Our good-bye dinner in Guilin (with lucky balls)
And below in front of Elephant Mountain
Thursday morning we were able to sleep in – only having to be ready downstairs at 10:00. We ate breakfast and then boarded our mini-bus for the one and one half hour drive back to Guilin. The road was lovely with endless small rice fields on each side. I noticed that few people in the farming area have cars. Rather most are on bicycles, tricycles, motorbikes, motorcycles or the ever-present 3 wheeled mini-trucks that those with the means drive. In Xi’an we used to see lots of these loud 3-stroke vehicles, but this year I notice far fewer. However in Yangshuo and Guilin there were more of these vehicles than any other, and in Yangshuo many had a kind of tractor or lawnmower-type engine mounted on the front of the cart with a belt that appears to provide the locomotion. As can be imagined they tend to be loud, but seemingly can carry heavy loads. (I learned yesterday that these vehicles cost only about 2000 yuan while a car costs at least 100,000…)
We arrived in Guilin for a visit to a local park where we took pictures of Elephant Mountain – some cliffs clearly resembling an elephant – complete with trunk. Then after lunch we another park before some time to shop. We made some inexpensive purchases and then took a long walk through yet one additional park where we saw a beautiful crystal bridge over a small lake, as well as a marble boat (for looks only). By that time it seemed that we were early so we sat along the lake and talked. Mrs. Fan and I spoke with our guide. We had learned earlier that she is of a member of a minority group as are a majority of the people in Guanxi Autonomous Region (a kind of province having more governmental rights than the others). We also heard that she is from a mountain village where she was one of 5 daughters. In spite of hard times her father knew that education was important so two of the girls graduated from the university. Our guide, Alice, has a degree in Business, and her sister is a doctor in the Army. Since they have been successful they paid for the education/marriage of their sisters and continue to support local girls so that they can get an education. (Alice’s family had the first television in the community in about 1995, so it became a kind of “movie theater” for the people.)
After our rest we had another excellent meal in a private room of a restaurant. Alice gave us each a kind of ball that brings good fortune and happiness, then accompanied us to the airport for our trip back to Xi’an. Our flight was once again on time and we arrived in Xi’an a bit before 11:00 p.m. All the kids were dropped off by 12:30 a.m. so we told them that they could start school on Friday at 10:00 (rather than 7:30). This was welcome news. However Friday everyone was still tired and sleepy – with Melissa able to sleep during break stretched out over two tables. Even the ping-pong was less enthusiastic. J However we all enjoyed the trip and appreciate the trouble the school and Mrs. Fan took to assure us a good experience!
We arrived in Guilin for a visit to a local park where we took pictures of Elephant Mountain – some cliffs clearly resembling an elephant – complete with trunk. Then after lunch we another park before some time to shop. We made some inexpensive purchases and then took a long walk through yet one additional park where we saw a beautiful crystal bridge over a small lake, as well as a marble boat (for looks only). By that time it seemed that we were early so we sat along the lake and talked. Mrs. Fan and I spoke with our guide. We had learned earlier that she is of a member of a minority group as are a majority of the people in Guanxi Autonomous Region (a kind of province having more governmental rights than the others). We also heard that she is from a mountain village where she was one of 5 daughters. In spite of hard times her father knew that education was important so two of the girls graduated from the university. Our guide, Alice, has a degree in Business, and her sister is a doctor in the Army. Since they have been successful they paid for the education/marriage of their sisters and continue to support local girls so that they can get an education. (Alice’s family had the first television in the community in about 1995, so it became a kind of “movie theater” for the people.)
After our rest we had another excellent meal in a private room of a restaurant. Alice gave us each a kind of ball that brings good fortune and happiness, then accompanied us to the airport for our trip back to Xi’an. Our flight was once again on time and we arrived in Xi’an a bit before 11:00 p.m. All the kids were dropped off by 12:30 a.m. so we told them that they could start school on Friday at 10:00 (rather than 7:30). This was welcome news. However Friday everyone was still tired and sleepy – with Melissa able to sleep during break stretched out over two tables. Even the ping-pong was less enthusiastic. J However we all enjoyed the trip and appreciate the trouble the school and Mrs. Fan took to assure us a good experience!
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