China Days 3&4

                Well, this morning started out a little rocky. I got up and got ready for the day, but Ada and Brittany’s alarm did not go off so they didn’t get up until 10 minutes before we had to leave. We checked out of our hostel because we were not staying there that night and check out was going to be while we were gone. The nice thing was that they let us leave our bags in their locker so we didn’t have to carry them around all day.

                So we got on the bus and traveled just about an hour north of Guilin to another city called Yangshuo. Our main stop was to visit the Li River. This is one of the most visited places in all of China. This river is surrounded by mountains and deep gorges. The sun peaks around each mountain top like a child peaks out from under its covers.  The calm river acted as a sheet of glass for our bambooish raft to float on. I was able to sit on the river for just about two hours enjoying the scenery. While on the river not only did I see few tourist, but I saw local families out fishing, eating meals together on the shore, and fisherman working hard to support their families. Moments like these are my favorite parts about SAS. When I can see an almost authentic view of what life is like in the countries that I visit. One the small raft Brittany and I were on we met two guys who were also staying at our hostel, Jasper and Sven. Little did we know they would be such a big part of our day.

                Once we got off the raft the six of us: Brittany, Ada, Carlos, Sergio, Neil, and I took a half hour bus ride to the city of Yangshuo. Once we got to Yangshuo we dropped off the guys stuff at the hostel they were staying at. We really wanted to stay in Yangshuo that night as well, but we had an early flight. So, we just had to make the best of the time we had there. By this time it is almost time for dinner. So, we found this cool little café in the middle of West St. West St. is like the Broadway of Yangshuo. This whole big group sat in this café and enjoy a meal, drink (everyone but me), and laughter. As I sat there listening to these conversations I couldn’t help but smile. How many times in my life will I get to sit at a table in the middle of China with people from all over the world and the only thing we have in common is the fact that we all stayed at the same hostel. It was just an awesome moment. This was one of those moments when I felt like this life I have been living for 3 months was a dream. In this moment I could not believe that this was my real life.

                After dinner the girls decided to go shopping and the boys went to a jazz club/bar. So, reluctantly we all said our goodbyes and parted ways.  As soon as Brittany, Ada, and I left them we said we wanted to go back and hang with them some more. Who knew how close you could get to someone so quickly? Shopping was a blast! The three of us turned it into a game and it made the evening fly by. Before I knew it, it was time to get on the last bus to get to Guilin.

                The bus dropped us off very close to our hostel where we were going to pick up our bags and go to our next hostel. Well, when we got to the hostel my original roommates Nicole and Saddie from Great Britain were there and Jasper and Sven. Long story short the six of us convinced the bar tender to let us stay! Jason (the bar tender and one of the owners) told us he would give up his room and sleep in the common room that night so the three of us would have somewhere to stay. Everyone was so excited because no one wanted us to leave (including us). So, yet again we stayed up literally all night just talking and dancing. It was a great night! These 2 nights at WADA (the name of our hostel) were my favorite nights on this whole journey.

                At 5am Brittany, Ada, and I had to get a taxi to go to the airport. Well, because we had decided so late to stay at WADA we had not ordered a cab to pick us up. So at 5am Jason came outside with us and helped us get a cab, negotiate price, and tell the driver where we wanted to go. We hugged Jason and the girls who worked there for everything and promised them that someday we would be back!

                Most of the day was a travel day. We had a flight at almost 9am, but first had to drive over an hour and then check in. Then a two hour flight to Beijing, get off the plane, and then figure out how to get to our next hostel. So in order to get to our hostel we had to take the Airport Express for about a half hour, then negotiate the subway system and get off at whatever the name of our stop was with two transfers. I know as you read this I don’t sound like a good navigator, but trust me I am a pro! Without me I think we would have gotten lost! Lol ANYWAY…..once we got off at the right stop we had to walk just about five minutes to the hostel. The walk was interesting too. Our hostel was called Fly by Night and it was tucked away in this alley. Before you get worried it was a VERY safe neighborhood. The main road had a lot of store fronts and the alleys were where the owners generally lived. So, we walked past people walking their dogs and local hole in the wall restaurants. The walk to the hostel was actually one of my favorite parts of this hostel.

                When we finally reached the hostel we were so impressed. The main gate of the hostel was locked and we had to be buzzed in. Then, there was this cool cul-de-sac feeling. All the doors to the rooms all faced the center so everyone really felt like a community. We checked in and then decided to go and explore.

                At first we really just explored the area. It was about rush hour when we went to get on the subway. That was interesting, only because the subway in general was always crowded. Holy cow was it so crowded. I literally was suspended in air at one point because there were so many people that there was not enough room for my feet. It was a very strange feeling. The main thing that we saw today was Tiananmen Square. It was a very overwhelming place to be in. the weirdest part was that we could stand there and know of the devastation that happened, but to also know that the Chinese government does not acknowledge its occurrence was hard. However, as we stood there we saw countless numbers of police personal there paying close attention to everyone who passed by. Our thought was if the Chinese government does not recognize the existence of the “incident” then why have so many police officers there?  I guess we will never know.                

                Finally, we went and got some dinner which was interesting. I’m not really sure what we had all I remember is that none of us really liked it that much. I was so surprised how much I didn’t like the Chinese food in China in general. If anything it made me very excited to come home and eat at my favorite Chinese restaurant in Greenville. Lol

                After dinner the three of us decided to call it an early night simple because the next day we had a very early start at the Great Wall!