Adventures in Guangzhou!

We checked out the big temple inside the old section and it was pretty interesting. It was a Buddhist temple but it was a bit unlike any of the others that I have seen. Who did it differ? I suppose the flashing neon lights around the Buddha are a good place to start. There was also a stage area for some sort of performance, though we were not lucky enough to see anything live. I'm not sure why it was so different but the place definitely had a weird vibe to it.

The temple was right next to one of the old fortress walls, which was very cool to climb. I guess the city used to be plagued by bandits coming down from the mountains so the wall was necessary for protection. After climbing down from the wall we made out way to the river and hired a small boat for a ride. The water was calm though quite shallow in areas, which created some bumps over rocks. David tried talking to our "driver" but apparently his accent was too thick to understand. I told David, "Welcome to my world."

On our way to a small island down stream, we passed by women doing laundry, men and women cleaning carrots and radishes, and other boats being used for basic transportation. I somehow can't imagine using my little gondola-like boat to get to work in the morning. What a different world!

Once on the island we were invited into one of the small houses (read- shack) for some snacks. David said this was very common and that we should sit down around the fire and enjoy whatever they gave us. We had a bunch of oranges and then got to have some sort of rice pancake concoction that got cooked right in front of us on the fire. They were extremely curious about how I ended up on a small island in the middle of rural Western Hunan and David was quite happy to explain for me. I'm glad that he was there because otherwise I would have been completely frustrated to not get beyond "I am an English teacher from America." The whole experience felt very primal due to the surroundings and conditions, which was pretty cool.

Speaking of primal, I decided that it was time to get in touch with my Cro-Magnon roots and let my facial hair grow. The weather, conditions, and lack of razer meant that it was time to see just how silly I would look with a beard. And besides, people were staring at me anyway so a little scruff wouldn't change that.

After the boat ride we did a little hike around the surrounding area and came across the grave of Shen Congwen, a famous Chinese author. There happened to be a very old man walking through the area who explained to David the significance of the poem on the head stone. Though mystified by the presence of a white guy, the man described that the story tells of puzzle in the poem. Apparently anybody who can write (appropriate) additional lines to the poem would be entitled to a high level position in the government, commensurate with the number of lines. He boasted that he could come up with three new lines but that he was too old to up and move to the provincial capital. I got a chuckle out of that one.

Hiking back to the main part of the old city, we passed by a number of families on the outskirts who all stared at me without blinking. The older folks just looked but the younger kids all yelled out "Laowai" (literally, 'old-outsider') and "Hello" incessantly. I can't say I was all that psyched about their response to a newcomer.

After dinner (a super cheap, yet delicious meal) David decided that he wanted to get a foot massage. This seemed a bit out of the blue, but he explained that his feet hurt after walking around all day and that it seemed like a nice way to spend the evening. Well, who am I to argue? So off we went, in search of a foot massage parlor.

Eventually we stumbled across a combination hairdresser/massage place that had what David wanted. Now I'm not crazy about getting any sort of massage from a total stranger but I certainly wasn't going to kill the party. I got my first (and only other) foot massage in Shanghai over the National Day holiday and I was pleasantly surprised so I figured this would be enjoyable. It was sort of funny right off the bat because they thought that David was my interpreter and that I was Russian. Russian?! I think not. A guy in Changsha thought I was Italian and that David was my tourguide. Ha!

We started off by soaking our feet in really hot water. In Shanghai the water had a bunch of flowers and herbs in it but I'm pretty sure this bucket had straight-up H2O. Hmmm. Next our two masseuses came in to start up. They seemed a bit shocked by my presence and their response was to giggle uncontrollably. I guess white skin and a recently-trimmed jewfro must be cause for laughter in this country. David was trying to figure out what they were saying to each other but I guess they also had a very thick local dialect that was unintelligible. We did figure out that they were laughing about the hair on my legs but I wasn't about to shave my legs for these women so whatever.

Once they really started going, it hurt. Not the good kind of hurt that you know will feel really nice later, but just a regular ol' hurt. I asked David what I should say to them to tell them I was in pain and he said, "Owww!" was always useful. Thanks--very helpful. Eventually he did say to them in Mandarin that she was hurting me to which she responded, "Wo zhi dao," or "I know." I laughed at that but couldn't help thinking, "Is she just trying to damage the foreigner for kicks?" Eventually she finished on my feet and the pain subsided. I went to grab my jacket but she grabbed it from me before I could put my arms in the sleeves. Apparently we were not quite finished.

Both masseuses went to work on a back rub, arm massage, and full leg massage. This was nice at first but then it started to get increasingly uncomfortable. She started at my ankles but then started going up to my calves, my knees, and then my quads. Ummm, okay, what kind of massage is this?! I was starting to think that we had gotten ourselves into quite a predicament but just when she was about to really cross the line, she went back giving a back rub. All I can say is, I was about half a second and five centimeters away from grabbing my stuff and getting the hell out of there. That was enough excitement for me so we paid and ran out in search of safer company. The bar down the street was a much better way to pass the time and before we knew it it was time to head back and go to bed.