Yangshuo

Upon arriving in Yangshuo, we got off the cruise and walked about 20 minutes, the most humidest (is that a word?) 20 minutes of my life to our hotel. As soon as I stepped off the boat, I instantly fell in love with that small, beautiful town. 

Set amid limestone peaks, lush green rice paddies and surrounded by river ways, Yangshuo was such a contrast to Shanghai and the other bustling cities we visited in China. We checked into our hotel and I decided to take a rest in my room for a little bit, where a very large cockroach was awaiting my arrival right inside my bathroom. I was not so pleased to see that disgusting creature and I promptly ran in the hall as fast as I could. Thankfully, Diane was there to save the day and came in to kill it for me. I'm a wimp, I know.

We decided to spend the afternoon taking in the sights and treasures being sold in the street market and the smells of the food market, treating ourselves to McDonald's which was much coveted at this point of the trip and taking in the beauty of this stunning, picturesque town.

The food market was incredible. It contained some of the largest and most vibrant fruits and vegetables I've ever seen. Grapes were the size of my fist, cantaloupes larger than my head and carrots were four times the size as the ones we find in our grocery stores. However, the meat section of the market was a little more than I could handle. I was fine with the live chickens, rabbits, eels, toads, etc. but the dogs were way too much for me. We had my dad and Stephen check it out first to let us know if it was bad and Stephen said it was even difficult for him to see so me, Rach and mom decided to not go in the back where they had hanging cats and dogs. Just hearing about it made me queasy and when Stephen mentioned the crates of live dogs huddled together just waiting to be made into meat, I lost it. I'll admit it, I started crying and had to leave. I am the biggest dog lover and just couldn't comprehend the thought of killing one to eat it. Owen, our local guide did crack a few jokes about it, which were actually kinda funny.. like how every dog in China is named "Lucky" since it's lucky to be alive. Ah, sick humor..

This street market was probably the best one we walked through while in China. At least, it was my favorite. All of the kindest, hard working people lined up on the sidewalks proudly selling their local goods, whether it was farmers' with their prized fruits or vegetables, women wanting you to buy homemade clothes, jewelry, accessories, artists drawing you on rice paper, men playing instruments I've never even seen before or young people offering the typical tourist buys such as post cards, key chains, statues, etc. they all melted my heart. It's sounds funny but I came to really love the Chinese and their way of life. For the most part, they are very respectful, kind and generous. While shopping, Rachel scored a gorgeous set of handmade wooden chopsticks for a greeeeat deal, thanks to my mom's amazing bargaining skillzzz.

Those greenish-yellow fruits above are oranges!! The first time we had them at dinner, we were all wondering what they were and Candy came over and promptly proclaimed those are oranges, like what a dumb question! We told her our oranges at home are orange on the outside and that's why they're called that and she was like, nooo it's called an orange cause the inside is that color. Just a funny story that it's all about one's perspective.

I love how this man smiled for the camera... and now on to the grosser things...

I have no idea what these were, but they were alive and w/iggling like crazy

 Live toad for dinner? Anyone, anyone??

Okay, that's enough of those pictures..

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 These guys were beyond happy to find a McDonald's!! You can bet there were a few big macs, chicken nuggets, ice cream cones, large cokes (with ice!!!) and plenty of fries to go around. My family was the epitome of a typical American stereotype..but it all tasted oh, so good. #noshame

 We bought a passionfruit from this sweet man to taste.. Can't say it was my favorite texture in the world, but it was definitely worth to try!

 Everywhere we went, men were playing this card game. Like everywhere. I would watch for awhile but could never quite figure out the rules or how to play. 

That night, we went to a phenomenal show in which the stage was the river. It was directed by the same person who orchestrated the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing olympics so yeah, you can only imagine how truly wonderful it was. This is the best video I could find but it doesn't nearly do justice. It was such a great day!

p.s. I'm working on a trip video that highlights everywhere we went. I'm excited to share it with you guys, so be on the look out for it!!! :)