CHINA

‘This is like a hospital on wheels,’ I exclaimed, looking down the aisle of bunk beds that reminded me of military barracks with their crisp, tightly folded linen.

The majority of the buildings were concrete blocks with white tiled fronts and grey tile roofing. Wet, brick-strewn alleyways led us to our hotel at last.

Savannah and Bree exploring Yangshuo

“The volcano-like figures towering over us reinforced the fairy-tale-like setting that surrounded us.” – Yangshuo

Back roads led us deeper and deeper into the heart of the Yulong River Valley where we delighted in the river’s glistening waters.

Mom, Bree and Savannah in Yangshuo

Ammon our photo man

“I can’t believe you’re going to swim in that. How disgusting!” was Ammon’s first comment, “Cowabunga!!!” was Bree’s, and Mom offered a persuasive remark or two as she attempted to convince us to reconsider.

With no more light than what was provided by a dimly lit path and the headlamps on our hardhats, we approached the innards of the underworld.

I was elated by the dishes set before us, so full of new and exotic flavours, including my first taste of eggplant and that wonderful orange fruit, loquat, that is indigenous to Southeast China.

Yangshuo

“Totally unprepared, we screamed in unison as the whole front half of the raft dipped completely under the churning foam, soaking our sandalled feet before popping back up with the frothy water sloshing through the cracks.”

The blur began once more as we stepped out from the dark restaurant into the light and bicycled to the enchanted Moon Water Cave.

“…functional masterpiece of balance and harmony.” – Longji Rice Terrace

“Each bend took me deeper still into favourite, long-held fantasies.” – Longji

As we turned to leave, I heard “thank you, thank you, thank you” from all around me and I couldn’t help but smile and be glad we’d come. I knew there was nothing to be afraid of. Everyone was a new friend ready to meet and be made, with mutual learning experience for all.

I began to get nervous and the butterflies in my stomach took flight. I didn’t like school presentations at the best of times, and that was in my own schools, where I would generally be forgotten and overlooked.

“Asians and their table tennis!” Ammon laughed, recalling the many rambunctious matches he’d played with ESL students at home. But these were not the flimsy green tables with folding metal legs we were accustomed to using. Instead, theirs were just big blocks of concret. A line of stones gathered from the fields was piled across the middle and used as a net.

“Oh c’mon, Savannah. You don’t want to miss your first train ride,” Mom said. “Yes, actually I do. Very much so,” I told her bluntly. Savannah bottom, Bree top

The platform rumbled beneath me as the train drew near.

Stone Forrest

Bre taking a break

Stone Forrest

A face says a thousand words

A hand of card always helps the mood

Stone Forrest

Dali waited for us as if with open arms. Here we planned to take a well-earned rest.

A four-bed dorm that cost three dollars per person per night was home for the next four days. I walked in and collapsed on my bed and didn’t move.

Dali, road workers

I was finally allowed to soak up some of this beauty rather than watch it whiz by me on buses, trains, or bikes.

Lijang

The streets were nearly empty aside from a few local shoppers scattered along the way and a little crowd that had formed in the main square, where local women dressed in blue aprons and white vested costumes linked arms to dance and spin.

Lijang

I marvelled, as I looked across the narrow gap between towering cliff sides. A few horses were scattered about whenever our trekking trail opened into grassy fields.

During one of our hikes, Bree developed a nasty blister. Forced out of her stiff, new hiking boot, she started working on getting a callus under her foot, something she somehow didn’t seem to mind.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

The trail got narrower and narrower the higher we climbed.

Tea time Tiger Leaping Gorge

I readily conceded that the trail’s vistas were breathtaking.

Despite the gorge getting deeper and deeper, the white painted peaks never seemed to get any closer.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

“We’re going to be hiking pretty far to get a view of this place. Longji means Dragon’s Spine in Chinese,” Ammon said, sharing his facts for the day.

Largest sitting Buddha – Leshan

Emei Shan

“The trees glistened from the morning showers.” – Emei Shan

It was raining when we started off the second day, and after only an hour I collapsed. Bree shouted, “Timber!” as I dropped my walking stick and hit the ground. I didn’t care that it was muddy and cold – I just wanted to rest.

We listened as they repeated “Nanoo nanoo nee maa haaa” over and over again, and it was one of the most enchanting and wonderful sounds I’d ever heard. My reaction surprised me, as I would never before have understood its simple, calming beauty.

Being in a sitation where failing or giving up isn’t an option, you reach limits you didn’t think you could and begin to believe anything is possible.

A monk in the mist. – Emei Shan

Wenshu Temple Pagoda – Chengdu

Chendu – Panda Park

Panda bear

Songpan

and also went on a trek into the mountains on horseback.

… or how we’d used horse saddles for pillows…

…or how our Chinese cowboy guides went into the woods to cut down trees to build our tents and fashioned beds out of evergreen boughs….

Camping

….and also went on a trek into the mountains on horseback.

I’d seen snow falling in June and ridden up 4,000m (13,123ft) on horseback, even higher than when I went skydiving when I was thirteen years old!

Great scenery

But I knew saying that would never give her the feeling in your lungs as you gasp for air that seems not to be there…

Yangtze River Cruise

Fengdu Ghost City

Gorgeous gardinia

Fengdu Ghost City

Fengdu Ghost City on the river

“Careful what you wish for,” Mom cautioned wisely.

Baby chicks for lunch?

3 gorges Yangtzi River

3 gorges Jangzte River

Some of the Buddhas are huge, like the one on the front of this card. I’m looking at it right now, actually.

Xian hotel

Xi’an

Xi’an shopping

I watched as a woman examined a sack of four big frogs, put it back down, and then picked up the next one, comparing their relative size. Their springy feet hung awkwardly through the open spaces in the woven sacks.

Cantaloupe on a stick

They are 2,000 years old and it took thousands of people 40 years to complete.

I was staring out at the Great Wall of China at last. It slithered like a centipede across the hilly horizon, and I found myself trying to imagine all that had gone on over the years along its path.

All the land around me exuded history, and my head ached from the strain of trying to picture all those men working so hard and giving their lives to build it over the centuries.

“In five hours, we’d conquered only ten of the Wall’s 6,400km, and it really helped put things into perspective.” Great Wall of China

Despite his fear of heights, we successfully combined our female power and overruled our leader.

I was enjoying hearing nothing but the soft, zipper-like sound of metal scraping cable above my head

“I can’t believe my whole birthday has to be spent on trains and buses!” Bree exclaimed. “Yep, eight hours on the bus followed by a thirteen-hour train ride. I can’t think of a better way to spend a birthday!” Ammon said, ever the brat.

Stepping into the gardens surrounding the Temple of Heaven, Mom filled in for our tour guide, “So, this temple was built in the fifteenth century.”

Hostel in Beijing

The whole complex had shiny, orange-roofed buildings and many big, open courtyards.

Every day that we got closer to Tiananmen Square and Mao, I felt myself becoming more and more anxious. I couldn’t believe I was really getting excited about this.