Today was spent (unfortunately) mostly sitting on a bus. The girls who work at our hostel recommended we go see the
Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces because they are a very beautiful and popular scenic tourist destination. So….we did. Well, the bus ride there was about 3 hours long. We stopped in a village where all the women have very long hair. It cost extra money to go into the village and see all the cool stuff, so we opted out since it’s nearing the end of our trip and our cash is a bit low. Our tour guide did tell us some interesting facts about this village though….if a woman has a bun on the front of her head it means she is a mother. If the woman gets married she will tie up all her hair and cover it and only show it to her husband that night. (Oo-la-la) If she has a bun on the side of her head it means she is single. Then she told us about 3 pools they have that you can sit in: a large, medium, and small pool. The custom used to be that if a person chose to sit in the large pool it meant they are very lonely so a whole family will come and sit and bathe with them. If a person chose the small pool the people would be worried that you will catch a cold, so they will come snuggle around you. And if you picked the medium pool, you are very lucky – you got to chose a woman (if you are a man) or a man (if you are a woman) to come bathe with you. Note that I said that’s what the custom used to be. Now, because China commercializes everything, the small pool is for a foot massage and the large and medium pools are for killing pigs. Yes, I did say killing pigs. Don’t ask me why. So while everyone else went into this village, Chelsie and I and a few other people chose to sit outside and wait. There were some dogs roaming around that were fun to take pictures of, one even begged us for some meat from the bamboo rice we got.
Our group finished their little tour of the long hair village and we hopped on a different bus that was better equipped to go up the winding road to the top(ish) of the mountain. And quite the winding road it was. I had to close my eyes because I didn’t want to see how sharp the corners were. When we finally reached the top we headed into what was pretty much another “hey-lady” market. We walk walk walked up up up and got lunch at a restaurant that served local food. Just like all the food we’ve eaten here, it was delish. Then we had a couple hours to ourselves so Chelsie and I decided to do a little shopping and a little photographing and a good amount of sitting and waiting.
It was pretty cold up there on the mountain, which was a very serious reminder that I haven’t experienced a real winter in 4 years. I hope Beijing is nice to me, but I don’t think it will be. When we
finally got back to Yangshuo after a bus ride that seemed to take FOR-EV-ERRRRRRRRRRRRRR we hustled our buns over to West Street. Why? you may want to ask…..well I’ll tell you. Remember that month I spent in Wuhan, pretty much miserable the whole time, and the only bright spot in my day was seeing my fave kids at the center and working with the most wonderful person in the world – Candy….? The one who held my hand in the hospital after my asthma attack and was my stand-in mommy? Well, we learned a few days before we left for Yangshuo that she would be here the same time as us and we met up with her and her friend Tina tonight! It was sad because if we hadn’t spent all day on a bus we could’ve seen them for longer, but we went to dinner and talked and it was great to see her again. We miss her so much! Wo ai ni Candy!
Today was spent (unfortunately) mostly sitting on a bus. The girls who work at our hostel recommended we go see the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces because they are a very beautiful and popular scenic tourist destination. So….we did. Well, the bus ride there was about 3 hours long. We stopped in a village where all the women have very long hair. It cost extra money to go into the village and see all the cool stuff, so we opted out since it’s nearing the end of our trip and our cash is a bit low. Our tour guide did tell us some interesting facts about this village though….if a woman has a bun on the front of her head it means she is a mother. If the woman gets married she will tie up all her hair and cover it and only show it to her husband that night. (Oo-la-la) If she has a bun on the side of her head it means she is single. Then she told us about 3 pools they have that you can sit in: a large, medium, and small pool. The custom used to be that if a person chose to sit in the large pool it meant they are very lonely so a whole family will come and sit and bathe with them. If a person chose the small pool the people would be worried that you will catch a cold, so they will come snuggle around you. And if you picked the medium pool, you are very lucky – you got to chose a woman (if you are a man) or a man (if you are a woman) to come bathe with you. Note that I said that’s what the custom used to be. Now, because China commercializes everything, the small pool is for a foot massage and the large and medium pools are for killing pigs. Yes, I did say killing pigs. Don’t ask me why. So while everyone else went into this village, Chelsie and I and a few other people chose to sit outside and wait. There were some dogs roaming around that were fun to take pictures of, one even begged us for some meat from the bamboo rice we got. 
Our group finished their little tour of the long hair village and we hopped on a different bus that was better equipped to go up the winding road to the top(ish) of the mountain. And quite the winding road it was. I had to close my eyes because I didn’t want to see how sharp the corners were. When we finally reached the top we headed into what was pretty much another “hey-lady” market. We walk walk walked up up up and got lunch at a restaurant that served local food. Just like all the food we’ve eaten here, it was delish. Then we had a couple hours to ourselves so Chelsie and I decided to do a little shopping and a little photographing and a good amount of sitting and waiting. 
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