We will keep you posted when our pictures have been sorted. We will also include links to others photos as and when.
An excellent "third-party" set of photos has already been put up by our first visitor - Ivano. You can find these at: http://www.flickr.com/photos
Sometimes it seems like the great fire wall is also blocking the blog. So we are sorry if some of the articles are not as fresh as they could be...
We said our goodbyes in Wuhan, and gave each of our guests a little jade Buda to look after them on their travels. (Anna – should we have given you another Buda to look after the first one?:)) It was sad to say goodbye, but the real world was calling our name. The University was kind in letting us start a week late, so that we could spend some time with our guests.
We arrived back in Guilin late on Sunday, and started to teach on Monday. Like normal, we only got our time table one hour before we were teaching. Lee has been improving his “seat of pants teaching approach”.
Now the weather in Guilin has become sunny and warm, and today we mentioned how nice it would have been if our guests were still here…
It was always our plan to make the Jangtze River Cruise before 2008/9 when it will be completely flooded by the Three Georges Dam Project. This has been somewhat controversial in the number of people it has displaced, and has had many problems along the way. We feel we were a little bit duped, since a lot of the flooding has already happened – up to around 150 meters above the normal level. There are still another 25 meters to go… Saying that, it was a huge success, and the scenery was breath taking. Even with the flooding, the sheer magnitude of the gorges was overwhelming.
Despite some high-price excursions to tacky places, it is still much recommended. Jef fell in love with a middle age Chinese woman there – or was it the other way around… It would be a crime not to mention the sterling performances on the Karaoke floor by many of our guests (Lee was too chicken!)
Lee took the complete tour group (3 Germans, 2 Belgians) to witness the nightly “Waterfall Show” at the Waterfall Hotel. This was in the Guinness book of records in 2002 (being 76 meters wide by 42 meters high). But these crazy locals like a challenge, and this was superseded by one in Guangdong (our neighbours!) which is 300 by 42 meters. Despite being like the second man on the moon, it was still impressive, although 13 minutes of this display was really quite enough.
Last but not least, the two cops arrived. After a very long trip and an even longer wait in Hong Kong (10 hours), they only wanted to sleep initially… and they did: from 10 pm until 1.30 pm the next day.
For a while Lee was the alone with 3 German speaking ladies, which he has attributed to his new nervous twitch. They also showed a great liking to Chow Mien, and Egg and Tomato dishes.
The next morning, we left for Yangshuo, where we invested in souvenir items like stone-carved stamps, Chinese “silk and handmade” handbags for 1.5 Euro and so on.
Cornelia, Catherine and Jef went on a bicycle ride to the countryside the next day with a local guide.
Finally, they followed a cooking lesson and got to (had to?) eat their own food. Especially Catherine was very impressed with herself!!
Two days later, the “a German and a Belgian” (as Lee refers to them) got here. We explored the “Seven Star Park and Cave” followed by a superb meal in the “Big Aunt”, where all the dishes are laid out and one can just point. We went totally crazy and had huge left-over’s. In fact, we were starting to fear the waiters who passed our table, hoping that the dishes wouldn’t be for us anymore!
They had an interesting story of being in Hong Kong while their bags made a journey of their own. (It ended well though!)
After having told us that he can’t make it here, he still had the nerve to show up on short notice… and we were glad.
Lee really appreciated having “boy-talk” again and letting off fireworks with a fellow pro.
Also, we all got addicted to watching “The Office” (American TV-Series), which Ivano had brought over earlier. Big thanks, Ivano, you saved the day!
(p.s. Any chance of Season 3 DVD making it over this way?)
Just a short time to go before the vanguard of our new visitors will arrive - Jeff. He has already been sighted in Hong Kong and all being well should be in Guilin in two days time. Later, he shall be surrounded by a group of German and Belgian women with only Lee as male company.
We hope all of our visitors have a smooth trip getting here and we're looking forward (veeeellly match!) to seeing them all.
Hello again,
For everyone interested in Hong Kong and the the surroundings of Guilin (Li River and Yangshuo), please visit www.flickr.com/photos/leeandjohanna/sets/
Some Macau photos will be put up in the comming days...
Comments are always welcome.
