It was a light drizzly day, much cooler than the previous one. We decided to take a motorized rickshaw (seats 6) to the loading docks where we would venture on another 2 hour cruise with a bamboo boat (seats 2) down a different section of the Li River. The ride to the docks was really interesting since we traveled through the backroads & it gave us the opportunity to see where & how the locals lived, which is very much different from the built up city area. I imagined that this village must have been similar to the one my parents had once lived since in some areas it looked like there was no running facilities or electricity and people were burning their garbage at the front of their building. Live chicken ran through the streets filled with pot holes - this must be their definition of "wild or free range". As soon as we entered the loading dock area, two older women chased the motorize rickshaw to sell us cheap plastic ponchos. We purchased them since we didn't want to get wet during our cruise.

The man powered bamboo boat was more enjoyable than the previous day, I think the slight drizzle gave us another perspective of the karst hills. The operators of this business must have taken a lesson from the major theme parks in North America, at certain points on the river there were spots people took photos of your boat passing some slight but very wet decents. In addition to the photo opportunities, there were floating restaurants were tourists & drivers could purchase beer to drink, eat fried fish & grilled chicken. We noticed that the operators of these restaurants washed their plates in the river, something foreigners should be aware, if they don't want to get sick. The Drivers advanced the boat with only a bamboo stick, so it was a great opportunity for them to refuel. There must be something calming while boating, I think the motion of the water and enjoying the beautiful scenery just lulls you to close your eyes and drift away to another time. I found myself tired & ready for a nap once the cruise was completed.

Certain historical events occur in a country and it impacts people's lives. For example, if the Communists had not taken over China, I would never have been born in Canada. I would have been a Chinese Citizen. My family was lucky to immigrate to Canada since so many people were punished, prosecuted for various reasons & many died during Communist takeover combined with the Cultural Revolution.

As we were walking down the very tourist area on Xi Jie, we passed Lisa's Hotel. Rafael told us about a book he once read, how the owner of this hotel helped an American Tourist in 1986; unfortunately, the tourist basically had a mental breakdown during the visit & she found it hard to cope with the living conditions during that time. As you may recall, the economic landscape was very different, the government owned most businesses, people dressed the same (Mao suits) and the basic necessities that we Canadians take for granted were not available. May recalls during her visit in 1984, there were no tourist areas like you see today & streets were not well lit if you went out during the evening. I guess if you are not familiar with this type of living conditions & you witness the hardships of everyday life you can become depressed. The hospital conditions would have been horrible back then & the owner of the hotel helped her return safely to America.

Change of plans, no soft sleeper available & only a late air fare available to Guangzhou, we've decided to head straight to Hong Kong on Aug. 26th. It's peak travel time in China, unfortunately, Train tickets sell out quickly.

PS: Wednesday night, blowing another kiss to Parker, I am hoping he catches it.