SOUTHERN CHINA -- Journal by Stacey Irvin
3-1-00
I am in Taipei! I just endured a 13:30 hour flight from LAX and the sun is rising over an overcast and humid day. Hong Kong is now only a couple of hours away!
3-2-00As I was leaving the US, I had an extreme desire to curl up in the fetal position. I was embarking on a lifelong dream and this acute fear bewildered me, but was so real that it could not be denied. I wanted so badly to leave the airport and go home. I missed everything so badly already. The world was suddenly such a scary place. What was I getting myself into? How on earth did I decide to do this? Fear can be so incredibly overwhelming. Just recounting how I felt (2 days ago now) makes me realize that the fear has not completely left me. However, I have yet to curl up in a ball. I know I’ll be fine. It’s so THRILLING! EVERYTHING I am going to SEE and DO for the next four months will be new and different and far far away from home.
3-4-00Hong Kong is unreal!!!! It's huge and amazing and unbelievable!!! It's like the whole world crammed onto one beautiful mountainous island! I have never seen so many skyscrapers in my life!!! And people people people everywhere from all over the world!!
The boats in the harbor never stop coming and going! The vegetation on the mountains is incredible. Trees cling to the sides of small cliffs and a few feet away there’s a skyscraper. I’ve known of this far away place for years and its incredible to think that so many of the products I have and use on a daily basis have traveled through this very port! It’s so alive, it’s huge! This place is like the whole world crammed onto an island! I’m looking out of my hotel window across the bay at the WORLD! It amazes me how far I’ve been from this place all of my life!
My friend John Guider, a professional photographer and artist from Nashville, is traveling with me for the first month. He and I were walking down an alley. I love walking down back alleys here! The light is wonderful and the people are even more nice and happy to see you than those on the streets. As I was walking behind John I passed a couple of old ladies at the back door of a restaurant. I made eye contact with one and smiled and nodded. Her eyes lit up and she beamed as we passed..... I touched her hand and held it for a moment and she squeezed my hand and was so happy and suprised, she turned around and was talking and waving and smiling at me as I passed.... I did the same and motioned for a photo.... she stood tall, her hands to her sides and smiled warmly! She reminded me of my grandmother, hard at work and so warm and friendly.
3-6-00I am now in China. I can’t believe this is the beginning of our second week! Last night in Hong Kong, after I finally sent off my film into the great unknown, John and I hopped a boat to Macau for dinner! We must have been on drugs because it was so spontaneous -> we hardly had enough money to get back to Hong Kong! But the Portuguese/Chinese/African dinner we had was amazing! Curried Prawn and African Chicken - yum! We briefly walked through one of Macau’s busy casinos before high-tailing it back to the Maritimo Terminal!
The people here have been so incredibly nice and in Hong Kong I was lucky enough to pick up a tip from an expatriate: when greeting people on the street, make eye contact, smile, and give them a subtle nod. People just light up when I do this! When I just smile and try to say “hi” without a nod, I get a blank stare. A little difference in approach makes a big difference!
John and I entered China via train to Guangzhou. It is so polluted - smog everywhere and with six million people, the traffic was like a turbulent ocean. Taxis, buses, cars, and motorbikes weave amongst people on foot and bicycle and carts! Not to mention the cement pylons of roads being built over existing roads and circular intersections too! We passed part of the old city of Canton and the buildings were so photogenic, very run down and covered in soot, but bright laundry hung from the windows and old wooden shutters reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans. China is another world. I am definitely aware of being in a communist country. While cell phones ring all around me, it still feels like I’ve gone back in time 50 to 100 years!
3/7/00Well, the cell phones have all but disappeared for now. We took the Li River Cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. Spectacular scenery. The karst formations are just like all of the paintings I’ve seen --> especially in the misty rain and clouds that have accompanied us. Last night in Guilin, John and I took a walk down a few back streets. Sensory overload set in like a landslide!! The dim lights and wet streets were incredible and everyone was cooking dinner in their storefronts and riding bikes on their way home. It is very hard to describe because my feelings were so intense - I really felt like an astronaut! Like I had landed on a totally different planet.
I didn’t feel that it could be possible to be where I was, seeing what I was! And this just continues... Yangshuo is also incredible at every moment. The faces, vehicles, homes, markets, and food are just so vivid and different. Unfortunately I saw what I had hoped to avoid: dogs in cages waiting to be sold for dinner. This makes me so sad. I try not to think too much about it.
3-12-00 Today we left Yangshuo for Longsheng (home of many rice terraces and minority tribes). We had a driver, Mr. Chen, and guide, “John”. At first I thought our day would be rather boring compared to others recently. We had a six hour drive to Longsheng ahead of us in misty rainy weather. Well, I was wrong. Just as I was beginning to get really carsick, we stopped for lunch at a roadside town. We were able to wander around the kitchen while they prepared the food and look at chickens and fish and beancurd while waiting. When our food came, the duck was apparent simply because a webbed foot was protruding from the mix of meat bits and vegetables. The meal was fine.... I just had to watch out for the bones.
As we proceeded, John told us we were taking a side trip to see the rice terraces at Longji. The road was muddy and rocky and narrow with one side bordering a substantial drop to a rushing river. Our Honda was not equipt for such terrain. Five minutes into the road we couldn’t clear the rocks, so John and I wandered up a ways while our guide and driver tried to come up with a solution. Ten minutes later, we were on a bus with a bunch of locals careening down the road weaving amongst rock piles and workmen! A woman from the Yao minority sat next to me in her colored traditional dress. The adventure was only just beginning! When we arrived at the base of the terraces, the woman led us through a village and up the 800m mountain of terraces. It was gorgeous (though not nearly as green and wet as it would have been the fall). We climbed and climbed and I was so out of breath!
At the top we found several other Yao women (all desperately trying to sell us things) and a few other Chinese tourists. The view was impressive. We worked our way back down and bought Cokes at the tiny village store. Lots of children were hanging around and when I lifted my camera, they cringed and shrank as though it was a gun! So I knelt down and let them each have a look through the viewfinder - what a crowd that created! Then I blew up two balloons for them to play with.
We had been waiting a while for another bus to take us back and our guide finally decided that it was getting too late and we needed to start walking. Finally, a man with a truck let us get into his cab. I was sandwiched behind the front seat, which accentuated the bumpy noisy ride!! Just when we thought we were really moving.... we came across a landslide! The smell of fresh dirt was thick in the air! There was no way we were making it past that! So we got out of the truck and climbed over the rocks, trees, and dirt (pretty scary!). Then, we kept walking (it was getting dark). After traveling quite a ways, two men on motorcycles were coming up the road and we informed them of the landslide. They ended up giving us a ride down to our car! That was pretty scary too, but by this time, I was on an adventure high! What couldn’t have happened to us today?! Finally, we found our car and Mr. Chen and set off for the last two hours of our journey. It had been 6 hours since our last bathroom break and my feminine nature was calling! So, to top off the day, I crowned myself Super Woman for using a countryside squat toilet next to a river in a damp concrete hut with only my mini maglite to see! I can do anything!
Now we are safe at the Hot Spring VIP Hotel and it’s time for me to get some rest. I’ll fall asleep to the lull of karaoke-crazed Chinese tourists in the bar several floors below.
GUILIN TO LUGU LAKE 3/16/00 -- FROM AN E-MAIL HOME TO FRIENDSChina doesn't cease to amaze me!
Guilin, Yangshuo, and Longsheng were beautiful. The Li River valley is surrounded by karst (limestone) mountains and hills, farmers were everywhere, and it rained most of the time, but that just enhanced things! During the past couple of weeks, I’ve done so much walking, climbing, and bike riding. I even went into a cave and had to fit through a hole that was barely big enough for me to squeeze my camera bag through... plus, the electricity went out while we were down there with only one flashlight and a 12- year-old to show us the way. We even had to hitch a few rides with our guide near Longsheng because our car couldn't handle the road --> we even had to hitch a ride on motorcycles for part of the way!
In Yangshuo, I learned how to play mahjong from a bunch of young Chinese students (I tried to learn the card version too and it sure is tough remembering all of the Chinese characters!). I've also found that gambling is VERY popular here, especially amongst the farmers. Lots of water buffalo and funny looking trucks with one wheel in front and the motor on top....... this place is just hard to describe!
Food is everywhere! John found a duck head and a duck foot in his soup the other night! That was fun. I haven't been sick yet...knock on wood... we're both healthy and happy!
Yesterday we went to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital in Yangshuo and John and I received a free Chi Gong treatment.... we were electrocuted!! Literally! These two men plugged themselves into the 220V wall socket and then put their hands on parts of our body that were sore (my shoulder and John's tennis elbow).... my god it was crazy! My arm was flapping up and down uncontrollably! But, hey...we're still alive and haven't noticed any negative side-effects!
We also followed an old farmer up a long dirt road on the side of a mountain over a river (we had to climb over recent rock-slides too! Yikes! It was pretty stupid, but we had a feeling that he was taking us somewhere special). We ended up at his home tucked away in the woods overlooking the rice terraces. He and his wife fed us a fried pork rind soup dinner and tea and oranges... it was wonderful! And I have decided that I would like to build an exact replica of the wooden homes up in the Longsheng area. The houses are on stilts and are all notched together with large open areas of deck between rooms! John said I can build one on his farm!
