Guilin



My brother Matt came to visit me here in China last week, and this proved the perfect opportunity to go explore Guilin. Guilin is an area made famous by these tall pillars of stony mountains that shoot up into the sky from about the winding Li River.






The town itself is pretty nice, if a bit too concrete, but provides the perfect staging area for a trip downriver to Yangshuo, a popular backpacker/hippie destination. So, after navigating the hassles of hiring a boat (we missed all the big lumbering cruiseboats and so had to charter a speedboat, which actually was only a bit more expensive and got us to Yangshuo much faster) we headed to Yangshuo.





Once there, we enjoyed a couple smaller river trips on long bamboo rafts, hiked up a mountain to see "Moon cave", and otherwise made touristy fools of ourselves.







The whole area is beautiful and peaceful, a welcome calm compared to the big city vibe of Hong Kong and Shekou. You feel like you're living in one of those old Chinese scrolls with the tall mountains rising from the clouds. Can't wait to go back!

Hong Kong



I have just moved to China, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. One of the marks on the bad side of the list is that blogspot is blocked in China! Yes indeed, the Chinese authorities are afraid of their populace being exposed to any ideas beyond those dictated by the government itself. After all, if people began using their own sense of judgment to decide the veracity of what they are being told, then the Chinese people might begin thinking for themselves! And no self-respecting communist regime wants that.

Despite the whole censorship thing, however, my little spot in China - Shekou - is a pretty nice place to live. Full of restaurants, bars, and shopping malls! Plus, Hong Kong is only an hour away by ferry. And thankfully, I can blog in Hong Kong! Thus, what I am doing now.



So, I give you pictures of Hing Kong! Hong Kong is just fantastic. A bustling metropolis that buzzes with character. It has shopping, night clubs, wierd little streets full of stores filled with wierd dried up things, adn awesome dim sum! It's such a cool place - what am I doing here typing? I'm gonna go out and enjoy Hong Kong! :)