Cruising the Lijiang River

Rodney weighed himself this morning. He said he gained 6 lbs. He said that he has been eating good food, that is, all the Chinese food we have been eating. He commented that the way they serve invites one to eat and eat. I would have to agree with this, as we received one dish after the other throughout the course of a meal, even if at some point through the meal we might be feeling full. We never ran out of fine food. I left every meal feeling full, although there was food left to eat. But as previously mentioned, it is good etiquette in China to leave some food to show the host that you have had enough.

The spectacular landscapes of the Lijiang River have been inspiration for much poetry, literary works and art. It is even featured on the 20 yuan bill. Today, we would have the privilege of taking a cruise on this River from Guilin to Yangshuo. The cruise boat was just the right size for 100 or so people to have a good time and a good meal on board. Other than a few very minor bumps, there were no problems getting Rodney on this boat. The cruise took us through scenes telling us the story of a simple, idyllic life along this river that inspired many words and pictures. Water buffalo and various wildfowl were seen up and down the river. In contrast, as we started the cruise, our ears were hurt by the loud foghorn, a symbol of the busy activity along this river. We saw cruise ship after cruise ship, many going the same direction down the river, others going the opposite direction, with people on these boats all watching each other, waving and having a good time, and other people working hard to cook and serve and otherwise make sure that fellow cruisers had a good time. There were so many boats and people that we seemed to be intruding on the simple, idyllic life along the river. Along the river one would see many water buffalo, and on the land one would see individuals taking their water buffalo with them as they carried on their work. Work for these people seemed to involve their rice paddies and perhaps other farm work. We also shared the waters with fishermen on much smaller boats. We saw individuals sitting on their land at the edge of the water watching us, and I myself wondering what they must think of all these people cruising by.