A day amidst the peaks of Guilin

Entry 11-14-2010
Guilin City

Exploring the city. The first sight-to-see became the 7 star park + 7 star cave. A large natural park with ancient sone-tablet temples and an abundance of steep staircases etched into the sides of the steep limestone peaks, and curly-roofed gazebos at the tops. Galleries of all sizes of gongs hanging in cave tunnels that I have assaulted with a wild stick dance [the gongs are on both sides of the cave tunnel, so one can whirl like a dervish through them and make some shamanically-animalistic rhythms that then echoe through the caverns]. Community elders playing cards or throwing i-Ching....sipping tea and spending a liesurely Sunday afternoon in the shades of trees decorated with epiphytic areal roots [I mean, the trees, not the elders ;O)].

Then I did go into the cave. It has been a while since I have enjoyed any kind of spelunking....and this is the posch version of it. The cave is lit with the full spectrum of LEDs and is a sight to behold. I was not with a tour, so I got to wander through the stalactite/stalactone forests all on my own. Naturally, I could not resist signing some Enya and Russian folk songs in the gargantuan atria, where the acoustics would rival with those of Carnegie Hall. Natural glowing calcite bordering the underground lakes, whimsical patterns of helictites encrusting the cavern ceilings....a sight to rest ones eyes.

Unfortunately, just as I entered the cave, my camera has exhibited some parkinsonian-type symptoms - shaking uncontrollably upon the turn-on [how very human!]. I have resigned to the assumption that I'd need to do surgery on it later [without any tools with me].

I also am finding that for whatever reason, it seems, chinese men are irresistibly attracted to me - from college-age kids to way "over the hill." Younger men ask to take a photo with me [I oblige] like I'm some sort of a celeb [maybe, it's just a difference in looks]. And for the first time in my life, I almost got groped by a 70 y.o. man who offered to take my photo with a waterfall. He was 5' tall and could use a few teeth - so it was impossible to get upset at him [not that that ever helps]. I just found it both hilarious and surprising.

I wandered along the river that could use some rain [in some places, one can almost cross it by foot!]. I walked out to the few boats that were stuck in the mud mid-river and looked like someone has taken up residence in them..... Then, as I walked along the malecon, I marveled at the gentle flow of life here. Every 30 meters or so, there stood a bike witha boombox/amplifier taped to its back and playing some Chinese beats...and graceful men and women swong to them - some in pairs, some on their own. Spontaneous, beautiful....it touched me. I danced with them...as I can hardly resist any excuse to do so. Only their faces betrayed their age, while the bodies spoke 30 years younger. Slim, elegant, effortless movements that I was mesmerized by.

As my feet were getting tired, I longed for some delicious hot tea. And out of the blue a charming tea-shop owner has invited me in. I asked how much they wanted for a tea tasting [in hand-speak, as he spoke English not at all, and we know about the pathetic current state of my Chinese]. He said not to worry about it. It was a family thing - they were just sitting around drinking tea with friends....and I was invited to play with them. And for the next hour, while sipping some of the finest aged teas in China, we exchanged laughs and played "charades" as we tried to communicate. Yummy experience.

And then I remembered about my ailing Sony Cybershot. How would I go to my meeting with the Li River tomorrow with my "picture memory" being out of commission? Miracle, perhaps? By now, it was 9 PM or so. So, I did a brief Matrix Energetics session on it. And, out of the blue, a camera shop has showed up 2 minutes later. They just sold cameras. I didn't think they did any repairs. However, as I looked over the counter, I saw a yearned-for screw driver. I immediately began to disassemble my camera on the spot to the amazed looks of the two charming sales girls. I had no idea what I was doing, but trusted it would still turn out fine. Just as I got into the innards of my poor wounded cyber-friend, a shop owner came in. He showed me which part was doing the shaking. And, magically, after sending someone for parts, in 5 minutes he produced 3 potential replacement parts for my very camera. He proceeded to replace the piece on the spot in 2 minutes! Now, here's the weird part. When I walked down that same street the next day, the shop was NOT there. All the other places around it were. The one that helped me was not. I love magic.

A few random notes:

~~I'm finding myself getting excited at the sight of any western-style toilet [who'd know!]. Wondering if the design of the chinese toilet has some physiological benefit [like when one does colonics] - hence its ubiquity.

~~Bringing TP on trains and in general is a good idea. Here I go around thinking I have no freudian anal fixation, and, well, I'm noticing all this scatological details. Go figure.

~~The healthiest local food seems to be fresh fruit from the markets and veggie soups.

~~Avg salary in the area is 1000Y/month [~33Y/day]. Go from there in scaling prices and negotiating.

~~Buy tickets at the station, not from scalpers.

~~Don't book hotels for more than 2 nights in a row - there's much more to discover.