My Self-Imposed Exile: December 2009

Well today everyone I'm going to do something a little different. As I've told you before this trip started for me over 2 years ago and started in the People's Republic of China. While I was there I was intending to start this blog but unfortunately China blocks all blogs and there was no way I could begin. Instead I just sent updates to anyone and everyone who wanted to hear what I was up to.

To be honest I really want my old updates posted on here. Firstly so that any newcomers can see where I've been and what I've done since I started this trip and also so that I will have a record of it somewhere in case the unthinkable happens and my computer crashes and I lose everything.

Before you ask, yes its all backed up on several hard drives but I trust the longevity of the internet far more then I trust my ability to not lose and/or destroy things.

Anyway, today I'm posting my very first update that I ever sent from China. It was sent on August 19th, 2007 from Yangshuo, China. That's the city that my company was based in.

In the future I'll post old updates as well as new ones dealing with things as they are currently.

Anyway, enjoy.

Yangshuo Update:

I'm sorry but this is going to be long, but I can't resist telling you guys all about this place, so I'm going to start from the beginning and just go for as long as I can. If you just want the highpoints you'd better delete this now, because there haven't been any low points so far. Anyway, here goes.

After a 14 hour layover in Hong Kong I finally got on the flight to Guilin. Mike, another teacher from Buckland, and I flew in. On the flight we flew next to a huge thunderstorm. I swear, I've never seen a fireworks show like it. I don't think we were flying over water at that point, but the way the cloud was situated made it look like it was. The cloud was enormous and so close that I was astounded that we weren't hit. The 90 minute flight seemed to last about 5 minutes because of that.

Once we got into Guilin customs took about 90 seconds, I didn't have anything to declare so that made things easier. Our driver met us at the airport and took us straight to Yangshuo. The drive was 90 minutes but it was without a doubt the strangest road trip I've ever been on. There are no lights whatsoever on the roads here. The only light was from the headlights of the cars/motorcycles/bicycles that were on the raod. There is a road line but no one pays attention to it. Pedestrians and bicycles were passed constantly and with literally 12 inches of clearance. Considering we were going about 70 miles per hour that was strange to say the least.

TH\he hostel we're staying in is quite nice, very Western too. The biggest shock was when I woke up. It was pitch black when I arrived, no streetlights at all, so I couldn't see a thing. I looked out my window in the morning and saw a 5000 foot Karst (mountain with vertical sides) in front of me.

The day went fast, we took a walk to West Street, its the shop street here. It gets very crowded at night though, but lots of fun.

That morning we ate at a dumpling eatery and I was attacked by about 4 different touts. They're just street vendors but they can be very pushy and its common for them to charge 400% off the bat. Bargaining is a must if you ever hope to survive.

After breakfast I went on the best part of the trip so far, a trip on the Li River. In case you're wondering the Li River is the main waterway in this area. Since the whole region drains into it some of the most beautiful Karsts are situated right around it. It was absolutely breathtaking. We were treated to a traditional Chinese lunch. There were about 7 courses including seaweed, river fish, steamed dumplings, steamed rice, and as much beer as we could drink. They love the stuff here, but its not like American beer, its a lot stronger.

On the river itself, we traveled on several bamboo rafts. They are just like they sound, little rafts about 20 feet long and four feet wide, they don't clear the water by much. It was great being that close to the water and traveling right past the karsts at such a low level. We were even chased by a water buffalo on the trip. I'll post the pictures as soon as I can.

After the trip a bunch of us teachers and a few staff members went to dinner to say goodbye to one of the students who was going home to Beijing the next day. We went to this nice pizzeria on West Street, very quaint and the pizza was excellent. Afterwards a few of the teachers and students went out to get a drink at a place call the "Rooftop Bar of Monkey Jane's Hostel." I know it sounds a little dodgy but it was pretty nice actually. The drinks were good and it was a really nice peaceful evening. The perfect end to a great day.

Then on Sunday I woke up a little later and had breakfast with some of the staff here. I had rice noodles and green tea, both quite good. The whole meal filled me up completely and cost me 3 yuan; thats about 35 cents. I'm either going to get huge from all the wonderful cheap food, or very thin from all the walking. I'm too afraid to trust any of the cabbies here. They're not really cabs, they're usually just a kid in a three wheeled cart or on a motorcycle. Yesterday I saw a motorcycle cab that had 4 people on it, and the driver could not have been more then 12.

After breakfast I had to reorganize things in my room but for lunch I went back to the Rooftop Bar and had some chicken. I went with 2 new teachers and we just talked for hours. It was great just learning about everyone and everything about them. Since it was daytime I could get a bunch of great pictures of the surrounding area from up there. There was a great view of the entire river valley as well as the surrounding karsts.

While we were there we met up with some other travelers. Apparently Lonely Planet really raves about the place so there were a lot of travelers staying there. One guy was from Calgary and was taking a senior trip through Asia, he'd visited Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam already. He just walked right up to us and sat down and started talking. I thought he was trying to steal my money at first but he turned out to be pretty cool. The other traveler was a girl from Canberra, Australia. She was also taking an Asia trip but as a vacation. She'd been to Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan and showed me some truly beautiful pictures she had taken there. She definitely seemed to prefer the Off the Beaten Path places. She hated how Western Yangshuo was.

After that was the company dinner. Owen Buckland, the big boss man - he's really cool, very funny too, took us all out to dinner at a pretty fancy place. I counted 11 courses ranging from rice to fish to pork to steak as well as several vegetable dishes as well. It was all delicious and I loved it all, and before you ask, yes I tried everything, even a plate of cooked onions which were quite good.

That was last night, and I was too beat to go out again so I decided to turn in. Starting Monday morning our classes begin and I didn't want to be too tired.

That is my trip so far. Sorry this was so long but I couldn't resist telling you all as much as I could. I'll send pictures and blog links as soon as I get it set up. I'm on the school's computer right now so I can't load anything just yet.

Talk to you all later.

"I have started my self-imposed exile. I have seen and done things that would astound some, infuriate a few, and amaze all. Who I am is shaped by what I do and what I see; I am being shaped by every moment. When I return I shall be different. I can only hope that I will be better."

-Lucas S. Franchi

I wrote these words nearly 2 years ago. I had decided to cut myself off from everything I knew in search of something. I didn't know then and I don't know now what that something is; but I've never regretted my decision for an instant.

My journey is already 2 years old but I have no idea how much longer it will last. Nor do I even feel the need to set an end date. For that reason, and others, I am writing this blog.

I write this as much for everyone who will read it as much as I write it for myself. This is a chronicle of my self-imposed exile.

So to anyone reading this; whether you be family, friend, or even a random traveler on the ethereal planes of the internet, I bid you welcome. Stay as long as you like: read the posts, look at the pictures, make comments, explore the links, and even e-mail me if you have a question or merely want to say hello.

When my journey ends this blog will end. But until that day reaches us, it should make for one hell of a story.