Fishermen in the early morning out on their bamboo rafts (the mountains of Guilin are in the background)
Of all of the countries we have visited so far, China is the most foreign. In most of our letters and photos, we have shared the parts of China that lie along the tourist paths. For the benefit of our friends and family back home, we would now like to share some of the aspects of China that are perhaps less touched by Western influence. Many of these things completed astounded us when we arrived, but have now become very familiar and normal...
Fishermen in the early morning out on their bamboo rafts (the
mountains of Guilin are in the background)
This bicycle is laden with a bedroom set; we saw others
carrying much more (too bad they don't sell three-wheeled bicycles like this
back home)
Many of the older generation prefer carts to bicycles (or
can't afford a bicycle) -- people, carts, bicycles, motorbikes, and cars are
able to share the roads together in perfect harmony
Still others continue to use baskets on the ends of poles;
we saw groceries, goods, and children being carried this way (baskets were more
prevalent the further south we went)
The duck market in Yangshuo -- this was the only place in
China where people became alarmed when Russell took a picture
One of the "brick constructions" that are in
progress all over the place (note the bamboo scaffolds and the man on the roof
watering the bricks)
Some of the signs in China do have English on them, but it
tends to look like this
A typical Chinese toilet (at least this one had high walls
around it!)
People have asked to see the picture that we talked about
in our "Beijing Day 1" letter -- at the Great Wall, a group of Chinese
girls grabbed the boys and asked if they could take their picture together
A Chinese baby boy -- note the "split pants"
that all toddlers wear, and the height difference between Gail and the mother