Domestic air travel in China

I know, I know- I've been slacking on the blog. Thanks for the reminder Grandma! Anyway, I've been meaning to blog about this for a long time- domestic air travel within China. It is yet another culturally eye opening experience for most Westerners. Everything starts off innocently enough. Very routine- get in line to check in, check your bags, go through security. But then the fun begins. It usually goes something like this: Boarding announcement is made and there is a mad rush to the boarding doors. Sometimes, on a good day, a line will form but inevitably, several people will pretend that there is no line and just cut in front of everyone else. At the gate, not one but two airline employees will check your boarding pass. Then you are ushered onto a waiting bus to go out to your plane. Again, the usual China "area cram" ensues with as many people as possible being loaded onto the bus. Bus drives to plane. Bus doors open and there is a literal stampede to get to the plane. Come on people- everyone has a seat assigned- no need to push! At this point, there is no chance of a line, just a scrum of people fighting to get up the steps onto the plane. The group is held up by not one but two airline employees who once AGAIN check your boarding pass. If you are keeping count- that's four people who have now checked your boarding pass (I am convinced this goes back to the communist principle that everyone needs a job...but I digress).
Ok, on the plane now. If you have an aisle seat, the person in the window seat will not ask you to get up when they get into the row, they will simply climb over you. I am not making this stuff up, I swear! From here, it's pretty much normal except that there is often someone who gets up to go to the bathroom as we are taxing down the runway for take off. Oh, and also normally someone who tries to sneak a cigarette during the flight. And then you have the people who let their kids play video games at full volume with no headphones. And the TV monitors that come down from the ceiling have NO volume control so unless you have your ipod, you are forced to listen to a bunch of very annoying Chinese programming blasting during the entire flight.
And let's not forget about the guy in the next row who keeps hocking spit balls into a plastic bag (better than on the floor, I guess).
Finally, we descend for landing. Once again, someone will get up to go to the bathroom just minutes before we land. Then, the second we hit the ground, several people will stand up and try to get their baggage down. And, last but not least, my ultimate pet peeve. Once we arrive at the gate and the plane stops, everyone will try to squeeze into the aisle and push their way off the plane. If there is nowhere to go, they will just push up against you with all their strength in hopes that somehow, that will get the line moving. I finally learned how to say "please stand a little further from me" which I think will be a very useful phrase for the next time I fly within China! Is it any wonder that Sev and I usually need a drink the minute we get off the plane?

The Chinese Countryside

After living in China for a year and a half it dawned on me that I haven't really been outside of a major city here.  So I talked my friend from Hong Kong into taking a little mini-vacation with me (minus the kids) to the town of Yangshuo in the south of China, along the Li River.  We rented bikes for two days and peddled around the countryside.  To be honest, I was expecting worse living conditions than what I saw.  People's lives are simple- work the fields (mostly rice and peanuts), take care of the chickens and water buffalo, and take your scooter/bike wherever you need to go.  Cars were few.  Most homes have no running water (they use a well) but I did see plenty of electric poles running through so at least they have electricity.  The majority of the homes are built by the owners themselves, made out of bricks.    I think the pictures tell the best story of our trip so enjoy!

Men selling chickens in the market (they are inside the bamboo cages).  

A grandpa uses his granddaughter to balance out his basket.  He was selling yellow beans at the market.

Ladies sewing with the old fashioned pedal sewing machines.

Fuli Town is famous as the maker of paper fans.  Here is a shot of a fan makers house.

I couldn't resist getting my fortune told by this little old guy.  Several locals gathered around to hear my fortune as well!

Fiona and me on the Li River- we cruised around on a "bamboo raft" which actually turned out to be made of PVC piping!

Ok- I couldn't resist being a cheesy tourist and taking a picture with the Cormorants.  These birds are used by the local fisherman to catch fish at night.  There is a string tied around their necks to prevent them from swallowing the fish (although they are allowed to eat every 7th fish).  A well trained bird is worth as much as $700!

A traditional fisherman on the Li River (his raft is real bamboo).

A shot of the cormorants fishing at night. The light attracts the fish and then the birds dive under the water and catch them.

Here the fisherman is extracting the fish from the birds mouth.  For the pleasure of the tourists in this case!

A typical view of the rice fields and "karst peaks"- this area of China is famous for these beautiful peaks.

This lady on the moped was herding her buffalo down the street.  I couldn't help but think "ancient China in a modern world".

On the other hand, here is a shot of a man with his cow along a tiny village street.  I asked how much the water buffalo cost and was told about $600 for a grown cow, already trained.  It takes one week to train them how to walk straight while plowing the fields.  I did not see one tractor the entire time I was there.

A group of school girls in the village.  They were thrilled when I showed them the picture on the digital camera!

A graveyard in the countryside.  I asked our guide if there were designated areas for graveyards and she said no, you can bury your dead wherever you want.  Interesting... and yet a little worrisome!

The kitchen in a typical village home.  The lady we rented our bikes from let us in for a look around.  No running water, no stove, no oven.  I am still not really sure how she cooked her food.

And finally, no blog is complete without the scary food story.  I thought this was a veterinarians office until I noticed the giant iron woks.  Then the light bulb slowly came on and yes, it was a restaurant selling dog, cat, cow, and pig.  Lovely.