Hey everyone,
So this is it. Our 30th full day of travel. Our last full day, if you don't count tomorrows long haul home - I'm on the fence about whether it counts too.
Anyway, we woke bright and early, to the amazing view of the river and the sound of birds. We had a late check out and breakfast at the hotel. This hotel wins "best shower", "most comfortable bed" and "greatest view" FYI. I took another shower before we left and washed my hair, TWICE! Hahaha.
Today's plan: A cooking class in Yangshuo at a local restaurant called Cloud 9. Our chef/teacher was Jenny. The class contained a family of 4 from somewhere (we never figured out their accent) and two British couples and Mark and I. Our first stop was the fresh food market.
Amazing selection of vegetables and fruit (dried and fresh), noodles, herbs and spices and tofu products.And fish. Don't ask me why fish and seafood is kept with fruit and vegetables and not in the live meat market next door.
The live meat market; A place where one might expect to find animals that are commonly eaten. The Chinese seem to prefer to buy it live and then kill/prepare it at home. I think it's a cost thing, but could be wrong. In any case, I didn't go in. Those Swiss guys had mentioned that a visit to the live meat market would result in me seeing cats and dogs in cages like all the other meat. Not my thing. I had no intention of seeing something I knew I'd want to unsee almost immediately.
In class we started out making dumplings, then while the they were steaming, moved on to the other dishes. I went vegetarian today, Mark remained omnivorous.
Mark became teachers pet, although sometimes with her accent, it was hard to tell if she was saying "teacher's pet" or "teacher's pest". LOL
We giggled our way through dumpling assembly and for once Mark's handiwork was not better than mine. YES! The teacher even pulled one out of the steamer and "helped" it look better. Hahaha
The class had a great time and when all was said and done, we had plenty of food for lunch and it was actually good.
It was then time for a stroll through town before Jason took us to the airport and we had to say goodbye.
We flew back to Beijing that evening and with the kindness of strangers, made it to our airport hotel later that night. October 19th was the day we left China, crossed 11 time zones and made it safely back to the USA.
Seriously tired as we dragged our suitcases through the neighborhood at 1:30 am, happy to be home, to look up through clear skies and see stars looking back. Huh... haven't seen a sky like that since we were in Mongolia!
Mark's last comment as we neared home? "Now we can plan our next trip."
So this is it. Our 30th full day of travel. Our last full day, if you don't count tomorrows long haul home - I'm on the fence about whether it counts too.
Anyway, we woke bright and early, to the amazing view of the river and the sound of birds. We had a late check out and breakfast at the hotel. This hotel wins "best shower", "most comfortable bed" and "greatest view" FYI. I took another shower before we left and washed my hair, TWICE! Hahaha.
Today's plan: A cooking class in Yangshuo at a local restaurant called Cloud 9. Our chef/teacher was Jenny. The class contained a family of 4 from somewhere (we never figured out their accent) and two British couples and Mark and I. Our first stop was the fresh food market.
Amazing selection of vegetables and fruit (dried and fresh), noodles, herbs and spices and tofu products.And fish. Don't ask me why fish and seafood is kept with fruit and vegetables and not in the live meat market next door.
The live meat market; A place where one might expect to find animals that are commonly eaten. The Chinese seem to prefer to buy it live and then kill/prepare it at home. I think it's a cost thing, but could be wrong. In any case, I didn't go in. Those Swiss guys had mentioned that a visit to the live meat market would result in me seeing cats and dogs in cages like all the other meat. Not my thing. I had no intention of seeing something I knew I'd want to unsee almost immediately.
In class we started out making dumplings, then while the they were steaming, moved on to the other dishes. I went vegetarian today, Mark remained omnivorous.
Mark became teachers pet, although sometimes with her accent, it was hard to tell if she was saying "teacher's pet" or "teacher's pest". LOL
We giggled our way through dumpling assembly and for once Mark's handiwork was not better than mine. YES! The teacher even pulled one out of the steamer and "helped" it look better. Hahaha
The class had a great time and when all was said and done, we had plenty of food for lunch and it was actually good.
It was then time for a stroll through town before Jason took us to the airport and we had to say goodbye.
Look what I found: Another wishing tree!
We flew back to Beijing that evening and with the kindness of strangers, made it to our airport hotel later that night. October 19th was the day we left China, crossed 11 time zones and made it safely back to the USA.
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| Fancy new airplane has tinted windows rather than shades. |
Seriously tired as we dragged our suitcases through the neighborhood at 1:30 am, happy to be home, to look up through clear skies and see stars looking back. Huh... haven't seen a sky like that since we were in Mongolia!
Mark's last comment as we neared home? "Now we can plan our next trip."
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