Tibet was to be the hilite of the trip. As it turned out, the majority of the crew were very happy and relieved to get out of Lhasa. Our departing wasn't our finest hour, either - we were forced through a single X-ray checkpoint, and we found ourselves doing football-blocking techniques to force our way thru the crowd. Later, we heard that only a fraction (those to be checked) of our bags needed to go thru there. So we were more a problem, than a solution, in that case. While many of us have residual colds, our energy and spirits raised immediately upon returning to more normal altitudes.

Yesterday was an easy travel day. Up early & out before dawn to catch an early flight; on to Chengdu, a bus tour of the city, including a stop at the silk embroidery institute, and the thatched-roof cottage of Du Fu, a 7th century popular realist-romantic poet.

The second flight, on to Guilin, was delayed by an hour and a half, but the airline bought us a simple dinner of rice, beef, & vegetables, with a bottle of water. Once on the flight, I shared a bulkhead row with Keith and Sheilagh. We had a wonderful, playful, heartfelt conversation, and the time passed all too quickly.

Guilin is a much smaller city. (approx 400,000 pop.) Much more open & cleaner than anywhere else we've visited. Hot and humid, though. That's to be expected at this latitude (25 deg. N).

Today was spent cruising down the Li River - four and a half hours on a clean, luxurious riverboat, with a delicious 8 course lunch served. On the way there, we made a 30 minute stop at a farming village. We were largely ignored by the people, who probably are tired of tourists invading their space every morning. I did see a common plan - As I walked down the road, I looked down a side lane, and saw the elements of a typical subdivision - ornamental trees and shrubs, side streets, neat, almost identical homes. At the corner of the entrance road there was a small shop selling beer, cigarettes, and other convenience items. All that was missing was the 7-11 sign! A block later, an attractive young woman combed her long black hair on the 2nd floor balcony of an older building. The front yard was filled with a vegetable garden. Another hundred yards, and we were in an open field of water chestnuts, and spotted a water buffalo wading in a pond a few yards off.

I caught a picture of one of those two-wheeled tractors I mentioned earlier. I spotted a newly-built building. It looked out of place in the farming village, especially on a side street among houses and gardens. This is more typical of the cities - open-front garage-like stalls for retail space on the first floor, and living quarters on the second floor, with access from the rear. Farm produce is still carried in a traditional way, by people.

The river cruise itself was spectacular. Mile after mile of lush scenery, with magnificent curiously-shaped mountains around us. They had been given names that showed a vivid imagination, since the images they were supposed to provoke were difficult for me to identify. I had many wonderful conversations with members of our group, but no interaction with other Chinese passengers. We passed thru many small villages, and there were many kids out swimming, and begging, in the water.

At the start, the river was filled with boats. It was like the Au Sable on a Saturday afternoon in July, only the boats were much larger. Since some cruises were shorter, the flotilla slowly thinned out, but there was never a point where we could not see at least one other tour boat.

I took lots of pictures today. At the beginning of the cruise, I had no idea how many mountains we'd see. Despite the heat, the top deck was crowded, as everybody was in awe of our surroundings. At times, the mountains loomed vertically right at the river's edge, and others were soft mounds in the mist. At the water's edge, there were caves, I assume cut by the water during high-water times. This cave was actually several hundred feet in the air. I wonder what cut it? I don't know why my attention was drawn up there - my fantasy is that would be an excellent place for a guru to live! The local fishermen take advantage of the shade in the undercut bank. In other places, the sandy banks were lined with bamboo. One observation: In areas where there was a floodplain, and there were cultivated fields near the river, the bamboo lining the banks was sometimes threatened. The farmers by habit continue to plow the same area, and don't take notice of the river's meanderings. As the river erodes one bank and builds the opposite, the farmer is still plowing to the same field boundary as before. The loser is the Bamboo,. In the more natural areas, the bamboo slowly grows back, as the river erodes in front, maintaining a fairly constant width of buffer. When this buffer is lost, by erosion on one side, and plowing on the other, the result is much faster erosion, and loss of fertile soil to the river. There were seawalls along much of the river, but in August, there were all high and dry. I never figured out if this boat was intentionally left up there last spring, or if the river level lowered, catching the owner by surprise. People were out working and playing all along the bank and in the river. Here's an example of the creative names for the rocks. This one is called 'mother carrying her child' Can you see it?

The Chinese make good use of what we would call 'alternative' energy sources. Here's a solar-powered navigation light, similar to many I saw along the river.

In some of the wave-eroded sections of bank, there were what appeared to be mud birds-nests hanging from the rocks.

So much of the time, I spent looking forward. When I glanced back, I found the 'back side' of the mountains just as spectacular. The humidity in the air generated a haze which made each succeeding line of mountains a little more ethereal.

Buildings along the river took many forms. Some were stone, some of wood, some of brick, Some were simple, some were ornate, some modern (notice the solar water heater on the roof), and this new hotel looked just plain ugly.

We passed by a cormorant fisherman. This is an interesting story: The fisherman captures cormorants, which are diving birds, and ties a string around their necks, not so tight that they cannot breathe, but tight enough that they cannot swallow the fish they catch. He then trains them to bring the fish to the raft, where he massages their neck to induce them to cough it into the basket. The fisherman rewards them with a small morsel, small enough to be swallowed past the ring. The birds will only work for hom fr a few months, then they learn to catch only small fish, and they refuse to share their catch with the fisherman any longer.

In an area that did not appear to be inhabited, I saw this staircase that appeared to just keep climbing up the side of the mountain, and I never figured out where it went.

Boats could be as simple as a bamboo raft , or utilitarian barges, other tour boats, or freighters. It appeared that families lived aboard some of them. Even a more-familiar outboard runabout.

Meanwhile, inside the air-conditioned lower deck, we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch with conversation and the view going by the windows. I finished my lunch quickly, and returned to the top deck to find two goddesses basking in the sun. Within a short time, the observation deck filled up again. As another tour boat passed, I got a glimpse of the kitchen where all that food was prepared.

This is a fish hachery - a floating pen to protect the young fingerlings. Water buffalo were cooling off as well. Ducks, anyone?

River water is apparently used for irrigation. I was actually surprised to see this pump being run by a more modern air-cooled engine.

As the day warmed up, we saw more and more people resting in their boats under the shade of the banks. A small waterfall looked cool and inviting.

Where the hillsides were not so steep, they had been terraced and cultivated.

I reluctantly allowed Rhea to play with my new camera, and she caught me at my own game!

As other tour boats passed, we waved and took pictures of each other.

Finally, on the long bus ride back to town, we amused ourselves with the porta-spa!

Back at my hotel, I took a picture of the neighborhood. Notice the building in the front. It appears that it was originally constructed with wrought-iron railings on each apartment's balcony. One by one, each resident encloses their balcony, either partially or fully, and each in their own style. Apparently there is no equivalent to our building management, or condo board, in China! There is also wide variation in the mounting style of air conditioners. The newer buildings without balconies, and with central air conditioning, have a much more uniform appearance.