China — Day 9: June 2019

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Today we took a “side trip” from Guilin to Yangshuo, about a 90 minute drive from the city center. The rivers were all high from the recent rains but our guides were able to find us a place that was still open for the bamboo rafting we had been hoping for. It was a lot of fun! We enjoyed seeing the beautiful mountains and going down the waterfall over the dam — and up the “escalator” on the raft too! The kids especially enjoyed getting to “help” paddle.

After lunch we walked through the town to a local restaurant for a cooking class. While all 3 kids started out cooking, Dad ended up doing all of the work by the end (Han got bored, Brynn’s eyes were burning from the garlic/onions, and Esme got a bit freaked out by the splattering oil). The food was good, though! This was our last meal with our tour group; after today, everyone split up to either go home, continue their travel, or visit their orphanage/”home” province.

After a bit of shopping (of course!), Leslie and the kids went back to the hotel and Jeff and Mimi went on a tour of a nearby farming village. It was a stark contrast to the urban commercialism we’ve seen through most of our trip, and even the shops in Yangshuo not too far away. We saw farmers tending to their crops including using a water buffalo (and an “iron buffalo” machine) to prepare the fields. The most eye-opening part was visiting the house of one older farming couple. They showed how they use (manual) machines to make soybean milk and separate the rice from the stalks. Their house was fairly humble (though they do have TV) — from the “air conditioning” (a basket of fans for visitors to use) to the beds that were basically wooden planks on sawhorses to the kitchen out back. They were very friendly and welcoming, but it was an impactful visit for all of us.

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