Yangshuo Cooking School

Do I hear dogs barking??  I took a cooking class with one of my friends from the hostel.  We started out at the local market.

We heard the meat section is not for everyone and I would say that's accurate - particularly if you work for PITA.

I assumed it would be like most markets you see in Asia - blood, guts, pieces of animals everywhere.  This market isn't like most markets I've seen so far.  There are cages and cages of live animals waiting to be picked out, killed, cooked, and eaten.  Rabbits, chickens, goose, ducks, fish, eel, snakes, snails, turtles, frogs, and the unsual part - dogs and cats.  There are crowded cages filled with dogs and cats (mostly young cats from what I could see).  Hearing the yelping of a helpless dog wasn't pleasant and I understood why we weren't allowed to take pictures.  I tried not to look too closely at that section though I did see a head of a dog hanging infront of the dog butcher.  Our cooking teacher explained there are 3 different kinds of dogs in China- pet dogs, guard dogs, and meat dogs.  I noticed the meat dogs at the butcher were not the same kind of dog you see people walking on the street.  So the good news is, they don't eat their pets.   She said dog is usually eaten in the fall or winter and would often be prepared if you had a guest for dinner. Then she told us dog was not on the menu today.

With that we left the market and headed to the cooking school.  It is set in a beautiful area on the way to the countryside.

We learned how to chop meats and vegetables, how to use a wok, and how to fry and steam foods.

We made a steamed chicken dish, an eggplant dish, fried vegetables and pork, a vegetable dish, and egg dumplings.  It was a beautiful place and a delicious meal (that I probably won't be able to make at home unless I upgrade my kitchen).

Moon Hill

I rode my bike from the hostel to explore Moon Hill.  

It is obviously called Moon Hill because of the natural moon shape the rock has formed.  The climb is about 800 marble steps.  A fairly tough hike up all the steps but the terrain was easy and paved.

There are women along the way and on the top with fans (if you feel like being fanned by someone) and cold drinks, postcards, and tickets to other activities for sale.  I spoke with one for a bit and bought some post cards from her.  The view is beautiful.  There were some people at the top that said they came the day before and there were so many clouds you could barely see anything.  I'm glad I picked a clear day.  I thought they were a bit crazy to do that climb two days in a row.  The temperature was in the 90's but luckily most of the climb is shaded by the trees.  I was still dripping with sweat but it would have been worse with the sun.

Biking in Yangshuo

When discussing occupations in one of my classes I asked them which job they didn't want.  They answered overwhelmingly that they did not want to be a farmer.  When I asked why they said because the work is too hard and tiring.  This week while biking through the country side I witnessed the tedious work of the farmers.  Everything is done by hand.  I saw a weathered old woman carrying bundles of sticks and another carrying bundles of hay.  They appear to have lived hard lives and look to be in their 80's - though they're probably around 50 or 60.

I enjoy the quietness of the country. I followed a small road through the crops, through the mountains, and all the way to the Li River. It was beautiful and only saw a few farmers, some cows, and a couple motorbikes.

Huangluo Yao Village and the Longji Terrarced Rice Fields

There really aren't words to describe the Huangluo Yao Village (women with long hair village) and the Longji Terrarced Rice Fields. It's a 3 bus journey (or 3.5 hours) to get there from Yangshuo - even with a tour group. The pictures don't do it justice. It is definitely worth the trip.

I didn't get many good pictures of the women with long hair.  In this village the women wear the pants in the relationship and run the household.  They grow their hair to more than 5 feet! It's a very interesting culture.

Lots of steps to climb to the top.

You could be carried up and down the steps!

Biking and caving in Yangshuo

We rented bikes for the day to ride to the Moon Water Caves about 30 minutes from our hotel.  The ride took us through the city center and then out to the country.  It was a beautiful ride.

We got to this sign and locked our bikes up.  Then we took a bus to the caves.

It was hardly boating as the sign says.  A boat that barely floated took us into the caves.  The ride was only about 8 minutes.

Inside the caves we walked for a bit.   It was a good thing I had the helmet because I whacked my head a few times.  The ceiling is very low at certain points.  There were mud baths and hot springs.  I got in the mud a little but hung out in the hot springs for a while.  It was good to experience the caves but probably not something I'll want to do again. 

The Liu Sanjie Light Show

Before Zhang Yi Mou designed the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics he designed a show for Yangshuo.  The show is on the Li River making it the largest natural theater in the world.

Being the logistical person I am I spent the show trying to figure out how they did a show of this caliber on a river.  They lit mountains!  The mountains or karst formations are the backdrop of the show.   It features 600 locals from the town including farmers, fishermen, and children.  If you visit Yangshuo make sure not to miss it.  The music is beautiful, the set pieces are simple (not tacky like the Chinese tend to make things), and the choreographed bamboo rafts is impressive. The venue holds 2200 and to me all the seats would be just fine. We paid the cheapest price and were near the top.  There are 2 shows every night and they always seem to sell out.