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.