a trip to nan kun mountain
I have been enjoying a much needed vacation this week. I went into it with no plans whatsoever for what I would do or where I would go. Now, I can just hear you saying, "but, Maria! This is your first of only three vacations all year! Why didn't you go to Tibet? Why didn't you go to Cambodia or Laos? Why didn't you go to Thailand???". Well, I didn't go anywhere super-exciting like that because up until the day before the break I didn't have a passport. My beloved key to the rest of the East-Asian world was in the hands of the district government until further notice (I was getting my residence visa). I truly had no wish to gamble on purchasing a ticket to some dreamy far-off destination with no way of knowing if I'd actually be able to go.
And so when I, at long last, had my passport in my hand, I had no where to go. But I was OK with that. A relaxing, unhurried week in Shenzhen did not sound entirely unappealing. I could write, read, explore and sleep. Nope, it didn't sound bad at all.
It was not, however, an unpleasant surprise when Kathy asked me to join her on a trip. Just a two day tour of a mountainous area around three hours away. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to see more of the Guangdong Province and, of course, the opportunity of travelling with Chinese friends.
The next morning we - that is, Kathy, her mom, her boyfriend, his friend and I - found ourselves on a bus headed to the mountains near Huizhou. Incidentally, I find it amusing that my being the only Westerner on a bus full of Chinese people does nothing to phase me now. One really does get used to being "different".
The tour itself was, admittedly, not terribly fascinating. There were many beautiful views of beautiful mountains, but it was poorly executed. Kathy and her boyfriend, Jackie apologized profusely for how unorganized and uninteresting it was. It was unnecessary, because I was having a grand old time.
The trip gave me glimpse of "country life". We passed through several mountain villages that were profiting modestly from the tourism we brought. The towns themselves had character. They were far from picturesque, but one difinitely could not say the same about the view that came with them. The simple fact that the mountains were covered in bamboo was terribly exciting to me. Travellers, for some reason, love to see a cliché confirmed and if bamboo covered mountains doesn't confirm at least one cliché about China, I don't know what does. The child in me kept hoping to see a panda munching on a stalk of bamboo, but no such luck.
Highlights of the tour included a bamboo raft ride (!!!) and a super-awesome Qing dynasty watchtower and village. All in all, I had a wonderful time.
And so when I, at long last, had my passport in my hand, I had no where to go. But I was OK with that. A relaxing, unhurried week in Shenzhen did not sound entirely unappealing. I could write, read, explore and sleep. Nope, it didn't sound bad at all.
It was not, however, an unpleasant surprise when Kathy asked me to join her on a trip. Just a two day tour of a mountainous area around three hours away. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to see more of the Guangdong Province and, of course, the opportunity of travelling with Chinese friends.
The next morning we - that is, Kathy, her mom, her boyfriend, his friend and I - found ourselves on a bus headed to the mountains near Huizhou. Incidentally, I find it amusing that my being the only Westerner on a bus full of Chinese people does nothing to phase me now. One really does get used to being "different".
The tour itself was, admittedly, not terribly fascinating. There were many beautiful views of beautiful mountains, but it was poorly executed. Kathy and her boyfriend, Jackie apologized profusely for how unorganized and uninteresting it was. It was unnecessary, because I was having a grand old time.
The trip gave me glimpse of "country life". We passed through several mountain villages that were profiting modestly from the tourism we brought. The towns themselves had character. They were far from picturesque, but one difinitely could not say the same about the view that came with them. The simple fact that the mountains were covered in bamboo was terribly exciting to me. Travellers, for some reason, love to see a cliché confirmed and if bamboo covered mountains doesn't confirm at least one cliché about China, I don't know what does. The child in me kept hoping to see a panda munching on a stalk of bamboo, but no such luck.
Highlights of the tour included a bamboo raft ride (!!!) and a super-awesome Qing dynasty watchtower and village. All in all, I had a wonderful time.
cli·ché - n. 1. a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox. 2. (in art, literature, drama, etc.) a trite or hackneyed plot, character development, use of color, musical expression, etc. 3. anything that has become trite or commonplace through overuse. 4. British Printing. a. a stereotype or electrotype plate. b. a reproduction made in a like manner. - adj. 5. trite; hackneyed; stereotyped; clichéd.
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