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NOMADIC LIFESTYLE, EARTH, United States
After getting my first passport in 2006 and traveling to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania my life changed. I began the process of getting rid of all my possessions and traveling the world. Traveling to over 125 countries and all 7 continents, hostels have been my home. This "new life" has taught me what is important and it was NOT accumulating money or possessions. Traveling is the best education. I hope my blog will encourage others to travel. My World Tattoo was a way for me to express my PASSION FOR TRAVEL.

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Showing posts with label Guilin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guilin. Show all posts

CHINA, Overnight Train to Guilin

Monday September 15, 2008

I leave on the overnight train from Chengdu to Guilin at 17:58 this afternoon and will arrive around 21:00 for a total of about 25 hrs in a hard sleeper car. Preparation must be made first which involves going to McDonals for their cheap lunch meal and then buying 3 cheeseburgers ($1.25 each) for supper and meals for the next day. I also take several moon pie cakes which are only 14 cents each. The train offers hot meals which are on a rolling server which comes down the aisles. I have not recognized any of the food yet so I will stick with cold hamburgers until I get a little more courage.

Each compartment does have a tv which shows old kung fu movies that usually have Jackie Chan or Jet Li when they were in their early 20's. I think I have already blogged this but here it is again.

When I booked my train ticket I somehow ended my destination in Liuzhou instead of Guilin so I have to find a way to continue on the train for another 3 hrs without getting off the train. I got the people in the hostel to write down in Chinese that I would like to continue to Guilin and purchase an additonal ticket. We will see what happens.

I know that sometimes it always seems to be about how cheaply one can travel and how little one can spend, and it is. But that is the vehicle that allows backpackers to travel more frequently to more places and for longer.

I laughed at an English couple last night. He mentioned that he was thinking of getting a beer to which she quickly said that then she could get an ice cream. When I laughed , he said that she was in charge of the finances and that there was always compromise on how they spent the money. They were traveling for 1 year.

CHINA, Guilin, Ambushed by Monkeys











While still in Seven Star Park I walked up to the top of the karst peak to get a good view of the city. On the way down I found a path that looked as though it has seldom been traveled and of course that is my favorite path. As I walked I started hearing sounds coming from the trees. Mostly a rustling of the branches. The more I walked the louder the sounds got and the more frequent. Then I saw a monkey up in the top of one the trees and I thought "how cute". Then there were a couple of monkeys that I noticed in another tree and I thought how fortunate I was to have run into some monkeys. Then the monkeys started to converge on me. The next thing I knew there were monkeys everywhere and they meant business. They were invading my personal space all of a sudden and I was getting a little uncomfortable. One large monkey was only a few feet from me staring me down.

Then I remembered that I had read somewhere that they were expecting food and that you were supposed to thrust your palms into the air showing that you had no food and start walking. It seemed to work fine and they no longer pursue you.

There is a Chinese saying, " One monkey can halt the path of a thousand soldiers." Now I understand what they meant. lol








CHINA, Guilin, Seven Star Park and Caves






I spent 5 hrs walking around the Seven Star Park in Guilin by the Li River. I really enjoyed the underground caves which were lit up by colorful lights to better illuminate the stalactites and stalagmites.