We've been on cloud 9 today - loads of fun things and a great time
together. Ian had his cooking lesson this morning while I relaxed and
read a brilliant book, The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall (I must
recommend it to the bk grp). Then the bamboo boat ride back down the
Li River to the hotel, watching river life on the way - fishermen,
junks, buffalo. This afternoon we had a fantastic meandering bike ride
through little villages and farms over bumpy tracks and along the edge
of fishponds, getting lost but somehow finding our way back home.
Everywhere people shout 'hello' or 'nihao' and it's great being able
to see them living their lives farming, cooking, playing with
children. Again, the feeling of community is so strong, and the
'ordinariness' of people here. I think life must be simpler here,
looking after your 3.2mu (half an acre) allocated to you, and growing
most of the food you need. Why do we add so much stress to our lives
by owning so much?
Ian then went out on a boat to watch the cormorant fishing close up -
each fisherman has several cormorants he has trained to dive into the
river for fish and then regurgitate them intact (not sure I'd want to
eat fish that had been spat out of a birds gizzard but it saves the
fisherman a lot of bother). Ian enjoyed chatting to someone from
Devon and someone else from Canberra who knows his cousin. To round
off the day we were delighted to bump into Adam & Laura, our friends
from the long train ride, and we then had our portraits painted by a
street artist known as 'Forest', or the Chinese Picasso. He paints
directly onto rice paper with a Chinese calligraphy brush using first
black ink and then watercolour. Very good though Ian thinks he looks
old and I look too serious. Vanity!
Sent from my iPhone
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