Rafting, cycling and a nuclear scientist

Big day out

Today I have a cycle and rafting combo trip organised.  The man that sold it to me said I’d start by getting on a bus with the bike to an out-of-town point before rafting and cycling back.  After breakfast I picked up my mountain bike (EUR1 per day) and cycled to the bus station with the bike-shop man.  He helped me on to the bus, except that it was only a minibus.  I imagined the bike would go “on” the bus as in on the roof.  But it went “in” the minibus aisle blocking three rows of seats.

I didn’t think the bike in the aisle  was a good idea but he said it was perfectly normal.  Even though I had to pay one fare for the bike (and one for myself) I was rather embarassed by the inconvenience I had caused … the bike was obstructing three rows of seats.  But people here are tolerant (whereas in the West people are considerate instead).

Forty minutes later I hopped off and was met by my pre-arranged boatman who took me on a 1.5 hour punt on a bamboo raft (with my bike on board).  The shallow river is dammed up in many places along the way, with drops of about 1 metre.

Being the dry season, there were times when I had to hop off while the boatman push the boat down to the next level.  At other times we were able to just glide down to the next level in a few spots.  Like a mild version of white water rafting.  Yee ha!   It wasn’t the tranquil experience I had expected.  It did make me appreciate the sedate moments more though, where there were very nice reflections of the mountains in the clear river water.

When my river ride finished, I cycled back to town along tracks in the rice paddies and past small villages.  It was very pretty with the limestone hills everywhere.  Somehow everything seems prettier from a bike.  I can now understand why people cycle through Vietnam or Sumatra.

I’m now updating this blog in an internet cafe the size of over 10 school classrooms … it has about 200 computers and is not large by Chinese standards.  I guess not many people have computers at home yet.

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Impressions Liu San Jie

In the evening, I went to “Impressions Liu San Jie” on a perfect full moon night.  It was the most amazing show I’ve ever seen in my life.  You could call this a light show or a stage show but it is neither. It is a love story and the stage for this spectacular show with a cast of 600 people is … the mighty river and both its banks. The backdrop is the karst peaks and they are lit up by coloured lights.

The 600 people sing and dance with flame-torches, traditional costumes and illuminated costumes (bulbs) together with ducks, comorants, water buffalos. All this takes place on the river on rafts, movable gangways and also on the banks. There is some screechy Chinese Opera style music but the rest is more contemporary.  It is amazing beyond words.

The ticket price is CNY188 officially but touts and agents typically get you in for CNY130-150 (about EUR15, which is a fortune in China) sometimes including transport. But as a visitor you must see it if within your budget.

As for the story … I wasn’t any clearer after the show except that it is a love story.  You can read more about it on Wikipedia.

I met a French family in the transport there and helped them a little with interpretation and communication.  We ended up having dinner together and them paying for it.  That was a very kind gesture.  They obviously hadn’t taken offence at my attempt at French … which is limited to things I do to mock my French friends:  wee wee, ppptt, ppffft and “what a piiteee!”  One of the brothers is a nuclear scientist working for a French company but deployed to the USA.