B&E Photography

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

China - Guilin & Yangshao

We didn't have too many expectations for China, at least positive ones. We had heard that the people would be austere towards Westerners, the majority of the country would suffer from pollution, and there is a 50% chance of getting traveler's diarrhea; not exactly the idea for money well spent.The pollution part was right on the money, the runs is still a crapshoot, but the people we found to be surprisingly kind and helpful.
     Don't get me wrong, they have their quirks and cultural characteristics (as do all of us). Without tissue, men (and women) propel snot from their nose at supersonic speeds. Hacking up throat phlegm and distributing it on the street is common. And the all important personal space? Simply does not exist. Shoving, pushing, and line cutting is the norm and isn't considered rude; merely a way to get from point A to point B as efficient as possible.
     Sounds like a drearily painted picture eh? At first glance maybe, however you seem to adapt rather quickly because you'll either drown in thick mucous or get left in the dust of a Tuk-Tuk.
     We arrived in the famously beautiful city of Guilin. It's surrounding areas are the main attraction where we took a scenic bamboo raft and floated the always twisting and turning Yi river. This famed river feeds , not only the luscious greenery and tourism trade, but also the stomachs of the locals. Snails, baby eels, prawns, frogs, turtles, crab fish, and crabs are caught and distributed to the local markets daily.
     Unfortunately there are a lot more to the markets than first meets the eye, or nose. We had ventured into the produce section at first and, what looked like a normal farmer's market, turned ghastly and nightmarish in the blink of an eye. NOTE: If you are easily squeamish, please do not read the rest of this paragraph. Passing through a hallway into the next section of the market led us into a where-house packed full of dead animals and soon to be dead. Only, these weren't the typical animals you buy and certainly not packaged fresh from your local grocery store's meet department. It only took a millisecond to realize we were in the wrong place as we saw a duck have it's neck slit and hung out to dry. Jerking my head to avoid anymore eye contact with what just happened, we came upon a dog having the entrails removed. YIKES! Below the dog, and next on the chopping block, were the cats. WHERE IS THE EXIT!!!!!! Finally seeing the light of day, Erica and I made a mad dash towards the exit almost slipping on cow skins and bloody organs left for the pig scraps. The smell was overwhelming, the stomach acid now in our throats burning, and the images forever seared into our retinas were all a bit too much to take. This was a day that I wish I could forget, and yet, I most likely never will.
     Later that day we drove up the mountainside and went kumquat picking. For those of you who are not sure what a kumquat is, it can be summed up like this: a kumquat is to a tangerine as a tangerine is to an orange. Make sense? Anyways, it is a huge seasonal industry that provides great pride and wealth to the local villages and has been a family tradition for centuries. After our fruitful harvest, (no pun intended) we continued on to catch the sunset over the very well known hills of Yangshuo, but not first having bought a roll of fireworks that lasted over 25 seconds long. While I thought it was some of the most fun I've had yet, Erica rolled her eyes, lovingly laughed at my kid-like excitement, and politely apologized to the other individuals enjoying the once peaceful sunset.
     We learned a lot our first few days in China and we were ready to press on to the next province of Anhui where we would settle in Tunxi for our base of excursion.

Bangkok Airport

Funniest Russian Erica and I have ever met, invited us to drink with him and stay at his condo in Koh Samui

The elderly here are so fun to photograph, so much character

Sickle wielding goat herder

Waiting....

Pano of the Li River

Getting some work done on the Li River, the locals were so impressed that Americans would pitch in & help

The elderly carry their grandkids everywhere, despite their age

The road less traveled

If I didn't know better, I would think we were in 1955 during the height of Chairman Mao

Boss man

Bamboo pipe and the most photogenic person in this village

All of the walls in this village are original and several hundred years old

The grandparents are so adorable with their grandkids

Guarding the entrance

People mountains of the Li River

These birds spot fish for the fisherman enabling them to drop their nets and catch their food

Erica and I think the babies here are some of the cutest in the world

The bridges here are so beautiful because the surrounding bamboo and brush constantly try to take over

Most doors in the village are open allowing small glimpses into the personal lives of the locals

Gambling and card playing is crazy popular

Such beautiful and happy children

Village House 1

Village House 2

Village House 3

Yellow fields blanketed the valleys in Yangshao

Scenery is endless in Guilin and Yangshao

Workers in the field

Yangshao Mountains

Moon Hill Pano

Chickens outside of the elementary school

Cutest kids in a elementary school we visited

High fives and weird faces never fail

The girl in the foreground loved Erica and followed her around everywhere

Saying goodbye to the local kids of the remote village in Yangshao

The stone village where all of the buildings are made of stone with no cement filler

Stone bathroom that smelled unlike anything ever experienced :)

Another example of how it takes a village to raise a child

Serious kumquat harvesting

Hottest kumquat picker ever

Another example of the Yangshao mountains

Local Harvester

Sunset in Yangshao

Bridge in Guilin

Sunday, March 10, 2013

China - Blocked

Unfortunately, the People's Republic of China has blocked our blog so we won't be able to update for another two weeks. We're working on a solution so stay tuned! Until then, don't have too much fun without us!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Thailand - Koh Tao, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, & Phuket

     Koh Samui's airport was probably something similar to landing in Hawaii in the 1940's. The runway was incredibly short, had only one stretch of asphalt used for landings, takeoffs, and taxing, and had one baggage terminal with a thatched roof. It was really quite liberating to be somewhere that was so unadulterated from commercialism (or so we thought, we later came back only to find that most of the island was completely commercialized.) However, time was of the essence (no, not that essence) and we had to high tail it to our ferry which took us to another island, Koh Tao.
     Koh Tao is where Erica and I agreed to try something we both had never done but always had wanted to: scuba dive. We signed up for our Open Water course and, loving it and our instructors so much, we continued on to the Advanced Open Water certification. We had such an amazing time! We dove to depths of over 95 feet, completed a night dive in utter darkness (we saw photo plankton light the night waters up like fireflies), and viewed fish so big they looked like they could swallow you whole.
     Our dive instructors were Kiwi (he's from... yep....you guessed it....New Zealand) , Allie from England, and Julia from Russia. I was in stitches the entire time with these guys and have never had so much fun and learned so much. The instructors had this unique, but highly effective system of helping you to remember important techniques and knowledge; if you named a piece of equipment incorrectly or were possibly about to do something wrong, then they would give you a beer fine. Put your mask on your head (international sign for diver in distress): beer fine. Call your mask goggles: beer fine. Forget to clean your equipment: beer fine. Call Kiwi an Aussie: beer fine. Needless to say it began to add up but it definitely kept you motivated to stay on track and brought the day to a nice relaxing close with a few rounds of drinks at the bar, even if it was on my tab.
     From Koh Tao we island hopped yet again to Koh Phangnan. It felt a little strange at first to lay by the pool as we had been diving every day straight for a week. However, we got adjusted quickly and were soon sipping ice cold Long Islands that soothed the mind and soul. We in fact liked it so much we continued to do that the two days we were there. We also had met two really nice couples from England that were a blast to talk with. They even had really interesting tattoo's! (inside joke).
     From Koh Phangnan we went back to where we had landed, Koh Samui. We had a great time here riding our motorbike around the island searching for unique restaurants and secluded beaches. We had a great meal not far from our hotel where Erica and I ate to our heart's content, with alcoholic beverages mind you, for a grand total of $6.40. It is amazing how cheap you can eat in this country. If $3.20 a person is splurging and you find that too expensive, take comfort in the fact that one can eat for as little as $0.60 (including water to wash down the fiery cauldron of never ending chilies). I know what you must be thinking: the food probably is bearable at best, right? WRONG! This was some of the best food we've had yet and it was served hot, fresh, and always with a smile. It's no wonder why so many people from different areas of the world choose this country to retire.
      Our last stop was to Phuket to see our old stomping grounds. We had lived here 4 years ago and we were interested in getting back to some familiarity. The travel from Koh Samui to Phuket was an absolute nightmare. Our boat was late getting to the dock, then the bus was late picking us up from the arriving dock, then a connecting bus we were suppose to catch left because we were late forcing us to wait for yet another bus. Once on the next bus it was low on gas forcing us into the nearest gas station. Turns out that the gas station we chose had no gas and was awaiting a refill truck. To make matters worse, the bus company's policy wouldn't allow us to stay on the bus while at the gas station obligating we sit outside. Once we ended the bus ride we had to hail a cab from the bus station wherein the taxi cab driver got lost trying to find our hotel. All in all, what was suppose to only be a 5 hour trip took more than 14!!!! If you are ever wanting to improve your skill of patience, I would suggest having a go at any third world's transportation network where most things always go awry and the more connections you have the worse it can get.
     It was great getting to see Phuket again. We rented a motorbike and cruised all around the island to our favorite restaurants, beaches, and bars and I even had three custom suits made for less than the price of one in the States. Riding the motorbike, we're used to seeing otherwise shocking things like the use of no helmets or 5 people on one bike (the family sedan?). However, this incident took the cake. About to overtake a motorbike, I mentioned to Erica how crazy it was that the woman up ahead was holding a saw for wood cutting in her right hand while her husband was driving. As we passed Erica mentioned to me how much stranger it was that the woman also had a 4 month old baby in her left hand! She was only holding on with her legs to a motorbike going approx 50 mph clutching a newborn in one arm and a knobby toothed saw in the other! Where is Gloria Allred when you need her?
      We had a great and relaxing time in Phuket and saw many things throughout Thailand. Having finished at our last destination of this beautiful country, it was time to pack it up once again and move North to our next country: China: land of the Great Wall, panda bears, and very slippery noodles.