A Postcard in Words

Ok, so my last entry was long, but rushed. This is probably going to be another long one, just to throw that out there. Where did I leave off? After the fun river rafting down the Yulong (Green Dragon) River and the water show we went to bed to prepare for the mud cave diving. The next morning we woke up and ate another great breakfast. Our group walked down to the bike rental shop and got our bikes. They weren't the best quality, but a bike is a bike. We started off out of town and soon were biking our way through rice fields and beautiful mountains. The mountains, I've learned, are karst topography, or karst mountains. These weathered limestone formations are formed from fossilized prehistoric sea floor sediments, brought to the surface by geological upheavals. The exposed limestone is then eroded by rain causing the mountains to form. Underground water flows and subterranean rivers carve out long, interlinked caverns which have beautiful and interesting rock formations. The bike ride through the karst was amazing. The villages we passed through were small and isolated. The old people worked in the fields, the water buffalo grazed alongside the road and the fog began to fade away as the sun emerged. The bike ride was a decent length but we made it to the cave. This is where the fun began.



Having been to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, I knew what it's like to be in a cave. Being the US, touching formations is strictly prohibited. But in China...rules do not apply. Actually, the rule should be touch, explore, and climb! We began our decent to the mud cave by climbing in and out of stalagmites. We turned around corners, into smaller chambers, crouching through tunnels and emerging into larger rooms. Sometimes we descended by steep metal stairs into a lower chamber and other times we would use ropes to climb up steep inclines. The trail was dimly lit and the upper regions of the larger rooms disappeared in the darkness. We explored some rooms and walked around the caves before going the mud cave. There were two ways to enter the trail to the mud cave, we could turn back and retrace our steps, or we could get on our stomachs and army crawl through a crevice no taller than a half meter. Everyone joked about the crevice. It was a really tight squeeze for some, but mostly it was a mental obstacle. Most people freaked out when they got their body in and had to army crawl out. It wasn't longer then 8 feet but to some I'm sure it felt like a mile. When we arrived at the mud cave the water was cold, but before we knew it we were knee deep in murky mud. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much. Picking up oozing globs of mud and slathering it on my shoulders and head was something I haven't done since the preschool playground. I had a blast. Once the relaxation got boring we of course had to make things interesting. People were falling into the mud, pushing each other around, and slinging mud across the cave. At one point it was a free for all and everyone was defending their vision. Mud was flying in front of your face, blobs were hitting me in the ears and I could barely open my eyes. It was too much fun. On the way out, our mud began to dry and a huge drop of mud fell from my forehead and landed right in my eye. Lucky for me, someone forgot their water bottle at the mud cave so my friend poured it in my eye to wash out the mud. At the cave entrance there were a few ice cold showers to wash ourselves off in and everyone who wore white into the cave came out with camel colored swim suits.

The night of the mud caves was a night to remember. The other group was in town so everyone had a huge feast and went out to a local bar for pool, drinks, and some much needed catching up. It was a little too much fun for most of us because the next morning's 7 AM wake up call woke all of us up on the wrong side of the bed. We began the next day with hours and hours of driving. Not any driving. Mountain driving. The scenery was beautiful, but the rain began to pour and made the bus humid. The mountain driving was curvy and winding, up long narrow dirt roads. The potholes and giant rocks made me think that within no time we were going to be pushing the bus out of a muddy mess. This didn't help for people's hang overs and reluctant to say there were quite a few students wishing that they hadn't stayed out so late and drank so much. I wasn't in too bad of shape and I'm not just saying that to say that, I was just tired. When we finally got to our village, Xiaozhai, the rain had lulled to a drizzle. Because of the rain, the hike to the village school was optional. As much as I wanted to sleep, I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I headed off for the hike.

This was a great scenic hike. Two hours up and over the rice terraces. The clouds covered the peaks of the lush green mountain peaks and the terraces were full of water that reflected the grey overcast sky. The Yao people are an ethnic group in Southwest China. They are mostly an agricultural community relying on hunting, fishing, and rice cultivation. They are especially skilled in embroidery, weaving, and dying. The women traditionally keep their hair long as a sign of beauty, and by long I mean to the floor. Besides the hair on their head, they also keep every strand that falls out. They comb their hair every morning to keep tidy. The rice terraces took the local Zhuang and Yao people over 650 years to complete and they were awesome. I wish the weather had been better but I can take what I get.

When we arrived at the school, I was a little bummed to find out that most of the children were sent home because of the rain. There were a few kids left to play with us and all of us had a blast playing basketball and soccer and giving them gifts. Jimmy had a great time and he really did well with the kids. They loved him the most because he picked them up and twirled them around. He even let the kids shoot hoops from his shoulders. We walked back to the village and relaxed. We were all really tired. I ate dinner and waited for the night time village party. Around 8 pm, the entire village gathered in the center of town and lit a bonfire. The kids were out in full force and I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to let my inner child run free. These kids were monkeys. Before I knew it, we were in a vicious tickle fight and I was being attacked on all sides. The laughing children were climbing up my side, hanging on my arms and jumping on my back. At one point in time I had at least five children on me. One on my right arm, two on my back, one hanging on my left leg and another in front of me. I wasn't about to lose this war though. I called in reinforcements and with some help (my other friends were being attacked too at the same time) we managed to turn the tables. It was easy to pick one up and tickle them so much that they were nearly squirming out of my hands. I had a blast. I gave one boy a red hat I had bought in town and he wore it all night long. When it came time to watch the talent show, he climbed on my back and together we watched the show. After the show, the children showed us their school room. I picked up my kid's Chinese textbook and couldn't even read it. He was only 10 years old, but he for sure knew a whole lot more Chinese than I did. I thought it was amazing.

When it was time to go to bed, we departed from the village center and retired to our guest house. Everyone was exhausted and the night was dead silent by 11 pm. The next morning I woke up early to the sound of rain pattering on the rooftops of nearby houses. The cool morning breeze had made its way into our non-heated guest house and the air was chilly. I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it up for the day hike, so I went back to bed in the comfort of the warm blankets. I was happy to hear that the day hike was cancelled and we were leaving early to go to the hot springs hotel. We spent the rest of the morning, and almost all afternoon weaseling out of the village. The roads were even more treacherous than the day before but we finally made it.

The hot springs were amazing. It was a perfect way to end our trip. After the past couple days of partying, hiking, and physical activity we were ready to relax. The hot springs were natural and beautiful. Tucked away in between to mountain slopes, the hot springs ranged in temperature from 30°C to 50°C. 50°C is over 100°F and I could barely dip my feet in the 45°C pool without feeling a burning sensation on the bottom of my feet. The 45°C pool was incredibly hot and made your skin red after you pulled it out, I couldn't imagine what a dip in the 50°C pool would do to you. We all hung out for a few hours in the 42°C pool and took a dip in the medicine bath, which had large natural tea bags floating in the water. After dinner, everyone lined up for massages. They had a large array of massages ranging from Traditional Chinese Massage, Thai Massages, Korean Massages, and even an special Ovary Massage for the ladies.

The next day was the same old same old. We got the airport, took a plane back to Beijing, and here I am. I finally got internet in my room, so I should be able to post more often and get things done faster, but no promises. I have to go to class now but I'll post more later and the pictures are coming up.