My
I tend not to be pretentious by wanting to pack too many far-away places in one trip. In my opinion it wastes time and money, and doesn’t allow penetrating the spirit of the place for sheer lack of time. I am a one-country-at-a-time sort of traveller, but when it comes to
I leaned out of the top level of the pagoda overlooking the Bamboo Ocean. The breeze ruffled the airy fronds that clad the towering reeds and offered me a welcome respite from the humidity of the forest. I stood there watching the limitless expanse of bamboos as if mesmerised by the unusual landscape, but in fact taking my breath after the long walk in the subtropical heat.
From that vantage point the hills appeared all covered in tall bamboos swaying at intermittent gusts of wind. The forest air had been muggy and mosquitos had attacked every square inch of exposed skin. Now the trees danced in the wind looking vaporous even in the distance, and occasionally creaked at the call and beckon of the wind.
After the last intensive days of physical activity, I couldn’t have been more pleased than waking up to a rainy day. I definitely needed a break from my tour de force. Now, my friends at the restaurant had dissuaded me from going to the Danxia cliff, saying it was just a minor attraction. However, I had visited other Danxia landforms in
Danxia refers to red sandstones found in southern
During those days in Chishui I sort of followed a routinely life: by daytime I went to some attraction in the countryside and by the evening I made it back “home”. Home was the guesthouse I was staying at, where, probably on account of being the first foreigner putting up in the history of the establishment, I was treated in a particularly friendly way by the boss and his charming employee. Then I had my family, which was the restaurant where I went for dinner. The two warm-hearted young people who ran it showed so much eagerness to establish a friendship that it was like we’d been friends forever.
Whenever the flow of punters permitted, they came over to my table to talk and after a certain hour we were free to chatter away the rest of the night. In two shakes of a lamb’s tail my eyelids felt heavy and it was already
On my way to dinner last night, I passed by the square and found it in full swing. As a rule, in the evening it is animated by aerobics classes, martial arts shows, or other activities that take place to the rhythm of music. Children were playing, loosely supervised by parents who chattered away their time. It seemed that the night coolness made everyone pour out into the street and enjoy a communal moment. I couldn’t help but stop and admire how this lively place had brought so many people together.
Everything made me feel at ease in Chishui. I’d already prolonged my stay by another day, but now, like it or not, I had to make a move forward. This would mean putting an end to the exploration of the captivating Chishui countryside, but also saying goodbye to my new-found friends. But if time had come to leave Chishui town, I wouldn’t leave its region yet as there were still two more places of interest, which, lying on the road to my next destination Zunyi, made it convenient to be based at a village rather than the town.