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We all know that good vacations are long and somehow seems short, while bad vacations are generally short but feel like they drag on and on. Luckily for me, however, this spring festival vacation has been the perfect median. There is practically nothing that I would change about the whole thing -except maybe the suction cup octopus massage thing at the very end...I should have known better since I bruise so easily. Anyway, aside from that, the trip was AMAZING. Even the sleeper buses (gross as they were) were something to be humorously remembered. A sleeper bus is basically just like what it sounds like - a bus that you sleep on. For those of you who have seen Harry Potter, it is somewhat like a really dirty, mildewy version of the Knight Bus.

When we climbed on, they made us take off our shoes and we had to hop onto these short little individual bunk beds...its a shame that we are just a little taller than most Asians. The drive was a little more than 9 hours, although technically it was supposed to take around 12, but our driver was speeding and honking like a mad man the whole time so we got there a little faster :). I was grateful for that though because the bus was soo hot. I have no idea how I'm going to handle their summers, since it's only February and yet everyone was sweating and greasy. It looked just like all of the movies anyone has seen about Asia - where someone has cholera or something and they are covered in perspiration. Not the prettiest depiction I admit, but it really is just what it felt like. The air in the bus was pretty gross too - a mix of smells from mold, chicken feet snacks, muffins, smelly socks, BO, and smoke. Oh yeah, that reminds me - in China there are no smoking laws whatsoever so that means that smoking is anywhere and everywhere except for basically just an airplane. When you're chilling on a bus for 9 hours, its a pretty big bummer when the guy next to you decides he needs a lite. Somehow though it endears me to this place. It's sort of like being back in New York :) Anyway, the rest of the bus was really no better - the curtains were yellow and stained with all sorts of I don't know what. The windows were so dirty that at one point when I looked up and saw a fly near me I tried to wave it away, but it didn't move because it was stuck to some sort of goo on the sill - I couldn't tell you how long it had been there.

All of that stuff you get used to though -even the squatters (which I finally used for the first time). What you don't get used to is the view. When those "avatar" mountains (as we call them) come in to view it subsides all other feeling. The constant smog covering the landscape dims their beauty, but only slightly, and what cannot be captured on camera is definitely captured in memory. It is one of the single greatest things you can see. Hour after hour it was just so easy to sit and stare at these mountains and the villages in between. The smog actually creates a sense of mystery and depth to the scene...it all makes sense to me now why the Chinese use watercolor so much - it really is what their country looks like. Because of the New Year though, everything was decked out in red...even the streets are red because no matter how small the town, every single home has a pile of red firework shells left in front of their door.

Once we finally got to Guilin it was pretty late at night, and we really had no idea where to go. The fog/smog was settling down in the city and the red glow of the midnight shops made it feel like we were in a scene of Miss Saigon. After walking around somewhat aimlessly we were approached by a man who told us he was visiting from Thailand, but he could show us the way. By the look of him, he was certainly not the number one person on my "people to trust" list, but it was late and we didn't have many other options so we followed him on the tiny backstreets of Guilin. Thankfully, after quite some time we finally reached our hostel. Aside from the few rats, it was quite a lovely place. The beds are made up of wood planks and sheets, but I can sleep anywhere so I don't think it would have even fazed me except for the other girls' mentioning it. :) Our room wasn't heated and we each only had one small blanket so that night we froze...but by now I'm getting used to that so it was all right too. The next morning we caught a bus to Long Shan where they told us we were stranded because there were no outgoing buses to Ping'an...our rice terraced destination. After a while, the traveling fiascoes just start to make you laugh. You know they are a hassle, but you always get through them, and eventually we did this time as well. Upon our arrival in Ping'an we were met by our hotel's owner, and he was a sweet man who walked with us the twenty minutes up steep stairs to our rooms. The walk was intense, but totally worth it, and it only prepared us for the rest of the week ahead of us. Anyway, the Liqing Hotel is part of the Ping'an village and so it is literally located on the rice fields. It has a gorgeous view and it is in the middle of everything. After the hostel the night before, we naturally expected the worst from this small town, but this hotel was AMAZING. It was beautiful and huge, and the best part was it only cost us 60 quai a night...which translates to a little less than 10 American dollars. :) That night we went shopping and climbing, and we hiked over to the village of Long'gi where you cannot help but feel so peaceful. Life just moves so much slower there. You cannot hear cars or planes. You cannot see lights. There are no roads, but only tiny terraced alleys in between small huts. The people all go about their regular business...washing clothes, repairing homes, and maintaining their fields. The only noise that can be heard is the clucking of chickens or the quiet voices of the gathered village people. The silence is almost tangible. It is far different than being in a secluded forest or something because the people are there and they are close together, and yet there is still no hustle and bustle. It is perfectly serene. They all come together to help build houses, and they all welcome you with their soft smiles.

Sadly, we only could stay in Ping'an for a night, and so the next morning we headed off to Guilin again. This time we visited Elephant Trunk Hill and we saw the famous "Twin Pagodas." While we were there we were approached by a man who was not from Guilin, but who was visiting family for the New Year; however, when he saw us he got soo excited! Evidently he had learned English in college, but he was not often able to actually practice with foreigners, and so as he claimed he had lost a lot of his vocabulary and now he spoke "Chinglish" more than anything else. As far as any of us were concerned, however, he spoke brilliantly! He told us his story - about how he had grown up in a small village about four hours outside Guilin, and that all of the villagers there are tea farmers. His mother told him when he was young that if he did not want to be a poor tea farmer that he had to work extremely hard; he definitely did, and he went to University to study calligraphy and literature. It was so wonderful to hear story after story from him. When we met him, he had been walking home with his wife and daughter, but after he met us he asked if he might take us to a little tea place down the road to treat us to some of his village tea. We were hesitant at first, but he explained that it was Chinese custom to accept, so we did. It was so fun to watch them prepare the tea, and listen to him explain how it was made and what the differences between teas are. He talked to us about caffeine and how his village tea doesn't have any in it which makes it much healthier for the body. After sharing his tea with us, he also gave some other favorites of his including Jasmine, Flower, and a certain Black tea...the village tea was our favorite, and I wish you could have seen the genuine smile on his face because of it. He told us how honored he was, and how he couldn't wait to tell his family of our preference.

Later that night he showed us a small place to go for dinner, and then he left us to go be with his family again, but not before telling us that if we wanted he could take us all over Guilin and give us a tour before we had to leave in the morning. We gladly accepted, and then we got to dig in to dinner.

       I admit it, before actually living in China I was never actually a huge Chinese food fan. My dad loves it, but I have never had a knack for it. Since I've been here, I have had both the good and the bad, but it has always been something way different from what is cooked in America. Well that night at dinner, we finally ordered American sounding Chinese food like Sweet and Sour Pork. I cannot describe to you how much better it is. I think America should abandon trying to pull off sweet and sour because they will never be able to do it like the Chinese. This stuff was AMAZING. That being said, however, the Chile they made us was also extremely amazing - it may be one of my all time favorites. When Chinese food is done right....whew...that stuff is so good!

       The next morning Tom, the man from the night before, took us on a small tour of Guilin. He took us to the Princes Palace, which is also his University, and then he took us to a colored cave which was pretty cool. That afternoon we caught a bus to the Li River where we got on a bamboo raft and floated in the slightly cold breeze for nearly two hours. It was beautiful to see those mountains. Its hard to remember that you are even on the same planet because it looks so different from the world you are familiar with. After our little raft adventure we caught a bus into Yongshuo, which is a little town in the middle of all of these mountains. It is very touristy, and it was the first place where we weren't stared at for being white, since there are quite a few foreigners there. For the last three days of our vacation we had so much fun renting bikes and biking around the city for hours at a time. We went to some nearby caves, and these caves were phenomenal! The best I have ever been in - including Mammoth Caves. The tour guide actually even let us go and explore by ourselves for nearly an hour which was incredible. The caverns are huge and there is an underground river throughout the entire thing. We had to take a canoe to get inside, but because the entrance is so low you have to be completely over so you don't hit your head, then once you're in, everything expands exponentially. It was gorgeous. We got to swim in the natural pools, bathe in "the muddy bath", and relax in the natural hot springs at the end. Of all my experiences it definitely makes my top 5 as well. When we left the cave, we walked around the village a little bit, and we were able to hold some monkeys which was pretty cool. The next few days we shopped for souvenirs, rode bike some more, and went on a few more hikes. Something to know about hiking in China verses hiking in the States is that rather than just going up a dirt incline, in China you have to climb hundreds of stairs to go anywhere. Throughout the trip I think it would be easy to say I climbed at least 3,000 steps - maybe more. It definitely becomes a full body workout. Anyway, the views from the hiking makes it totally worth it! I loved being there.

     The last night there we hung out with Yainnis and Sunny (our hostel owners) and we taught them all sorts of dances which was soo much fun. We loves these two... up to date I think they are all of our favorites! They love us a lot too and even put our pictures up on their website for their hostel! Anyway, we had such a great time that we actually decided that we wanted to go to a near by club for our last night party! Clubbing in China is kind of funny too because as soon as they see Americans, they only play American music, but its weird stuff like "whats going on" from 4NonBlondes or Justin Bieber stuff. They also play slow songs which is really funny too. Regardless, it was a great time, and we met a ton of great people - mostly foreigners. The next morning it rained and we just relaxed a little and then went to get massages - for those of you who have already seen or heard...yes this is how I got the 20 large, perfectly circled "hickeys" on my back. While they were doing my massage, they put these weird jars that they burn on my back...it totally hurts, and from what I could tell they are completely useless unless you're just looking for a good story to tell later. Anyway, overall the trip was phenomenal, and I wish I could go again...there is soo much to do and I think we could have spent a month there and still not have seen it all!