In which I do a lot of head-bangy stupid stuff
I've been absent from here for a few days, away in the southlands of Sinotopia, heading down nearer to Vietnam than to the urban clutches of the Eastern seabord where I dwell under normal circumstances. If the Grave Sweeping festival brought us up to the far north of China, then the May Day festivities have brought us in the opposite direction. It is hot, sweaty, verdant here. People are shorter and smaller and there are rice paddies dotted with squatting people in flip flops and conical sun-hats, planting rice. There are also a bazillion tourists here, mostly urban Chinese on holiday, in tour groups led by women in team uniforms and a microphone headset, amplifying their herding directives for all. Women wear improbably high heeled booties and carry parasols. Men carry huge cameras around their necks. The throngs videotape the throngs.
Today is our day of rest after two rather aggressively busy days playing tourist. I have the aches and blisters to show for my time and D. has his aches and a pair of lost hiking shoes to show for his. We came home caked in dust after our first day, and washed clean by river water the second (jeans and money included). We are holing up in our lovely hotel room today, trying to get some quiet time before we have to fly out tomorrow early afternoon. We have a little ground level balcony overlooking fields and hills (and a mini power station and a few mops), and had restful morning coffees out there, hummed to by birds and cicadas. Soon Shanghai will be rattling with cicadas but we haven't advanced so far yet, seasonally. That will come soon.
I hadn't written a thing yet about our days here, though there is much to say. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming when one does a lot of stuff in a brief period of time. I'm better at detailing the minutiae of the mundane, not recounting great epic tales. Like photography, where I feel most comfortable taking pictures of things with finite edges- mops, doors, murals, food, urban detailing. I feel overwhelmed by rural backdrops, where everything is just green (or brown or whatever) and continues on forever. Where do I begin? Where do I stop? How much to include? I finally sat down with the blank backsides of our Yangshuo Wikitravel printouts and started taking notes, trying to put my jumbled memories into some semblance of order. When I hit 3 full pages of notes on A4 paper, I know I was in trouble. I will be writing it down eventually, but it may have to happen in instalments. I'm daunted.
No photos to post yet, as I stupidly left the cable back at home.
This entry was originally posted at http://yaramaz.dreamwidth.org/400276.html. Please comment here, there or anywhere that strikes your fancy. Hell, comment by smoke signals or by toe tapping. It's all good.
Today is our day of rest after two rather aggressively busy days playing tourist. I have the aches and blisters to show for my time and D. has his aches and a pair of lost hiking shoes to show for his. We came home caked in dust after our first day, and washed clean by river water the second (jeans and money included). We are holing up in our lovely hotel room today, trying to get some quiet time before we have to fly out tomorrow early afternoon. We have a little ground level balcony overlooking fields and hills (and a mini power station and a few mops), and had restful morning coffees out there, hummed to by birds and cicadas. Soon Shanghai will be rattling with cicadas but we haven't advanced so far yet, seasonally. That will come soon.
I hadn't written a thing yet about our days here, though there is much to say. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming when one does a lot of stuff in a brief period of time. I'm better at detailing the minutiae of the mundane, not recounting great epic tales. Like photography, where I feel most comfortable taking pictures of things with finite edges- mops, doors, murals, food, urban detailing. I feel overwhelmed by rural backdrops, where everything is just green (or brown or whatever) and continues on forever. Where do I begin? Where do I stop? How much to include? I finally sat down with the blank backsides of our Yangshuo Wikitravel printouts and started taking notes, trying to put my jumbled memories into some semblance of order. When I hit 3 full pages of notes on A4 paper, I know I was in trouble. I will be writing it down eventually, but it may have to happen in instalments. I'm daunted.
No photos to post yet, as I stupidly left the cable back at home.
This entry was originally posted at http://yaramaz.dreamwidth.org/400276.html. Please comment here, there or anywhere that strikes your fancy. Hell, comment by smoke signals or by toe tapping. It's all good.