Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Sojourn in Yangshuo, Day 1

Three (consecutive) days off!!! What is a man to do with so much time on his hands? A. Catch up on some much needed sleep. B. Go out to chase women and get drunk for three nights straight. C. Grab two buds and fly to southern China for the weekend. Knowing me, which am I more likely to choose? (Answer C.)



Rahman, Adrianna, and I vacationed in Yangshuo which is known for its unique, and beautifully verdant mountains. This "backpacker's paradise" is one of the most gorgeous places in all of China.

I have been itching to get outside of the city for a while now. Yangshuo is terrifically rural - rice farmers work the land between the mountains and quaint little villiages line the Li and Yulong rivers. Rural China is beautiful, and much more what we traditionally think of as "China" and "Chinese culture." No tall flashy buildings, gaudy neon signs, traffic jams, or Mongolian hookers here - Yangshuo is not preparing for the Olympics or trying to attract foriegn investment. Everything feels refreshingly genuine and muhch more relaxed.



Even the air is clean there! Breathing has never been so enjoyable - for one weekend we exchanged smoggy, dry, stench-filled Beijing atmosphere for cool, moist, southern mountain air. It was euphoric.



I found the black and white setting on my camera, so I thought I'd give it a go. Toward the evening my color pictures were coming blurry or dark because of the evening light. All of the pictures from this post are taken outside of our hotel in the mountains.


Me and a cute kid striking a typical Chinese picture pose.

Rahman demonstrating what we hoped to get from this trip: rest and relaxation!

2 Comments:

At 1:26 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

the pictures are beautiful!!!! that area of China looks amazing :) so glad you got a refreshing weekend!
love

 
At 8:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Nathan
I think you made a wise choice--door 3 versus 1 and 2.You are certainly making the most of your 1 year internship in China. Many good memories you will have forever.
Love you, Gramma

 

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