Climbing

So there are a lot of climbing areas around Yangshuo. Here are some pics from Moon Hill. None are of me because the stuff I can climb here doesn't make for such interesting photos!
A hazy view from Moon Hill
Going up... That little bright spot at the top of the picture is the climber... There are some tough routes here. This is Over the Moon a 12c.
That is the climber coming down from the climb.
That is where we are climbing.
That is a hard climber. At least one of you knows him. It's Logan.

Yangshuo Pics

Sorry just looked over my blog and I have few pics up so here are some...
Downtown Yangshuo
Street Market near my apartment
Water Buffalo walk and bath- daily occurance here in the country

The street CHINACLIMB is on where I spend much of my time.

Where to next?

Here is a view of the river from a little boat trip I took the other day.

Well the china climb season is winding down we have a big end of the year party tomorrow, and then all go our somewhat separate ways. Looks like many of us will be bumping into each other all over Asia for the nexy few months with most of us ending up in Karabi Thailand at one point or another for more climbing. It is a VREY popular winter climbing destination on the beach in southern Thailand.
I leave Nov 29th on a train for Kunming. Will stay probably one day, then head up to tiger leaping gorge by bus with some chinaclimb people, stay there a few days, then to Xishuangbanna in southern china on the border with Laos (Chinese Visa expires Dec 11th). I will spend a few days in and around Xishuangbanna then cross the border into Laos and spend about 2 weeks travelling over land through Laos. ross the border into Thailand hopefully at the Mekong River in northwest Laos (by Christmas) and on to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. All of these areas have "hill tribes" of people living a more traditional mountain farming lifestyle with many of the interesting costumes, customs, and difficult to access villages that come with that. So this leg of the trip will hopefully involve some treking if my knee can take it, or some time on horse or elephant back if it can't.
I will spend some time in Northern Thailand;Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Pai. I hope to take a thai massage course there, and then work my way down to Karabi in southern Thailand where most of the Chinaclimb staff will be :-)

The Chicken Lady

This lovely lady can be found each morning on the market street 2 blocks from my apartment. This morning I decided to pay her a visit as I have been needing a break from all the peanut oil fried chinese food. I decided to roast a chicken. Now roasting a chicken in Yansshuo is a little different to doing it at home. First you must go to the outdoor market and find this lady surrounded by her baskets of live chickens and select your bird. I chose one of the ones she had already killed, bled and plucked, but I still had to ask her to gut it and remove the feet. She promptly removed the guts and tossed them into the pond you see behind here where all the chicken blood and guts go each day. there must be some very happy carp in there. I tried to bargain with her but she stood firm at her price of 23 Yuan (just under $3) for the whole chicken. Then I selected some celery, mushrooms, greens, and potatoes from the many local farmers who pile their produce on tarps along the street, and I headed to china climb to take over the kitchen. After a quick look on google to convert farenheight to celcius, and an hour to cook, I was enjoying a lovely stuffed roast chicken and potatoes. It's not thanksgiving, but I think it is as close as I'm going to get!

Chillin in Yangshuo

Well the work season is winding down here. We are all trying to stay motivated to work the last few weeks (season ends Nov 28) while making our plans to travel on from here. Some staff have already left and others are making plans for India, Tibet, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Australia... It is funny we are all getting a little anxious and stressed over making our plans, but we keep reminding each other that if our biggest problem this week is deciding whether to go to Thailand or Vietnam, our lives are pretty easy:-). This picture is from today as I slaved over my guidebooks to plan my next adventures with the help of the coffee/kahlua/baileys drink in my hand.

Cheers!

P.S. Some of you know that my Father was going to have some surgery. He has had it and is doing well. It's been tough to be so far away but Mom and Lori are doing a great job of keeping me posted, and dad is getting real good at texting me on my cell phone!

It really is GreaT

Well they certainly named it well. The great wall is truly amazing. I skipped the crowded and developed section of the wall closest to Beijing and opted instead for a 3 hour bus ride out to Jinsaling (sp?) and a 10k hike along restored and unrestored sections of the wall to Simatai. It was a great way to take in the beautiful mountain scenery and get away from the crowds. I was still greated by local women selling "I climbed the great wall" shirts every kilometer (which I did not buy). By the looks of their clothing they are well compensated for their daily trek up to the wall to follow the tourists and offer suvenires, beer and water. There were fantastic views of the wall disappearing along the ridge top in each direction, some incredibly steep ramps and even steeper flights of 18" and taller stairs that were only 4 inches deep. A great experience.

Freezing my Tail off in Beijing

It is -2C this morning in Beijing, and most of the must do sights around here are OUTSIDE! I hiked the great wall yesterday, outstanding, more about that later when I get the pictures up. Right now I'm hiding in a coffee shop with an utterly un-chinese cafe mocha and enjoying every sip! My latest Chinese phrase is Da Fung (big wind) It is often windy here and your face literally gets sandblasted bacause sands from the nearby desert are always blowing across 北京 （beijing). I've seen the Summer Palace, and Tianamen Square and am now trying to psyche myself up to tour the forbidden city in this frigid weather. Thinking of all of you and wishing to be next to your warm wood stoves and heaters!
Love Jody