After coming back from Yangshuo I find that I feel exhausted and my
back and legs ache, sometimes cramping in the morning. I can't
account for this until I think about it and surmise that it may be
the result of my cycling over rocky terrain which shakes my arms and
legs somewhat. Secondly I must have spent hours walking around
Yangshuo and as the showers in the hostels are not very warm, I
cannot seem to get much relief for my muscles. What I really need is
a hot bath.
The next day I rise late for breakfast of waffles and fruit with
coffee whilst writing up an account of the last few days. I feel like
taking things very easily. Later on Greg calls and and explains
that Mac has left for Guangzhou to see his family, which is a shame
as I was hoping to see them both before I left Xingping. Anyway he
suggests having a curry this evening however I prefer to have a light
dinner of Chinese food. As it happens it seems he has misunderstood
some of my earlier remarks and thinks I'm leaving the next day
whereas I'm not going until Tuesday morning. We have a beer in the
hostel followed by dinner together at his restaurant. Actually the
food here is some of the nicest I've had in Xingping.
Owing to my tiredness I've spent the day doing very little apart from
writing, eating and lounging. The journey to Beijing via Guilin now
looms on the horizon and I want to make the best of the time I have
left here. I spend some time talking to my family online before
falling asleep about 1pm. I know I will miss this place. It's hard
to believe I'm leaving and I feel the sadness always associated with
such a time. It's as if I tend to focus not on the destination at the
other end but the act of leaving. Maybe that's as it should be. Again
I wake late the next day and at length hike up another hill on the
other side of the river, from where I can see an expansive panorama
of the mountains, the river and the old town of Xingping with its
gabled and tiled roofs.
I feel I've seen some remarkable things in this justly famous part of
China. I've walked, cycled, sailed along the river, visited villages
and towns, met some interesting people and had some good nights out.
Walking around Xingping I feel I'm saying goodbye as I've practically
lived here for the last three weeks. I imagined it as a kind
of mysterious lost kingdom or remote outpost as it's so far away from Beijing: although
in reality it's a holiday resort although a little off the beaten
track. I have a pleasant lunch in Greg's restaurant and we meet for a beer later.
This is pomelo (a kind of citrus fruit) skin drying. It is held to have certain properties and is regarded as a health food: I can't remember how it is eaten.
An empty house near the hostel in the old town.
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