Yangshuo Day 3 - Water Caves
Monday was Carrie's last day so we didn't have anything really planned. We slept in a bit and then met downstairs for breakfast. The great thing about Yangshuo, and I guess any backpacking town is meeting random people and seeing what happens. This Chinese woman, who works as a private tour guide and who we thought had taken Carrie around before we arrived (turns out that was someone else, so I trusted someone I didn't know anything about), was sitting with these two guys from London. We were talking about things to do and somehow caves came up. They had been to the Water Caves the day before and said it was worth going. I really wanted to go because I love caves and if I could, I would live in one, but Alex had to do work and Carrie and Mike were not interested. The guide and the Brits were going to a bamboo raft but said they had to drive by the caves and could drop me off. Since I had nothing planned and was feeling adventurous I went.
After eating a delicious grilled cheese sandwich we left for the caves. I talked to the Brits for a bit and they had just spent two months in another town learning Kung Fu! How cool! If I had more time I would consider that. Maybe I could be the next Kung Fu movie master! Alas, maybe in another life.
We arrived at a ticketbooth where they dropped me off. I bought a ticket for the full tour and was told to sit on this stool (they have a lot of these stools and chairs in China that look like they are for 2 year olds yet all the adults sit in them) and wait 10 minutes until someone came to get me. I was a bit sketched out and was sitting alone next to three chickens who were getting closer and closer to me and of course I kept thinking about bird flu.
Another minivan came by and I was told to get in by a random woman who came out of nowhere. There was a Dutch couple, Roel and Lieke, in the van who were also going to see the caves. Dutch has to be one of the hardest languages. I kept trying to say "Roel" but that "r" is impossible! I didn't feel so bad though because when I said my name was "Ramune" he couldn't get the "u" sound right. What followed was the bumpiest ride of my entire existence. Yet again, another moment where a video camera would have been wonderful, although I am not sure how long it would have lasted. We drove for ten minutes or so, which felt like a lifetime, on this dirt road that was full of holes and bumps. There were parts where I thought the van was going to tip over. I can't imagine the damage it does to the shocks on these vans or to the health of these drivers considering they drive back and forth on this road every day. It must do wonders to your spine. Not only was the ride insanely bumpy I was sitting in the front seat but was turning around to talk to the Dutch couple who were asking me many questions, mainly about 9/11. It was so surreal. After I mentioned living in New York, Roel said "I am sure you get this all the time, but were you there? Did you see it happen? When the planes flew into the buildings?" I almost laughed because it's been a while and honestly no one has asked me since maybe several months after it happened and here is this guy asking like it was a couple months ago. Obviously I am not laughing at what happened, it was just so surreal trying to hold on for dear life in a van that is about to tip over, while nearly twisting my neck off trying to tell someone about how I saw the planes crash into the WTC. How weird.
Finally we got to the caves and this little Chinese man gave us each hard hats and then we got into a little rowboat. This was probably the creepiest part and definitely not for anyone who is claustrophobic or afraid of the dark or in my case, afraid of the plague in the water. Roel was a really tall guy, probably over 6'6" so going into the cave was a bit of a challenge. We had to take the boat into the cave through this part where the space between the water and the cave ceiling was no more than 2'6", so we all had to lie back so as not to be beheaded. Once we got out of the boat we began our tour of the caves. The only other public cave I have been to is Luray Caverns in Virginia which is well lit and has good paths to walk on. This place was quite the opposite. There were wires that followed along the walls of the caves with small bulbs here and there to give you just enough light. At one point they all went off for a few seconds. This was not very comforting, but whatever, I love an adventure and love the quirks of third world countries. As we were walking along, our guide's flash light battery was dying. Roel asked him why and he said that he had done three tours already that day and so the battery was dying. Roel was pissed, as I was (although I wasn't going to scold the guy for it), and kept telling him that he should make sure of these things before taking people on a tour. So here we were in a massive cave with lights that we had already seen go off once before with a guy who had a flashlight that did not work. Yes!
We continued on to the mud bath, which would have been cool to try but again, mud means water which means plague. Lots of foreigners go in there, but I did not have my bathing suit with me so I passed. The weird thing was that next to the mud bath was a little computer station with a 10' x 10' tent around it. These two Chinese guys were looking at photos of people in the mud bath on the computer. I guess they take photos of people and put them on this computer. How random! A computer in the middle of the caves!
At this point Lieke had been looking at the map of the caves and noticed that we had taken a bit of a detour and had missed some scenic spots in the cave, mainly the "natural salt." An argument began between Roel and our guide in which the guide said there was no light there and Roel didn't believe him. I saw no reason in arguing because there were massive language barriers between us and the guide. The guide got a new flashlight at this point since I guess they had a spare at the mud bath computer station.
We continued on and saw some amazing formations, however we were also walking all over amazing formations which hurt my little cave-loving heart. I am used to going to Luray and the guides there telling you not to touch anything because the oils in our hands will destroy the formations and to be careful where you walk. Here we were leaning on things and walking on these amazing rice terrace looking formations. I even saw another group that was climbing all over these formations to get their photos taken. I was inspired to learn about cave preservation or something and come to China and teach them how to protect their caves. Of course this thought lasted a matter of minutes.
Once we hit the end we had to turn around and go back. The entire time we had been going through the cave Roel gave the guide a hard time about not taking us to the natural salt. The guide said he would take us there on the way back and that he did. We walked to this part where there was a sign "Do not Enter" or something similar (it was in Chinese). He could not explain this to us before because he didn't know how. So after all this time having to listen to Roel say that they wanted to see the natural salt, he said, "Well if it's dangerous then we should not go in there." I almost said, no way, you wanted to go in, we are going in. So the guide told us he would take us but we had to be quiet because it is not open to the public. He took out his flashlight and guided us in. It was like real spelunking! We saw the natural salt, which isn't actually salt, it just looks like it. It was ok, but not worth listening to bickering during the whole tour.
We left the caves the same way we came in and then took the same bumpy drive back. I talked some more with Roel and Lieke and turns out Roel has been to 48 countries and Lieke has been to 24! I assumed they must have inherited a lot of money to travel around, and maybe they did, but he is a teacher and she is a bookkeeper, and they just save up and then go places for a couple months at a time. It was really inspirational. I would love to do that. They also were going on about how amazing Antarctica was and how it was their favorite place and I should save up for five years and get a cheap ticket last minute (cheap not being that cheap, but still). So I got their information and they gave me some contacts, so I am really looking forward to adventures in Antarctica!
I got out of the van at the same place I picked it up and then had to find a ride back to Yangshuo. Roel and Lieke had biked there, so I couldn't catch a ride with them and it was a bit far to walk. I could have done it, but I did not put sunblock on that day and it would have been at least a two hour walk in the sun.
I walked to this area where I was told there were buses. I saw one and asked, in my very broken Chinese, if it was going to Yangshuo. The guy laughed and said no. After wandering around aimlessly I saw a van and asked again. The guy said no so I just stood there waiting for something, anything. Then I saw some of the guys from that van talking but I could not make any of it out other than that they were pointing at me and saying "Yangshuo." Eventually one of them came over to me and motioned me to the van and said "Yangshuo." I got in and assumed that they were not going to sell me to white slavery. The van stopped at the top of this street I did not know and they pointed and said "Yangshuo." So I got out, said thanks and started walking. I had no clue where I was but eventually came across a street I knew from riding our bikes the first day. Woohoo!
I met back up with Alex and Mike as Carrie had just left for the airport. For dinner we tried this restaurant that had good reviews and looked like it was a bit nicer than other restaurants in the area. When we asked if they had a table on the second level, the waitress said "Of course." Again, I wish I had videotaped her expression and how she said it. It was like her nose flared and she exhaled as she said it. We thought it was hilarious and had to hold back from bursting into laughter right in front of her. Although the restaurant was nice, it was a little odd. We ordered "chips and salsa" which turned out to be fried spring roll dough cut into triangles and sweet and sour sauce with little bits of tomato in it. Alex ordered some vegetarian tofu dish that had bits of meat in it (it's hard to be veggie in China, I don't think they always get the concept). We also ordered fajitas which were really tasty however instead of a tortilla they come with crepes! Good idea if you ever want to try something different.
After eating a delicious grilled cheese sandwich we left for the caves. I talked to the Brits for a bit and they had just spent two months in another town learning Kung Fu! How cool! If I had more time I would consider that. Maybe I could be the next Kung Fu movie master! Alas, maybe in another life.
We arrived at a ticketbooth where they dropped me off. I bought a ticket for the full tour and was told to sit on this stool (they have a lot of these stools and chairs in China that look like they are for 2 year olds yet all the adults sit in them) and wait 10 minutes until someone came to get me. I was a bit sketched out and was sitting alone next to three chickens who were getting closer and closer to me and of course I kept thinking about bird flu.
Another minivan came by and I was told to get in by a random woman who came out of nowhere. There was a Dutch couple, Roel and Lieke, in the van who were also going to see the caves. Dutch has to be one of the hardest languages. I kept trying to say "Roel" but that "r" is impossible! I didn't feel so bad though because when I said my name was "Ramune" he couldn't get the "u" sound right. What followed was the bumpiest ride of my entire existence. Yet again, another moment where a video camera would have been wonderful, although I am not sure how long it would have lasted. We drove for ten minutes or so, which felt like a lifetime, on this dirt road that was full of holes and bumps. There were parts where I thought the van was going to tip over. I can't imagine the damage it does to the shocks on these vans or to the health of these drivers considering they drive back and forth on this road every day. It must do wonders to your spine. Not only was the ride insanely bumpy I was sitting in the front seat but was turning around to talk to the Dutch couple who were asking me many questions, mainly about 9/11. It was so surreal. After I mentioned living in New York, Roel said "I am sure you get this all the time, but were you there? Did you see it happen? When the planes flew into the buildings?" I almost laughed because it's been a while and honestly no one has asked me since maybe several months after it happened and here is this guy asking like it was a couple months ago. Obviously I am not laughing at what happened, it was just so surreal trying to hold on for dear life in a van that is about to tip over, while nearly twisting my neck off trying to tell someone about how I saw the planes crash into the WTC. How weird.
Finally we got to the caves and this little Chinese man gave us each hard hats and then we got into a little rowboat. This was probably the creepiest part and definitely not for anyone who is claustrophobic or afraid of the dark or in my case, afraid of the plague in the water. Roel was a really tall guy, probably over 6'6" so going into the cave was a bit of a challenge. We had to take the boat into the cave through this part where the space between the water and the cave ceiling was no more than 2'6", so we all had to lie back so as not to be beheaded. Once we got out of the boat we began our tour of the caves. The only other public cave I have been to is Luray Caverns in Virginia which is well lit and has good paths to walk on. This place was quite the opposite. There were wires that followed along the walls of the caves with small bulbs here and there to give you just enough light. At one point they all went off for a few seconds. This was not very comforting, but whatever, I love an adventure and love the quirks of third world countries. As we were walking along, our guide's flash light battery was dying. Roel asked him why and he said that he had done three tours already that day and so the battery was dying. Roel was pissed, as I was (although I wasn't going to scold the guy for it), and kept telling him that he should make sure of these things before taking people on a tour. So here we were in a massive cave with lights that we had already seen go off once before with a guy who had a flashlight that did not work. Yes!
We continued on to the mud bath, which would have been cool to try but again, mud means water which means plague. Lots of foreigners go in there, but I did not have my bathing suit with me so I passed. The weird thing was that next to the mud bath was a little computer station with a 10' x 10' tent around it. These two Chinese guys were looking at photos of people in the mud bath on the computer. I guess they take photos of people and put them on this computer. How random! A computer in the middle of the caves!At this point Lieke had been looking at the map of the caves and noticed that we had taken a bit of a detour and had missed some scenic spots in the cave, mainly the "natural salt." An argument began between Roel and our guide in which the guide said there was no light there and Roel didn't believe him. I saw no reason in arguing because there were massive language barriers between us and the guide. The guide got a new flashlight at this point since I guess they had a spare at the mud bath computer station.
We continued on and saw some amazing formations, however we were also walking all over amazing formations which hurt my little cave-loving heart. I am used to going to Luray and the guides there telling you not to touch anything because the oils in our hands will destroy the formations and to be careful where you walk. Here we were leaning on things and walking on these amazing rice terrace looking formations. I even saw another group that was climbing all over these formations to get their photos taken. I was inspired to learn about cave preservation or something and come to China and teach them how to protect their caves. Of course this thought lasted a matter of minutes.Once we hit the end we had to turn around and go back. The entire time we had been going through the cave Roel gave the guide a hard time about not taking us to the natural salt. The guide said he would take us there on the way back and that he did. We walked to this part where there was a sign "Do not Enter" or something similar (it was in Chinese). He could not explain this to us before because he didn't know how. So after all this time having to listen to Roel say that they wanted to see the natural salt, he said, "Well if it's dangerous then we should not go in there." I almost said, no way, you wanted to go in, we are going in. So the guide told us he would take us but we had to be quiet because it is not open to the public. He took out his flashlight and guided us in. It was like real spelunking! We saw the natural salt, which isn't actually salt, it just looks like it. It was ok, but not worth listening to bickering during the whole tour.
We left the caves the same way we came in and then took the same bumpy drive back. I talked some more with Roel and Lieke and turns out Roel has been to 48 countries and Lieke has been to 24! I assumed they must have inherited a lot of money to travel around, and maybe they did, but he is a teacher and she is a bookkeeper, and they just save up and then go places for a couple months at a time. It was really inspirational. I would love to do that. They also were going on about how amazing Antarctica was and how it was their favorite place and I should save up for five years and get a cheap ticket last minute (cheap not being that cheap, but still). So I got their information and they gave me some contacts, so I am really looking forward to adventures in Antarctica!
I got out of the van at the same place I picked it up and then had to find a ride back to Yangshuo. Roel and Lieke had biked there, so I couldn't catch a ride with them and it was a bit far to walk. I could have done it, but I did not put sunblock on that day and it would have been at least a two hour walk in the sun.
I walked to this area where I was told there were buses. I saw one and asked, in my very broken Chinese, if it was going to Yangshuo. The guy laughed and said no. After wandering around aimlessly I saw a van and asked again. The guy said no so I just stood there waiting for something, anything. Then I saw some of the guys from that van talking but I could not make any of it out other than that they were pointing at me and saying "Yangshuo." Eventually one of them came over to me and motioned me to the van and said "Yangshuo." I got in and assumed that they were not going to sell me to white slavery. The van stopped at the top of this street I did not know and they pointed and said "Yangshuo." So I got out, said thanks and started walking. I had no clue where I was but eventually came across a street I knew from riding our bikes the first day. Woohoo!
I met back up with Alex and Mike as Carrie had just left for the airport. For dinner we tried this restaurant that had good reviews and looked like it was a bit nicer than other restaurants in the area. When we asked if they had a table on the second level, the waitress said "Of course." Again, I wish I had videotaped her expression and how she said it. It was like her nose flared and she exhaled as she said it. We thought it was hilarious and had to hold back from bursting into laughter right in front of her. Although the restaurant was nice, it was a little odd. We ordered "chips and salsa" which turned out to be fried spring roll dough cut into triangles and sweet and sour sauce with little bits of tomato in it. Alex ordered some vegetarian tofu dish that had bits of meat in it (it's hard to be veggie in China, I don't think they always get the concept). We also ordered fajitas which were really tasty however instead of a tortilla they come with crepes! Good idea if you ever want to try something different.
posted by Ramune at
4/12/2006 05:10:00 PM
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