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September 02, 2005
Poetry on Moon Hill
(Day 198) One of the peaks in Guilin is inscribed with the following: Guilin's scenery surpasses all. Some time later, someone came up with the second line to the verse: Yangshuo's scenery surpasses Guilin's. From what I saw during my group tour the day before, I can't disagree. A quiet town, no shopping malls, set amongst a beautiful backdrop... I just had to go back.
Apart from my never ending quest for photo ops, I had other reasons for returning, all of which could be lumped under the pretext of convenience. While in Guilin, I found it impossible to update my blog. Not that there weren't internet cafes - I stumbled upon at least five - but none of them were outfitted with floppy drives, USB ports, or laptop friendly facilities. They were designed to cater to internet gaming, a huge fad in China, and not blog crack manufacturing. You wouldn't expect a small town like Yangshuo, with only a couple main streets, to be have state of the art internet capabilities, unless one of them was Xi Jie, aka 'Foreigner Street'. A miniature Khao San Rd, lined with souvenirs stands, massage parlors, and restaurants selling western food, it felt good to know I could get a pizza if I wanted.
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An Australian themed bar advertised free wireless, so I made it my first stop after finding a room. I think I could've sat there all day, if it weren't for the nagging voice in my head telling me to go out and do something. You didn't come halfway around the world to chat with friends online, it kept saying. Plus, it was a nice day out, perfect for cycling, which is exactly what I decided to do.
"[Would you like a guide?]" people kept asking me, as I gave my bike a test drive. I declined them all. I wasn't planning on getting off the beaten track today, and was sure I could find my way.
The chinese group tour had taken me to many of the attractions already, most of which I found to be overrated tourist traps. The one sight that had actually looked interesting, Moon Hill, we spent the least amount of time at. Only enough time to snap a quick photo. I had read that it's possible to climb to the summit, an ascent that looked really daunting from the bottom. Elderly women were everywhere, carrying little coolers and trying to sell me drinks. I kind of took pity on them, buying a couple bottles for five yuan apiece (US$1 = 8 yuan), even though I knew I could get them back in town for only two yuan.
In return, they gave me some useful tips, such as keeping to the right whenever there was a fork in the road. I reached a plateau, where moon crescent formed a picturesque frame for the peaks in the distance. I toasted myself for making it this far, then continued up a smaller path until I was actually on top of the arch. Taking care not to accidently fall over the precipitous edge, I allowed myself to be mesmerized by the view.
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My bike didn't need to be returned for another few hours, so I found a place to sit down and unwind. No one else made the ascent, and sitting alone, overlooking the rice paddies below, I felt like I should be composing poems or something. Good poetry requires inspiration, and I probably would've done better had my bottle been filled with wine instead of water, but I managed to come up with something anyways:
From atop Moon Hill mountain,
I gaze across the remarkable landscape,
Marveling at my incredible luck.
A day spent amongst majestic peaks,
Soothed by a refreshing breeze,
Then returning home to eat beer duck.
Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!
Posted by markyiin at September 2, 2005 09:27 PM
Comments
Looking forward, Tibet looks like a really expensive place to get to. So I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it there. For now, I've decided to just keep going west, and see if any cheaper alternatives pop up.
Paul: Yeah, like I mentioned, I'm finding it not easy to blog here. I'm hoping it wont be like this everywhere in China.
Anna: Oops, yeah, I forgot to put the conversion rate down on some of the posts.
Ray: Thanks :)
z0mb13: I think Huangshan is near shanghai? I looked it up, and it looks beautiful. I'll make the effort to get there!
matt: two weeks means 14 days of entries... of course you'll fall behind!
Tommy: Sing was camera shy.
Duy: If one person decides to travel because of me, I'll feel as if this entire blog has been worth it!
Posted by: markyiin at September 2, 2005 09:54 PM
Hows the funds coming along ??
Posted by: Anonymous at September 3, 2005 01:56 AM
Sorry that was me asking about your funds.
Posted by: Chung at September 3, 2005 01:57 AM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA I see you're very fond of that new thermos of yours, eh? LOL It's great to see that you've finally succumbed to buying at least one souvenir. By the way, the view looks breath-taking. I think I could've composed a few pieces there myself. -=oD -GEM
Posted by: GEM at September 3, 2005 05:44 AM
i just spent a while catching up on all your posts, and it's really great that you're enjoying yourself over there. i love places like that, with all the breath-taking views that you've been experiencing - it's always great to find inspiration to write something. i didn't realize that you wrote poetry! is that a new hobby, or have you been doing that for a while now?
it's also great that you're experiencing all these new foods from all over. of all the places you've visited so far, which place had the best food in your opinion?
Posted by: tree at September 4, 2005 12:52 AM
off to a new place tonight. who knows where i'll find convenient internet access next.
chung: have roughly 40% of my original funds remaining.
tree: i dont write poetry, that's just something i pulled out of my ass :P best food? northern thailand has the best food i think.
Posted by: markyiin at September 4, 2005 03:01 AM
7 months, 60%...pretty decent.
Although I imagined if you decided to go to Europe, it'll be more expensive than Asia.
Posted by: Chung at September 4, 2005 03:16 AM
that's a great trick then - pulling poetry outta ur ass =P who knows? maybe you'll be more inspired as the trip wears on and you'll write more.
northern thailand, huh? what makes it so good? do they use certain ingredients to make things taste better, or what? i'm trying to learn to cook new things and so far i've been limited to chinese, mexican, and italian =P
Posted by: tree at September 4, 2005 11:58 AM
Hey what kind of travel pack are you using? Looks like an Eagle Creek? Do you wish you got a bigger one or a smaller one? I'm planning a RTW myself and wondering what size pack to get, thanks!
Posted by: DaveCSparty at September 4, 2005 01:08 PM
I am curious about the coverage of the Hurricane over there. Did the tragedy in New Orleans make the news?
Posted by: Tony at September 5, 2005 08:56 AM
i agree with you that you should have wine in stead of water in that bottle. Wish i can be there in the near future and carry a bottle of good wine with me ascending to the top of that Moon Hill, but doubt i can pull something good as yours out of my ass. :) cheers!
Posted by: Frank at September 5, 2005 01:07 PM
haha, just my luck, i find an internet cafe that looks like it'll take floppy disks, and the power goes out. hope it'll be back by tomorrow.
Posted by: markyiin at September 6, 2005 09:52 AM