Our only photo of "pandas" before the camera went kaput.
Oops, we did get a photo of us and the pandas from another tourist there.
Our plan was to escape the cold, but China is having record snowfall and low temperatures! We took a train to Guilin, which is just slightly above freezing, and then hopped a bus down to Yangshuo, which would be a veritable paradise in the summertime.
So here's our route through China so far. We took a 27 hour train-ride from Chengdu to Guilin. It was utter chaos at the train station with mobs of people rushing the gates since it's their Spring Festival time, the peak travel time of the year. But it was worth it - we had a soft sleeper compartment all to ourselves! Now that is how to roll!
It was pouring rain when we arrived in Yangshuo, which is better than snow or ice. We spent the days indoors typing in our journals. Here is Christi, passing the hours by printing off our website.
Finally, a day without rain! Here is Tauru, our studly model, posing in front of Paradise. Notice the jacket, or should I say, liner minus the jacket. That's the new black. You'll see it in upcoming issues of GQ.
Went for a walk around Yangshuo. It was a balmy 50 degrees outside! How lovely! Awesome scenery.
(Luckily, Christi's camera managed to take these few pictures before dying again.)
Update: Mar 3, 2008 (In Sanya, China)
We ended up hanging out in Yangshuo all through the Spring Festival. This was both to avoid the severely inflated prices everywhere, and also to avoid the mob-like crowds flooding all forms of transportation. We spent the time reading, writing, and indulging on sweet buns from a bakery that only cost 5 jiao each, or 7 cents!
Lunar New Year's Eve - finally warm enough to eat outside! That's REAL hot chocolate Christi's drinking, made with MILK!! (A novelty in Asia!) Ohh, and that's Tauru's beer.
This guy's a novelty anywhere in the world... Chopsticks are for eating, not for playing (on his ears).
The price of hotels skyrocketted on New Year's, so we moved to a "cheaper" room, cheap meaning "ghetto." This room had a heater, but that was just for show. Here is Christi trying to stay warm while indulging in Chinese culture... playing Mahjjong on her laptop!
The food in China leaves a lot to be desired. After a month and a half of thrice reheated rice and cabbage swimming in oil, Tauru went bonkers at the sight of a KFC. This was to be a "spiritual" experience.
Colonel Sanders himself couldn't have been happier - a chicken leg and a Pepsi; God bless America!
Oh the carnage... the guilt...
So worth it!
Our third hotel in Yangshuo was by far the best room we've had on our travels yet, complete with porch and swing! The price for this luxury? Ten bucks a night!
The evening view from our balcony... Is it a wonder we lingered so long here?
Tang mien! Tang mien (noodle soup)! All Food and all beer make Tauru a happy happy boy... (Beer in China is probably not safe -- toxic, poor quality, etc... just like toys, heparin, toothpaste, pet food, etc... -- but it's darn cheap! Woohoo! 35 cents a bottle!)
We finally made a move! Well, we had to, the first half of our Chinese visa was up, so we had to go to Hong Kong. Arr, matey! This is the view from the Star Ferry, taking us from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. Less than 200 years ago, this was center stage for the Opium Wars.
The streets of old-town Hong Kong. It's just a five minute walk from here to Chanel, Giorgio Armani, or Dolce & Gabanna.
Time for the requisite tram ride up Victoria Peak. "Wow, we're going up a mountain! Finally, some wilderness in the midst of this dense metropolis!"
Oh, maybe not. Here's where the tram leaves you, atop a "secluded" mountain!
Maybe if we go up all these escalators, we'll get a good view! Now this is the way to climb a mountain!
Doh! We needed to have paid for a more expensive ticket to get up there! Oh well. Here's the view that we managed from the bottom of the escalators.
The streets of the Kowloon area. Everyone wants you to buy their electronics or jewelry. Pakistani immigrants tout you to buy hash or watches or a camera. This is the night life.
Christi with Hong Kong Island in the background.
Tauru celebrating the Chinese Lantern Festival (which takes place on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lunar New Year).