Feet are Fish Food.

The long awaited two week vacation is finally here. I know it sounds like all I do is travel around China, but that's because that is what I do when I'm not teaching. Hard life, I know. We had been sorting out hostels, and flights, and guides, and entrance fees for ages and now the wait was over. A quick flight from Nanjing to Guilin, and I was more than ready to
 start our southern China adventures. Technically, the adventure really started on the plane because China plays these awesome game shows as flight entertainment, so there's that.


We first flew into Guilin at night, giving us the chance to explore the city in the daylight the next morning. There's really nothing more exciting then flying into a new city at night then seeing the streets when you wake up. The brightly neon characters that light up various stores and hotels are now eclipsed by the Dr. Seuss mountains that peak out between buildings. The streets were lined with late start vendors selling black tea eggs and steamed buns, while sleepy shops were yet to open. A walk over a bridge spanning to Li river opened up a view of iconic mountains that frame the city, but the Seven Star Scenic park situation at the end of the bridge was equally fantastic. A huge walkway lines with trees that were all brightly painted with different animals greeted you; everything from pandas, dragons, snails, sea horses, seals...you name it, and it was artfully painted directly onto the trees. We set out to wandering the whole park and found some surprises.

After deciding to head to the scenic outlook, we checked out a set of stairs to see why people were crowded around...the answer? Monkeys. Monkeys just chilling on railways, monkeys hanging out in trees, and monkeys who had claimed a Buddhist worship site in the mountainside as home. Other spectators tossed peanuts, letting the monkey's lazily catch them and shove them greedily in their mouths, while we opted to hand feed the munchie monkeys carrots and apples.  Within 5 minute or so the trees began to shake and more monkeys came out from the leafy forest. It went from cute to pretty frightening; those monkeys get aggressive when the sunflower seeds run out. 


Additional highlights from day one also included hiking around Elephant Trunk Hill, causing a crowd to form around a group of Americans who insisted on making elephant sounds in front of Elephant Trunk hill, and a fabulous lunch. I've realized that money can't buy happiness but food pretty much can. The streets outside the park were lined with vendors and tiny restaurants where you could sit on wooden stools and watch men play Chinese Chess or be mesmerized by the fruit vendors who artfully cut pineapple into intricately carved halves to be sold on sticks. I was playing it a bit safe by ordering what I thought were fried noodles like a chow mien but it ended up receiving long thin noodles in a smooth peanut sauce, topped with scallions. What a happy coincidence, because I could bathe in that peanut sauce and die happy.  A man at the table next to us was delicately folding dumplings with the most beautifully twisted top which soon became the second course while fresh half pineapple made the ideal dessert. Toss in the fact all this cost about 2$ US, and I'm a happy camper. There were *others* that were freaked out that the restaurant we ate at received a "C" grade rating for food safety or what-not, but considering what was eaten for dinner, that little fit becomes hilarious. 

Elephant Trunk Hill, and the Asian pose to match 

After leaving the park, we accidentally we found this market street where a very nice man named Robert wanted to show us his artwork which was gorgeous. I adore those calligraphy style prints of bamboos, rice terraces, and koi fish. The real treat was a little tea ceremony he graciously invited us to, where the Osmanthus tea specific to Guilin was the perfect appetizer to our dinner at the night markets. Robert then pointed us towards the foodie Mecca. The narrow side streets are crammed with stands selling meat on sticks, fried corn, vegetables swimming in spicy sauces, crawfish piled high onto platers, and bamboo steamers stacked too high were filled with every kind of dumpling you could imagine. Dinner was a smorgasbord of tasting anything I could get my hands on: spicy peanut and sesame seasoned potatoes, a crunchy and chewy pita bread liberally smeared with ketchup or some other tangy sweet sauce, and a container (or two) of golden potstickers. The atmosphere was so fun; handing over colorful bills and seeing your food being fried up right in front of your eyes while steam clouded your view of what the vendor across the way was making. The FDA takes all the fun out of food places like this, but I guess they had their reasons. I didn't get sick from anything I ate, but I could have done without seeing the well fed rats that scampered between piles of discarded skewers and styrofoam. Yum. 

This bamboo bridge said no more than 15 people so naturally entire tour groups traversed the shaky structure. 

Saturday was spent meandering the city, but Sunday we had more of a plan. We had signed up to go with a Chinese tour guide to the Longji rice terrance which was an excellent move because I can't understand any Chinese and our guide decided to serenade us partway through the two hour drive. Neat. I didn't need to speak Chinese to see the excessively green mountainsides blur past as the small shuttle hugged hairpin turns, letting scenes from village life whiz by: women washing vegetables from a metal bin and setting out cuts of meat straight on wooden tables to sit in the sun. 

From left to right: tea, fish, tea.

The scenery changes quickly here, with clouds of mist so think you can't see 20 feet in front of you that will suddenly shift to reveals a jaw dropping view in hues of green. We opted to ride the cable car up to the rice terraces which was the best decision of the day: the high viewpoint allowed us to see the sprawling stacks of rice terraces one on top of another. The large pavilion and walkway allowed a stationary view that was hard to really comprehend. The terraces go on seemingly forever which meant spending a lot of time on up of the mountain trying to take it all in. Luckily, a man sells whole passion fruits that are the ideal rice terrace snack. Additional vendors sell crystallized honey (complete with whole combs and buzzing bees) which is delightful when crumbled on the passion fruit. We did, however, have to budget our time because we opted to hike down the terraces to get a closer view. The ground was slippery but the views were stellar. 

(Unreal).

A very beautiful bus ride got us back to the city, where dinner was at our favorite food street. The rat sightings didn't dissuade us from those fried potatoes. Plus, the night's entertainment was just one stop over from the food stands. Dubbed "kissing fish", putting your feet into a tank of fish that are frantically trying to suck the dead skin off your toes is a bit daunting. While cultural, this is not for the ticklish.  There was lots of squirming and squealing because fish were eating the skin off your feet! A mere $3 gets you 20 full minutes of uncomfortable nibbling, though the parlor's sign advertised that "kissing fish will bring you joy, happiness and peace". Ironic. 

To top the night off, be sure to snag a whole mango sliced into long strips before walking the boardwalk to see the Sun and Moon Pagodas...It helps you take your mind off the kissing fish.