Another early start. We jumped in the car with Chrystal and our driver and headed for Longsheng Autonomous County to see the terraced rice paddies. After four hours we arrived. The drive was scenic and we got to see a good bit of rural life in China by watching the road side. Oranges and grapefruit were in season and abundantly available in roadside stands. We purchased oranges for 3¥ in a many places. They were scrumptious.
We arrived at Longsheng Autonomous County around 11:30. Crystal bought our tickets and then our driver expertly transported us up a narrow winding road to reach the start of our hike to see the terraced rice paddies of Longji. Its like one giant flea market all the way to the top of the mountain. About thirty minutes into the hike we stopped for a yummy lunch. We sat on the deck and the sun graced us with her presence. We laughed, ate, took pictures and generally enjoyed the moment. Once we were stuffed, we struck off for the top of the mountain.
The local people come from two minorities; Zhuang and Yao people. Their facial features are significantly different from Chinese and they are much shorter people. At one time I am sure the were nothing but hand made items on the gauntlet of merchants, today, not so much. The food was authentic and clearly made there. The smoked ducks were something to see! Other than that, it seems that everything is mass produced in China and sent to where they think tourists will buy. The saddest type of merchandise from my perspective was the selling of Indian scarfs as if they were local. That said, the silver was excellent quality and hand made there on the mountain.
We came down off the mountain around 3 pm prepared for the long ride back to Guilin and the airport. We asked to stop off at a pearl store and Crystal delivered.
After that back to the airport, a quick meal of tomato and egg soup, wiener schnitzel, fried rice. The incoming flight to Beijing arrived late, but somehow we managed to take off on time. We landed on a Beijing 3 hours later and taxied for literally 30 minutes!! We exited onto the Tarmac where busses transported us to baggage claim. The only good news is that the luggage came quickly.
We were exhausted and wanted the three hours of sleep we thought we were getting...not to be. The only negative experience we had in China happened on this night. Our hotel was quite close, but because we got in so late there was no shuttle. No problem we thought...grab a cab and be at the hotel 10 minutes later. We told the taxi minders where we wanted to go. The first cabbie refused. So they sent us to a mini van. The fare should be about 18 RMB or about $3. The minivan driver wanted 400¥!! No way! We jumped out and went back to the taxi minder.
She sent us to another cab. The cabbie proceeded to have a temper tantrum. He used every excuse he could find to try to get out of taking us to the hotel. Finally after about 10 minutes of the tirade, we jumped in the cab. He proceeded to drive about 15 mph, trying to drive the fare up. We finally arrived at the hotel around 1 AM. Oh well...our room was waiting and we knew the beds were very comfy because we had stayed at this hotel on the way in.
We got our keys and headed to the 9th floor. We open the door to a suite and the bedroom is on he 2nd floor! All we wanted was to sleep for what was now 2 hours...so dreamland. The alarm went off at 3 AM. Yikes! To the airport with a flawless departure.
Ahhhh. We will miss China, the food, the people, and the magnificent scenery. John is now a chopstick pro and even a connoisseur. He's not into the wooden sticks, only the good ones!
Enjoy!
Cheri & John
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