yangshuo, part two

we woke up four hours later, hardly rested but ready to take on the people's republic.  by night, yangshuo seemed like little more than a street with buildings and locals trying, desperately, to sell us a ride to our hostel.  by day, however, we saw that yangshuo was a bustling tourist town with local trying, desperately, to sell you anything they could.  

chinese plumbing.  i believe its also called "preserved water."

our walk through town was slow going, as we were stopped every few minutes for pictures, simply for being tall and white.  breakfast consisted of copy-pringles and dried plums, which were not pitted, of course.  around noon, we made it to the river and saw the scenery that we had come for.  really beautiful stuff, otherworldly, even, and ruined only by the constant requests for a bamboo raft ride.

those chinese, they are intrepid, unstoppable businessmen.  communists?  please.  

after taking in the view and a lunch, we wandered the tourists shops of yangshuo, stopping to look at fake antiques and knock off tshirts.  i purchased a small, painted duck from an old lady, simply because she did not pester me.  then i purchased a set of chinese playing cards from another lady, who, after we completed our transaction, let out a fierce and knowing "mwa ha ha ha!" cackle behind my back.

another stupid westerner, had out of, oh, a dollar maybe? 

we kept making friends!  she was practicing her english, and did a great job.  

at this point, with some afternoon left, ryan and i decided it would be best if we rented a pair of gas powered scooters and head to the countryside to get a taste of real china...