Guilin, and When We Discovered Dragons

Guilin was a great change from the odd experience that was Guangzhou (just perhaps, Dennis and Andy might have been right).

Guilin is a lovely 'town' with a natural beauty on just about each street corner.  It is as if someone took Ha Long Bay, drained all of the water out, turned the boats into buildings, gave everyone electric motorbikes and turned all of the signs Chinese.  

Walking along the river in Guilin

Finding the way from the north train station to our hostel, after a fast train from Guangzhou (248 km/h), was an adventure that involved: using my backpack as a blocker  to get on the bus (much like in an American football game) and walking through the walls of a Ming Palace.  The Ming Palace Hostel was more like a hotel and with the exception of heavy metal music during breakfast (selected by a nice guy who introduced himself by his English-name 'Jelly'), I would certainly recommend it.

Inside one of the 'rockparks'

Shrines on the canal

It was just such a lovely place to walk around.  The river runs through Guilin to Yangshuo, a place we intended to visit, and would have but for a miscommunication on which station the bus left from.  Instead, we walked the river and side-streets of Guilin, discovering rock-parks and small shrines all about the place.

Guilin is a great launching point for a visit to the Long Ji and Jin Keng rice terraces, also known as the Dragon's Backbone.  Sa Pa was a beautiful place, but for sheer size, the Long Ji terraces blow it out of the water.  They are a testament to human's ability to adapt their environment to suit their needs.  Although I saw many terraces during my time in Nepal and even Cambodia, it was never really as close or as intimate as either of these experiences.  Unfortunately, the weather hampered our photographic experiences.

We spent four nights climbing about the various viewpoints in the area, with two nights in Ping'An village and two nights in Dazhai.  We happened to be in Ping'An at the start of what I would have to describe as the field preparation season, and to celebrate a huge festival erupted in a town nearby.  With fire-crackers and food and music and loudspeakers, everyone celebrated the time when the fields are ploughed in preparation for the planting of rice.  Workers abounded with their tools slung carelessly across their backs and the local women poured into the streets offering us to take photos of their long hair (like Chai and the H'Mong people, they never cut it).

Towards the festival

The whole area is experiencing a construction boom - much like in Pokhara - required simply to accommodate the thousands of daily Chinese tourists.  So much so that really the most peaceful time we had was our early morning hike (about four hours) between Ping'An and Dazhai.  

On the peaceful walk to Dazhai

Through the valley

Not that I am complaining, the whole time there was wonderful, and while there were many tourists of all shapes and sizes, you could not wish them away, the views were just too good.  While on the walk, we had a breakfast just by the viewpoint 'Nine Dragons, Five Tigers'.  It was quite difficult to work out how to order, or even to be sure that they were preparing something for us, but in the end there was nothing to worry about because we got exactly what we were after, the mainstay of Chinese breakfast - noodle soup.

The Dragon's Backbone

From the Jade Buddha viewpoint

One has to use their imagination, much like at the caves of Ha Long Bay to see the shapes inherent in the names of the viewpoints, but I think that Dragon's Backbone is the most apt.  Other spots we visited had names such as 'Seven Stars & Moon' & Jade Buddha viewpoint.

Costs for things that matter:

• Local bus (Qingtan bus station to Long Ji gate) - 21RMB /person
• Bus from gate up to Ping'An - 10RMB /person
• Village entrance fee (pay once and stay as many days as you like) - 100RMB /person
• Accomm - 100-150RMB /double room

Bamboo Rice and smoked sausages

Tips:

• Do the lovely walk between Ping'An and Dazhai in the early morning, before the tourists and heat come out to play.
• Pick a hotel in Dazhai considering where the sun will be, it can be freezing if you are always tucked in the shade (we were there in April).
• Guilin - don't go to the wrong bus station to get the bus to Yangshuo - hint: it's not Qingtan.
• If we weren't watching the budget, it would have been great to try the bamboo chicken in Ping'An.

Locked in a disabled bathroom in China

People say that it is hard to get around China if you don’t speak Mandarin, at least compared to other countries were you don’t speak the official language. They are not wrong. I have found China more challenging than most every other country I have been to, even with my miniscule amount of primary school Mandarin. Some interesting experiences so far:

Failure to locate food in the third largest city in China!

We found ourselves in the centre of Guangzhou unable to locate any food.* Wholesale shops full of clothes, yes, but no food. 

I also have a ridiculous problem that I am embarrassed to admit. Growing up in Melbourne and going to the schools I did, I have been surrounded by elements of Chinese culture and food. I didn’t realise this until now, but unfortunately this means that I have a strong association between Mandarin characters and food. This has resulted in me thinking I have found a restaurant any time there are big characters out the front of almost any shop. Yes, like I said, embarrassing!

*We eventually found food but it took a minor hike!

We did find a lot of mannequins!

Getting stuck in a disabled bathroom!

I managed to get stuck in a disabled bathroom at Guangzhou train station. I had forgotten my personal supply of toilet paper tissues and upon seeing it wasn’t provided in the female toilet (the norm), I ventured into the disabled toilet. The light didn’t work and apparently the lock was faulty. I completely panicked with images of an IT Crowd episode flashing in my mind (the one where Roy gets caught using a disabled toilet in the cinema and pretends someone stole his wheelchair!) I tried the lock a dozen times, banged on the door and yelled lots before remembering that disabled toilets often have a panic button. Feeling my way around the bathroom I found the toilet and a button. On the other end was woman speaking Chinese…and luckily a tiny bit of English! Relieved, I spent a long time explaining I was stuck. Unfortunately I did not know if I was in the south toilet block or not. She told me to wait. This was of course when I tried the door again and, easy as you like, it opened. I’m still not sure if the gaping cleaner outside had let me out or if I was losing my mind. Luckily we had lots of time to make our train still and when I found Rob again, he wasn’t the least bit concerned!

Urgent bush toilet situation in the rice terraces*

During our time in Ping’An I had an unfortunate run in with an upset stomach. Around the half way mark of a 1.5 hours walk to one of the rice terrace viewpoints it struck. The need for a bush toilet was urgent and this was not one I will forget; there aren’t many places to go when you are amongst rice terraces. I will spare you the rest of the details, except to say it is not an experience I wish to repeat!

*Unrelated to language challenges but a challenge nonetheless! 

Lost in communication?

*Asking for tea at a random village between Dao Zhai and Ping An and receiving puffed rice in soup.

*Singing a line of a Mandarin song I learnt in primary school in the hope that a child nearby would know the song and teach me the rest of it.

*Potentially sitting in the restaurant car of a 21 hour train ride when we were meant to be at our own cabin. (Clue: the conductors were eating their meals there.)
*Fooling our ten year old neighbour into thinking I spoke Mandarin for the first few hours of a 21 hour train ride. Playing UNO to overcome all language barriers.

*Communicating with waitresses at a tiny café dedicated to mangoes via a smart phone translation application.

Puffed rice soup thingo with my little friend

Rob and our 10 year old neighbour - our most enthusiastic UNO special rules player yet

Tiny mango shop in the middle of a shopping strip in Guilin

SaPa and surrounds (Travel Dream!)

Seven years ago I first heard about SaPa from a fellow traveller in Hanoi. I researched the place and was sad to conclude I could not do it justice with the remaining time I had left in Vietnam. Since then I had hoped to come back to visit the rice terraces and people of SaPa. In fact, it was one of my main travel dreams for our big 2015 trip. We decided to spend 5 days hiking and relaxing in the area.

A view from the top

The views in and around SaPa were spectacular and it was fantastic to be outside hiking in fresh air again, even in the extremes of weather we experienced. Our first day hiking along and up rice terraces was extremely hot. Then at one point on the second day you could not see more than 5 metres in front of you due to the fog. After that, the weather was decidedly chilly but our time was still enjoyable.

Rice terraces filled with water

We decided to hike what is a fairly typical route to the south-east of SaPa. Hoping to avoid some of the crowds we often opted for the “hard way” over the “easy way.” It really wasn’t so busy, however, and I think even in peak season the crowds would not spoil the view.

Living the dream!

Rob balancing along

Slippery slope

Though the scenery is what draws many people to SaPa, for us, the best part was finding out about our guide, Chai, SaPa Sisters and the H’mong people. Only slightly before we arrived in SaPa I had found out about a trekking company called SaPa Sisters. They were linked with the hostel we stayed at and turned out to be an excellent organisation. It became very clear to us that becoming a trekking guide with SaPa Sisters is a great means for a woman to find independence. Though many H’mong women act as guides for treks around SaPa they often see little of the tourist dollar, with it instead going to tour companies in Hanoi. SaPa Sisters is run out of SaPa and the guides are paid directly by the customers and are entitled to maternity and sick leave and generally see more of the profits than they would at another organisation. Chai had worked with the company for five years, learning English from tourists and was very independent.

Our wonderful guide Chai

In SaPa we visited a museum which told us a bit about H’mong culture. If a man wants to marry a woman he will “kidnap” her. During this process she stays with him and his family and both parties decide if the marriage will go ahead. Chai told us about her views on the process. In addition to the fact that she was trekking on a day when women traditionally get “kidnapped”, she said she didn’t like the method and if a man had tried, she would not have considered marrying him. She said her husband was a good man and together they had a young toddler. I found it incredible she was 7 months pregnant with her second child during our trek! She said with her first child she had wanted to stop at 8 months but her Mum told her it was good for the pregnancy to walk. Perhaps the proof was in the pudding, so to speak, as her labour period was very short.

On the first night of our trek our homestay host was Ms Thanh in Lao Chai. Also there was a Newfoundland guest, Aimee, and her guide, May. It was great to talk to them and hear May’s perspectives on life. May actually worked for another company were the pay was not as good but she filled in with Sapa Sisters when they needed her. H’mong women are expected to marry and start a family young. May was about 19 years old. She and Chai told us that at 21 a woman is considered to be getting to old to marry. Chai originally did not want to marry and was 21 herself when she eventually did.

Ms Thanh, May, Chai and Kat

During our hike Chai pointed our some plants that were unique to the area. I was very excited when she showed us a plant whose leaves closed up when you touched it. It was an interesting defence mechanism and we couldn’t stop trialling it! In fact, I think it is so great that I have started to use the leaves folding in as a way to indicate when I feel sad or defeated. We also tried some berries and grass that Chai gave us. She warned us against a particular plant’s poisonous leaves because if you eat it you would need your stomach pumped or it will kill you.

You can eat these berries

On our second night we stayed at a larger family-run homestay in Ban Ho. A group of Americans and a couple of French were also guests that night. The duck I said hello to on the way into the house turned out to be dinner. I chose not to watch it being killed. As with the first night, we tried some of the local rice wine. This time it came paired with a confusing card game that no one really had a good handle on. (It was no UNO special rules!)

The family we stayed with in Ban Ho were Tay people and the village was made up with H’Mong and Dao people as well. There are seven minority groups in the surrounding areas of SaPa. I find it incredible that they so many groups living so close to each other that have each kept there culture so strong. It is hard to know exactly which ways the Vietnamese government and the Vietnamese influences their lives but Chai gave us a few indications. For one thing, generally the H’mong do not consider themselves Vietnamese.

A Red Dao woman at work

Little person at our Ban Ho homestay

Chai told us many more things about the lifestyles and traditions of the people in and around SaPa. When a woman marries they must move to live with their husband and his family, leaving their own community behind. This means many changes for the woman, especially if they are marrying into a different minority group and have to give up their culture.

This travel dream certainly turned into a memorable experience. It made me reflect on how lucky I am to have such opportunity in my life. I find the stories of Chai and the SaPa sisters inspiring and in a world where there is still much inequity between men and women (see recent UN Women report), they provide me with hope for the future.

Kat and Chai

Tips for visiting SaPa and surrounds:

*TREKKING: SapaSisters: we cannot recommend them enough. Chai was an excellent, knowledgeable guide and we liked their business model! 

*ACCOMMODATION: Graceful hotel was good value for a double (USD $16) and a nice home base.

*FOOD: BBQ on the street near the market for a tasty and cheap meal. We loved the deep-fried, pumpkin balls.

*GETTING THERE: In my opinion the relatively comfortable overnight train between Hanoi and Lao Cai is superior to the awkward day-time sleeper bus between SaPa to Hanoi. It doesn't waste your day time and the extra money can be considered your accommodation.

It is not too difficult to get in a mini-bus from Lao Cai to SaPa but make sure you have an idea of the costs before you get there as they will try to capitalise otherwise. 

Transport costs:
Train Hanoi to Lao Cai: ~ 600,000 dong per person
Mini-bus Lao Cai to Sapa: 100,000 dong per person
Bus SaPa to Hanoi: 294,000 dong per person

Kagbeni, Kagbeni, Kagbeni

Due to our altered itinerary and our dolphin sands road climax (thus far), we found ourselves spending three nights in the small village of Kagbeni. It is located in the valley of the Kali Gandaki River.

Kali Gandaki River and mountains all around

Initially the arid landscape appeared very other worldly, especially compared to the Annapurna region. The brown valley, which reminded me of Colca Canyon in Peru, was in stark contrast with the blue sky and mostly white mountains around us. The beautiful scenery made us very excited about what would follow as we hiked further north into Upper Mustang, perhaps compounding our later disappointment!

(I will have to warn you here that this post is going to contain many photos because although Kagbeni mostly represented a place we weren’t meant to be, or a substitute for where we wished to be, I found it a really nice village with incredible and unique scenery.)

On the morning of our walk to Kagbeni, I tried my first Tibetan tea. The drink is made from the butter and milk of a yak, and though it wasn't anything to write home about, it was nice to try something new. (There was certainly not much else to look at at this point as it appeared we had stepped into a Wild Wild West movie. I couldn't even find a tumbleweed!)

On the road to Kagbeni

Passing a Kagbeni orchard

Apparently there is gold to be found

Our guide, Krishna took us around Kagbeni village and further into the valley

When we arrived at our hotel in Kagbeni I quickly found a window nook to bask in the sun and enjoy the view. I told Rob it was categorically a cat/Kat window which was confirmed the next day when we found a ginger and white cat napping in the very spot.

Room with a view

Kagbeni town and surrounds

Whilst in Kagbeni we tried to (respectfully) get some photos of the Kagbenians doing their thing. Most people were not interested in partaking, which I can understand. As we milled around town we saw scraps being given to birds, goats being herded back before sunset, men gambling in the streets and a goat's head hanging from the bridge. 

Home time!

Beautiful eyed boy

Unexplained goats head dangling from a bridge

Kagenians doing their thing

We also passed the unexpected no-hiking time with, UNO special rules (the game that keeps on giving as the dealer chooses the rules each round), reading, writing, napping and of course, eating dahl baht and drinking milk tea. We were in the midst of reading Around the World in 80-days together which we both enjoyed immensely. (No, we are not trying to speed up our journey to win a bet!)

River-side Kagbeni (Kali Mukti joins from the north-east/right)

Could be out of Game of Thrones

On our second and third night in Kagbeni, I tried hard to rest my ankle. It was not too bad but still painful. The next morning we would hike back to Jomsom for the return flight to Pokhara the day after. This time we walked in the riverbed, again having the sense that we could be somewhere other than Earth. Though the trek was short it felt long, as I was eager to return to Jomsom. We entertained ourselves with conversation, looking for gold and throwing rocks into the river. 

Rock games- Rob hit the mountain!

All smiles!

Up the icy path

A lovely part of Nepal

Which planet?

Kagbeni to Jomsom via the riverbed, all gold-prospecting

Blue skies and many browns

Eventually we made it to Jomsom where the colourful new monastery stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the browns and whites of the mountains. We were keen to use the wifi as we had been speculating on the prime ministership on our trek. It turned out that there had been a vote for a spill. We also caught up with the news of our friends, which included an exciting very recent new arrival to the world! 

Jomsom seemed pretty interesting until we started walking around and most things shut down. Nevertheless we decided to try and have a third tea for the day. Arriving at a small tea shop, we asked a young boy where to get it. He misunderstood thinking we were looking for beer! It is funny how us humans just hear what we expect to hear sometimes. (Rob was even speaking Nepali).

Arrival at Jomsom: new monastery

Jomsom

My heart almost stopped on our flight back to Pokhara. We had arrived very early at the small airport and waited around for a long time. They only fly in the morning because it is too windy and dangerous later on. We boarded the tiny plane of 15 passengers and my seat was requested so a mother and adult son could sit near each other. It was for the best because it was the woman’s first time on a plane and it just so happened that this one would drop at least ten metres in the sky. I lost my stomach and didn’t find it again until much later in the day. What made it worse was the woman had covered her eyes with a scarf so she couldn’t see.  It was definitely the most scenic and terrifying short flight I have been on. I don’t think I would do it again, opting for the multi-day hike to avoid it!