As we headed out of Yangshuo on our bikes we weren't exactly sure how to get out of town and on to the dirt road that would take us into the back country. We had pulled over on the side of the road in the middle of town and were studying the map when this nice Chinese guy stopped and began to get involved in our conversation. He told Eric that he lived up where we were trying to go and he was headed home right then so we could follow him. Eric told him that we weren't going to pay him; that we didn't need a guide; that we really did know where we were going but he insisted and began to ride along with us. He just kept trying to be involved and whenever we stopped, he stopped and waited for us to start up again. Each time Eric reminded him that we didn't need a guide.
At one point we took off the main road and rode through rice paddies and farms and we were gone about 45 minutes. We had actually forgotten about him but when we got back to the main road... there he was... waiting. We told him we didn't think we were going to ride as far as his village so he began to tell us about an ancient village that was 400 years old that he wanted to show us. So we agreed to follow him but still, we weren't going to pay him to show us. We pedaled and pedaled and it didn't seem to be getting any closer... we thought he was maybe just coaxing us closer to his bamboo rafts so he'd get our business when we floated back down the river. But finally we came to this really old village that in some places just looked like a pile of rubble. There were Chinese men sitting at the front entrance and invited us to just wander around inside and there were even 3 or 4 women with tables of souvinoirs for sale.
Turns out this was the village where one of Ghangis Chan's generals lived. It was not very lush accommadations. Maybe back then it would have been considered top notch but it was pretty austere. We were most surprised to realize that many people still lived here -- mostly old people and really young children. Men or women who would have been "of working age" had all left the village to work in the bigger cities where they could actually earn a living.
1 comment:
This is the most amazing trip I've ever heard about. I even recorded some boring documentary about China. Then I remembered I didn't even go on the trip to China so I'm not obligated to watch. I'll just read your blog.
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