China Highlights

I've just spent 10 incredible days in China. It was amazing and incredible. I saw three entirely different mountain ranges (guilin, hau shan, and the great wall)--all beautiful. I saw the many faces of China, a very interesting people, from southern Guangzhou to northern Beijing. Check out my journey on the globe or internet. This was my route. Phnom Penh - Guangzhou (airplane) - Guilin (train) - Yang Shuo - Guilin (bus) - Xi'an (train) - Mt. Hau Shan - Xi'an (bus) - Beijing (train) - Phnom Penh (airplane). It was amazing and eye-opening. It's a big World.






My favorite--in the courtyard of the Forbidden City, Beijing.



A man in the muslim quarter of Xi'an.



A guard in front of the Forbidden City, Beijing



A Mongolian peddler on the Great Wall. I bargained with her to let me take her picture and then bought her postcards--Y5 (65 cents).



Our boat driver on the Li Jiang (Li River) near Guilin en route to Yang Shuo.



On Mt. Hua Shan.



From the train window, Guanzhou to Guilin.



At the foot of the abrupt mountains of Yang Shuo after a morning of climbing with my Chinese climbing guide, Alex. (5.8,5.9,5.9 lead, 5.10a, 5.10b)



Sunset above Yang Shuo.



After taking a picture, this man wanted to see it. He was sitting under a wall on a pile of trash. He had food in his teeth and made sounds as he smiled. I showed him my camera then left. Then I stopped and went back to ask (with motions) if I could take his picture. He agreed and smiled. We clasped hands and I walked away, both of us beaming.



Fun on the Great Wall, Jinshanling to Simatai, near Beijing.

Moto?
On the way to the airport with my moto taxi driver, I asked him to stop at Phsar Mong Ang so I could get some bread to keep me alive in the vast unknown of China. I was a bit flustered from just waking up an hour later than planned, grabbing my stuff, and getting on the first moto at the corner. While the man I've bought from before was bagging my two baguettes I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. Then I gratefully took my bread and jumped on the nearest moto. Half asleep, I remember some chatter in Khmer. Evidently, I had gotten on the wrong moto. Ha ha. That was fun; a great way to start my trip. I got to the airport and checked in with plenty of time.

Implied Dialogue
I got a taxi after the Sparrow Quartet Concert; the subway had long since closed. I got in and together we figured out with my map how to get to where I wanted to go. After a few quiet moments of thinking and knowing he wouldn't understand, I said, "I just heard a really great concert!" He looked at me. I nodded, "Yeah, it was really good." It was silent again; I just had to tell him. And maybe he figured out what I meant.