Thursday 3 September 2009

Back to Blogging

Ok so limited internet access has had a detrimental effect on my yearning to write something that may be of vague interest to people who are wondering what I get up to here. Despite still having Microsoft Word, a pen, a paper, a brain and two eyes and two ears it has been two months since I wrote something about my Chinese adventures. I just spent my time when I could be writing blogs reading Edgar Allan Poe.

Speaking of the Poemeister himself, yesterday was the Chinese Halloween, one of the many random special days that just seems to pop up without notice (Children's Day, National Day, Golden Week, Tomb Sweeping Day- I'm talking to you whatever you may be!). It wasn't all trick or treating and vampire costumes, I took a walk down my street on the way to a bar (despite being warned about being attack by ghosts by some of my colleagues - and no, I don't think they were even joking) and saw several incense sticks and candles planted in the trees and soil beside the street, as well as the usual mass of people out eating and drinking - they didn't seem to be afraid. After arriving at the bar with some friends I noticed a mild effort to embrace the occasion with some of the bar staff wearing zombie masks, though the icing on the cake was watching two these two dancers perform some sort of strange voodoo dance ritual wearing Phantom of the Opea-esque masks, all to the thumpings tunes of Rammstein. That's something I've yet to get my head around here - almost every bar I've been to in Liuzhou will at some point unleash upon the tipsy crowd the pulsating rhythm of German industrial rock. Nice to know they've finally found an audience.

Last time I write I believe I was up in Hangzhou.. since then I came back down to Liuzhou, went to Beihai, then to Kunming, Dali and Lijiang, and after returning to Liuzhou again took a trip to Guangzhou to see Joe. My travelling time was actually pretty short, perhaps two or two and a half weeks or so, though I managed to see a fair amount. I would like to share some of the memories and feelings of this time though I'm trouble remembering right now so just look at the photos I've put up on Facebook. A picture tells a thousand words! Lijiang was certainly the highlight of the bunch, a nighmare to get to unless you fly (12 hours from Nanning to Kunming ny train, 5 hours from Kunming by bus to Dali, and then 3 hours from Dali to Lijiang by bus again) as its nestled up in the mountains of Yunnan Province, but it was definately worth the arduous journey. My girlfriend and I stayed in the old town district, where many beautiful dogs run free amid the clatter of horse drawn carts, and where the rich heritages of Naxi and Tibetan culture are thrown in your face like some blind bat on speed (I was hoping to come up with a better simile there but my English has been decaying slowly since I've been here). A friend told me that Lijiang was just one big gift shop, that which is true, though the charming narrow winding streets and old Chinese architecture nestled amid the foothills of the Himalayas was too much for me to resist. My only regret was not venturing out to the Lu Gu Lake, a 7 hour bus journey north from Lijiang into the Sichuan province right on the Tibetan border. From some of the photos I saw this place looked awesome, and I can just spend ages staring at mountains and lakes. Maybe next year.

I'm back at the school now for the new term, and its nice having some new students and some old, thankfully I've retained most of my good classes from last year, though I will miss my American High School style class, complete with all the well known archetypes like the bully, the it girl, the geek etc etc. They were pretty fun. This weekend some friends from Yangshuo will be coming down to Liuzhou, some of whom I havn't seen for a while, so I once again look forward to unleashing a group of English lads upon the streets of Southern China.

Peace