A Sick Day

Reid here.  After days of sniffling, Dyanne has finally admitted that she has a cold.  So we're taking the day off for recuperation.  This is appropriate, since today is a chinese national holiday to celebrate May Day - which is the Chinese version of Labor day (May 1-3).  Yangshuo has been mobbed this weekend with domestic (Chinese) tourists and visitors.  Most of them seem to have departed today and West street has returned to a more reasonable level of commotion. 

I had a few adventures this morning, procuring the necessary items for Dyanne's recuperation.  After several minutes of miming a sore throat and making sucking noises, I was rewarded with a box of throat lozenges (I think).  My attempts to procure tea in a dry form were a complete failure.  The host at my hostel very patiently explained to me several times that ginger tea was what Dyanne needed, and that you needed to make this over a flame, not in the auto kettles in the rooms.  I did locate a small box of loose tea in a store (thank you, lonely planet phrase book), but it was an expensive souvenir package, so I took a pass.  I took the hostel up on its ginger tea offer.  We were rewarded with a pot of delicious tea made from boiling fresh ginger root.  I finally understood why he thought I couldn't make this in my room.  

This might be a good time for a digression on Chinese supermarkets.  In shanghai, we found a few stores that appeared to be small (very small) supermarkets, with a few "imported" foods.  More common were 7-11 style convenience stores (with a bit more selection).  However, Yangshuo does not seem to have either of these creatures (at least not in the sections of town where westerners go).  Instead, I've found mainly "Local Food Super Markets" that, I think, sell souvenir food items plus beer/coke/water.  I can't say for certain because most all of the items are in boxes covered in non-descript flower and landscape scenes with chinese writing on them.  These boxes are piled on islands that take up most of the store.  They could be filled with lovely things, but I wouldn't know.  Instead, I try to puzzle out what's along the walls.  70% of this is liquor (most of which is apparently counterfeit), the remainder seems to be a jumble of dried fruits, expensive teas and a few toiletry items (yay, travel sized toothpaste that isn't bubble gum flavored!  Yes, apparently small toothpaste containers must be destined for small people, or so goes the apparent logic of Colgate and Crest in China.  I am sick of kid's toothpaste.)  We searched every one of these stores we could find looking for peanut butter a few days ago.  We eventually found one jar in a bakery.  Our buying caused the clerk to call to the owner something in chinese.  I think it was along the lines "See, I told you they actually eat this stuff!"  But I digress...

We had planned to go on a bike ride down a bit south to a couple of local attractions today - "Moon Hill" and the "Water Caves", and maybe check out a really old banyan tree on our way back.  We'll probably do that tomorrow instead, but it wouldn't be a tragedy if we didn't.  I think that is my favorite (least favorite?) aspect of Yangshuo tourism.  All of the "attractions" came after the tourists.  Once upon a time, there was a beautiful peaceful place in rural china with two rivers and tons of limestone karsts.  Backpackers started coming to get off the beaten track (beating a track in the process).  With all of the people here, attractions were developed to give them concrete activities.  It seems like whatever direction we set our bikes in, we find something beautiful and fascinating.  

I'm off to see if there are any good DVDs at the reception desk.  We watched two yesterday, "smart people" and "Book of Eli."  The best part of Smart People was the subtitles, which were sort of in English.  It sort of seemed like each phrase had been through a long game of telephone before it was transcribed.