too, and the mandarin
oranges are in season now- I LOVE THEM.  I ate it all!

And then I met a friend. This lovely lady was
flying to Beijing, too.  We became WeChat friends
so we could sit and converse using the translator
app.  She lives on the far east side of me, has been
married for thirty years and has one son.  She
was delightful.  She has sent me WeChat messages
daily since we first met- telling me how much she
loves her new American friend.  I plan to go to
dinner with her before I leave for home in January.

These are the moments I treasure in living abroad....seeing beautiful places, having new experiences, and meeting some wonderful people.  I collect human stories in my travels, and everyone has a story. Hers is too personal to share here, but know that being a therapist, and being open to people all over the world, my life has been richly blessed a hundred times over.  No, a thousand times over.  My life has been so enriched by these people, and these amazing adventures.

G'nite, y'all!