A villager I met during a bike ride near Yangshuo 

Having a beer with the ladies of Longsheng 

Rice terraces (swidden cultivation method) at Longsheng 

Padi rice fields near Yangshuo 

Boat cruise on the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo 

The China Syndrome

Taking a break from the fun and frolics of Hong Kong I took an eight-day trip into the southwest of China. I’ve been to over 50 countries during my travels, but for some reason, not counting forays into Hong Kong and Tibet, I had not yet been to China.

The following were some of my activities and observations:

- I took the boat trip down the Li River from Guilan to Yangshuo. This trip is famous for the extraordinary limestone peaks situated throughout the region. I knew that it would be tour-group hell and it was amazing to see the armada of tour boats. However, it was understandable why so many tourists were there as the trip was impressive.

- Yangshuo is the Banff of this region – a tourist mecca with loads to do – and I happily stayed here for five nights. Interestingly, the majority of tourists were Chinese. I spent a few evenings sitting at an outdoor food market with my beer and dumplings and watched the world go by.

- I rented a bike for two days (15 cents per day, brakes not included) to ride around the countryside. The first day I hired a guide who took me to a variety of spots including her village and home. The second day I went on my own, rode to some remote spots, got a bit lost and had a great day. It was amusing to see some of the Chinese tourists riding bikes with umbrellas attached for shade. My planned third day of cycling was rained-out so I did what the Chinese do and went shopping.

- I took a floater Geography course many years ago at UBC called Monsoon Asia. It had a mid-term exam that included true and false questions. I quite enjoyed the course, learned a bit, and improved my modest grade-point average. My roommate Kevin was also in the class and developed a humorous fascination with the differences between paddy and swidden rice farming. Riding through the Chinese countryside I could almost hear his voice mock-lecturing me about their characteristics. Were there excellent examples of both paddy and swidden rice farming in this region? True!

- I traveled to Longsheng to visit the terraced rice fields. Hiking in the hills you’re followed by local women who do their best to charm you into buying stuff. At the conclusion of one hike I bought two of the ladies a beer and fended-off their sales efforts with limited success. We would periodically toast each other by banging our beer bottles together and then they would quickly return to their sales pitch.

My trip to China provided me with a great combination of easy adventure and a relaxation. The people were nice and the food was good. However, I just scratched the surface of things to do and see in this massive country. I left China for my final four days of vacation in Hong Kong knowing that I will return, sooner rather than later.

Bicycle tour guide in China

Stine and Kristian (with junior still in hiding, although barely)

Discovery Bay marina, Hong Kong  

View of Hong Kong from the Peak 

Fun Times in Hong Kong

I once read that the prettiest girls in the world are in whatever country you arrive in first after leaving England. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but using a similar premise I will put forward my latest theory. I believe that the most fun place in the world is where-ever you go first after leaving Pakistan. This must be the case because I am having way too good of a time during my visit to Hong Kong.

It hasn't been continuous action since I've arrived, but compared to life in Islamabad it certainly feels that way. We had a big night on the town on my first Saturday and although we paid the price the next day, it was still worth it (although Kristian may not agree). We went out to a number of establishments that night and after a valiant but failed attempt at improving Sino-Canadian relations I returned home a bit after seven the next morning. Later in the week we went to the horse races in Happy Valley where the Expat community socialized in the beer gardens alongside the race track and the Chinese sensibly stayed inside where it was air-conditioned and there was better betting access. This evening we will barbeque on "our" boat and tomorrow we are joining others for a day of sailing on a rented junk. Coming from a place where there is not much to do this place seems like Disneyland (speaking of which, the new HK Disneyland is less than 10km across the water and we can watch its fireworks each night).

When Kristian & Stine told me that they lived on a boat they didn't tell me that their marina had resort calibre facilities with a big outdoor pool, tennis courts, training gym, restaurant and pub. One could keep quite entertained without going anywhere. The boat has all the comforts of home and Stine has been busy stocking-up with all the baby items that they will require when junior arrives in July. As his main contribution towards these preparations Kristian has purchased a big flatscreen TV and is trying to figure out how the various remote controls work.

All this activity and excitement has gotten me thinking about my next mid-life crisis. Within a day of arrival I was asking Kristian about boat rental possibilities and when Stine was interviewing for nannies I was tempted to ask her to get me one too. The South China Morning Post is awash with advertisements for jobs that I could do and I saw one today that I almost thought seriously about (actually, I'm still kind of thinking about it).

Of course, I realize that there are trade-offs to living in Hong Kong. Working long hours is a way of life here. With an hour commute to work there aren't many nights when Kristian and Stine are both home before 8:00 pm. While there are lots of things to do there are also many activities that you can't. More importanlty, none of the TV stations pick-up hockey games.

All told, this has been a most enjoyable holiday and visit with friends. It seems like a long time ago that I was last in Pakistan and I'm sure that this break will provide me with renewed enthusiasm for my last 4 months there. In addtion, this break has provided me with an unexpected opportunity to contemplate my potential next mid-life crisis. I really don't expect to end-up moving to Hong Kong, but then again, two years ago I didn't expect to end-up in Kenya and Pakistan.