I am in 肇庆 ( Zhaoqing ) a city known primariy for it's 七星岩 ( Seven Star Crags ). Crags are minor very rocky mountains shaped like humps - or at least that's what they are here. The city is built around ( mostly south of ) a lake that has been segmented by ( I think ) man-made land-bridges for vehicles to travel from the city to the crags on the large complex of islands of various size on the northern edge of the lake. The crags are all located within this complex, either on one of the big islands or as an island alone. A map of the city is quite fun to see. I explain all this forgetting I can give you a picture of the map. I should really take one.

Narrative Update - Accomodation Perspective

My original plan was walk the city checking the prices of cheap hotels and hoping to spot a youth hostel ( internet gave no youth hostel to me ). I check but am displeased with the prices until I find a "travel hotel". Just like we have Inn, Hotel, Hostel, Resthouse - China has many names for establishments of temporary stay. I'd known the word for these travel hotels but never actually found.

Travel hotel is awesome. Cheapest accomodation, even with private room. Hot water shower. Staff speaks no english but that forces me to practice chinese and I do OK. I get a room, I live there for two days. Third day they request some Chinese ID card again (first day no one really cared, second day I said I didn't have one and was on my way). Told them all I have is a passport and my American ID - well that killed my cheap living. I learn that this travel hotel and every other one in China are only for Chinese people. Only. On their certificate that permits them to run a hotel it specifically says no foreigners allowed. Damnit. Damnit, I say. I'm driven by a staff member (a kind gesture for their previous deception) to an area of cheap hotels I rememebred from my first day walking. I choose one and f course the showers have luke warm water, not hot. The travel hotel had hot, damnit. I often withhold cussing from my blog but I'm very upset by this. I learn of the best accomodation yet, and I'm not allowed it. I ask the hotel staff why addn they tell me just that the police say so. I inquire but they do not know the reason. What the hell is that, come on !

Narrative Update - Travel Perspective

Day 1 is wake up late, bus to Zhaoqing from Foshan, walk the city to find accomodation, find that travel hotel I miss, update blog for Foshan. Somewhere during this I stopped at a restaraunt for food and randomly pointed on the menu and got some soup I think was mmade from the black feet of a bird - not bad. The real goodie was I ordered dumplings (it gets better) and they brought out their own special sauce (most tiny restaraunts with dumplings have their own sauce concoction) and it is thsi time so delicious. The sauce is not based off of soy sauce at all. Not even close. It is very very thin ... PEANUTBUTTER !!! My two favorite foods have just been combined in the best manner - nuggets and dipping sauce - YES !!!

Motorcycle Taxis. In Zhaoqing I begin to really notice the species of transport called motorcycle taxi. This is no new form of transport, but in Zhaoqing motorcycle-taxi seats out-number bus seats or taxi seats. You can see a dozen or more men all on the bikes in the same spot just waiting for fare. You get this many and anything nearing the area without wheels causes half of the cyclist to ride out of the group, make a circle or two, then get back into place. It's like watching male horses and riders when a hot female horse and rider stroll by and they have to make a mating display. As entertaining as they are, they equally annoying when I, the foreigner, has to walk by. In cities less infested with them, I can make funw ith this but now I have to avoid eye contact and walk motionless or else I get bombarded with poorly pronounced Hellos and have a hard time navigating my way past their mounted advances. What also sucks about this here is I love these cheap fun transports, but only times I would have needed one, it is too late (cold) at night and I have yet to wash my newly street-purchased long-sleeve shirt.

Day 2 is wake up late, use the hotel's map to get familiar with Zhaoqing's position within Guangdong province, check out Zhaoqing's layout, buy a map and breakfast nearby. Breakfast was something plus Back Rice Porridg ( 黑米粥 ). The stuff looks like putred black gruel - absolutely not appealing, but, as I always do with new food, I take a giant bite to get the full flavor and I am floored. It is sweet and robust (my favorite food taste combo) and thick and yum ! It tastes like rasberry ! It tastes like rasberries made for a man who likes black food. I could have it every morning of my life. Quaker's Oatmeal of any flavor cannot even begin to compete with Black Rice Porridge. Moving on, I walk from my hostel to the city's main plaza, walk around the plaza then take an off-route to follow a road northward to wherever it goes. Road branches off and I take the part that is over one of the man-made bridges traversing the lake. I get to a non-touristified area of the main island and walk through a farm and come out at another road. I've been walking for hours and it is dark and the prospect of sitting is pleasing. I take a taxi back to the city's main square and from there walk the three or four blocks back to the hotel.

Day 3, wake up at 11 in the morning - that is early for me so have a lot of hours of doing stuff ahead of me :) Breakfast is again a random order plus Black Rice Porridge !!! Afterwards, I have a mission. I will go to the Seven Star Crags park entrance and see the place this city is known for. I fail. I get to the gate. I'm staring at the ticket office and the pathway and instead I take the small road to the right away from the resort. It just looked more appealing and I am so glad I took it. First adventure was the pink-roofed mansion. I'm walking the street still and on my left is a gate with a long driveway through a green field to three large similar buildings of whttie walls and pink rooves. The gate is open. There is no guard. Thus I enter. I take a tiny dirt walking path into a lush field and farm behind the complex that leads to a basketball court and more gardens and harvest area. A lady sees me and I ask her if t is OK for me to walk here. She's not bothered and goes about her business. I finish up and leave and keep walking to nowhere. Nowhere ends up being another entrance to the Seven Star Crags. Whatever, I pay and go in and the walk continues. Crags are cool, the land-bridges are cool. I climb one crag (man-made stone steps, not me being a monkey again like in Tibet) until I realize walking is much less tiring than climbing. I return to level ground and walk around more taking pictures like I am a tourist or something. I find an exit out and am satisfied with what I saw so I leave. But I still walk more. I find an International Youth Hostel marqee over a road entrance so I say, sure OK, and take it. After an uphill walk I find it and except for one man sweeping leaves outside, the entire building (it is the largest youth hostel I have ever seen) is completely abandoned. I enter because a door is open and check out the empty buidling. Found one open room, water of the faucet works, didn't check the flush or shower because I heard a yell soon after testing the faucet and I was in stealth-mode at the moment. Yell wasn't for me apparantly and I check out the roof, find a lone fruit hanging on the empty clothes lines, then leave and follow the road more. Eventualy get to yet another entrance to the park. It's closed but I'm not wanting to pay to enter again anyway. Only other path to take (that I remember) at the moment is one that has a no-entry sign for cars. I take the small road. It is the way to many residence buildings built on this small wooded hill. One of the buildings is a dend end, but I think perhaps it has a back exit. A dog gets up and waks to the entrance and stands strong. Not in the mood to be defiant, I turn away and walk back the long way that I came till I find a bridge to the city I neglected to take before. I walk the edge of the lake on the poor nothern side of town until I realize the walk back to the square is quite a distance. Nearing capitalism, I spot a foot washing building ( Yes the entire big buiding seems to be dedicated to feet washing and grooming ). Five hours walking, I deserve this. A very snazzy place I am afraid is deathly expensive but am wrong. It has the normal price for a cheap foot massage, but instead gives you a foot soaking, great massage, soothing lotioning and unlimited free apples and tea. And when it was all over I got a complimentary meal of egg over noodles. I'm stuffed and relaxed and need more sit. I don't feel like directing the Taxi back to the hostel so I tell him the main square. The walk is not even a block so I drop off my stuff and realize I could so do with a chinese shampoo/head-massage. I walk a long way trying to find a hair establishment that actually cuts hair, not sells products, and has no males with disturbing head fur. Establishment found ! Hair washed, face shaved ( very closely ) and complimentary back-arm massage. Back to the hotel feeling good, but hungry ( I walked a lot and need food ). The receptionsits tell what I already know - no restaraunts open this late. But they call up a late night delivery place to get me the beef and peppers with rice meal I so love. We hang out on the lobby couches - them interrogating me, me being unable to answer half their questions because I have not studied Basic Conversation 101 ( I studied food and colors like a dork, but at least I also have learned Travel 101 alogn the way ), the star and marble game called "chiense checkers" in america is played. My food comes and I eat and we continue. I finish, am full and exhausted. Bedtime.

Day 4 I wake up late. I go get my clean laundry from the cheapy wash service I found on a tiny street south of the main part of town. During my walk back I am said hello to by a young girl. It was so kidn and pleasant and sincere. I was taken aback and happy. Normally the hellos are from boys or men just being immature. Back to story, I return and want bananas. All day al lI want is bananas. I haven't had one in so long. I found none being sold on the street south of town. Every city edge street in China sells bananas except Zhaoqing. I find the grocery store I've been told about twice - very hard to find as it has no sign and is located on the third floor of a building whose sign is something vague like, "World Buy Things Place". After I acquire a bag of fuel I check out the electronics store. I have been wanting for a while an easier way to connect my camera to the computer because so often the comptuers don't have the driver for my camera. I find and leave the fancy store and find the bargain store downstairs. Purchase a memory-card-to-USB doohikie and a bigger memory card than the one supplied with the camera upon purchase. Now I am at an interent bar taking care of neglected duties. Had a tourist visit planned yesterday for today but I just don't feel like walking. Tonight I'll mssot likely translate some of my chinese kiddie-book. Tomorrow I get a bus to Guangzhou and spend two or three days there. I am about to eat my fourth banana today, but I'll admit I did not stick to my strict one-day potassium diet - I have eaten a pneapple pie form McDonalds and drunk a bottle of carrot-orange-apple juice.

Drinks

The China I have travelled has a basic selection of drinks ( typed in order of how easy it is to find ) : beer, boiling water, moonshine, tea, bottled water, bottled tea, bottled orange juice, soda, any other bottled juice. I am partial to the bottled fruit juices ( I say bottled because some fancy restaraunts offer fresh squeezed fruit juice with absolutely no other ingredients - unless we are discussing pineapple juice, I need my tiny bit of sugar and preservatives ).

There is a chinese brand 农天果园 ( Farm-Heaven Orchard ) that makes two very good juices : Tomato-Strawberry and Carrot-Orange-Apple. Other brands create the tomato or tomato-strawberry juice but none as good as this brand. And no one else in the world has Carrot-Orange-Apple. If these are spotted in at tiny street vend, it's like finding a big nugget of pure gold on the road - it's a treasure and there usually isn't another one in the same place. But if I find a big store that has the drinks in constant supply, mmm - I stock up.

I can't do it anymore. I can't do the hot water at my meal. It's just pointless. You have a drink at a meal so you can take a big gulp and flush down the food. I can't take big gulp of scaldign water - I don't have the flame-retardant esophagus necessary. I know this water is burning because China doesn't have access to clean tap, but at least set some water aside to cool so I can at least have luke warm drink. I would order beer with my meals ( as I do like beer I've now learned ) but they rarely have the small cans and I ahve seen no small bottles. I cannot drink an entire giant bottle alone. I will eb nice and admit some places offer free tea, but it usually is crappy tasting. Most of the time I have a bottled water or fruit juice accompanying me before I even order.

Accomodation Discussion

I've always been in either a Youth Hostel or a cheap Hotel (and snazzy hotels that very first week in China ). Having now experienced all four - I shall explain them for my own recollection purposes and for the curious.

A Hotel is the ultimate in temporary accomadation - maids, private restroom, assorted complimentary bathroom stuffs and free shampoo and soap dispensers in the high quality shower, non-compliemntary food stuffs throughout the room, beds with multiple covers, two of which are washed every day if wanted, staff that will find a way to speak english with you and is in any other way very helpful, buffets - a true pampering.

A Hostel ( International Youth Hostel ) has staff whose reception at least usually speaks modrate english - but those still with communication difficulties can always have a friendly resident translate. There are no complimentary things, except maybe a TV. Most of the rooms are designed for multiple people and have options of normally 2, 3, 5, 7 beds. The cozier rooms may have private potties and showers - I don't know. Everyone else uses the public showers that are always of simply adequate quality ( then again my standards have fallen so much so they may be a dread to some ). The most important thing about hostels is they are always cheap and provide tons of travel information.

Cheap Hotels are simple that. They have everything of a hotel, it all is just normally of absolutely inferior they might as well not have even tried. Shampoo/soap dispensers are really two soap dispensers. Rooms aren't as lush. Staff does not speak english or so little that body language and drawing works better, but they always get such a thrill when they can answer or question you in English because foreigners rarely stay there I guess. You pay double or triple the price of a hostel for essentially the same quality simply provided in private-style rooms. Also, the hot water of the showers never works well. Youth hostels and travel hotels have hotter water always.

Travel Hotels are awesome ! They are as cheap as youth hostels ( or cheaper ) even if you get a private one person room ( price is by bed number, not room ). Public facilities, but adequate quality ( for any one OK with China's squat toilets ). And they even do the complimentary bathroom crap just like a hotel. The downside for some would be that the staff does not speak english, but I actually love this about them - forces me to practice and learn terms or ways to express those terms in interpretive dance ... body language.

I took a train to Guangzhou (广州) so that I could take a bus to Foshan (佛山). I saw The Ancestor's Temple (祖庙) while there and the next destination was the Xi Qiao Mountains (西樵山). I was not aware the mountains were the backdrop of a small district of Foshan (I thought they were a distant attraction requiring rural transport). I met a girl on the bus eager to practice english and she helped me get off at a stop near an entrance to the mountains. Unfortunately the sky was too dark to continue (not to late though, darn winter), so instead I would find a place to stay. No cheap hotels were in sight so May (黄结梅 the girl from the bus) invited me to stay at her home. I made sure she confirmed it was OK with her parents and it was. This is not a new experience (invited to girl's family's home to spend a night) except for the fact that I truely could not communicate on my own with the parents at all because they spoke Guangdong language (language of the locals of this province), and not Putonghua (Mandarin). So May was my translator. I also learn that I'm supposed to be her english teacher from school instead of the random traveller I am. I wasn't too comfortable being under a guise, but not having to communicate made it easier.

I watched television with her father and had a sporadicly continued english lesson with her when the models walking the stage on TV were nothing to look (laugh) at. After showers, we had an english (and a little bit of chinese) lesson that night. Tomorrow morning I was served gruel. I am not being rude - that is exactly how my dictionary translates the character for this meal. It looked and tasted like a soup of leftovers, but leftovers are good, even in China. I was impressed with the delicacy. The Xi Qiao Mountains are quite a bus ride from her home so instead we check out a mountain / temple much closer to the house and it was an excellent alternate choice. A beautiful walk to and from a temple built onto the mountainside, pictures have been taken.  I only wish I had gotten more sleep the night before so as to not be so winded during the trek (mosquitos declared war against me all night). The path we took eventuallyled to a waterfal - not stunning or dazzling or breath-taking by any means, but a very relaxing area. Chidlren played, adults tended to them or meditated. I washed my face in fresh mountain water. All was pleasant. We descend the mountain and take her old slow but effective motorbike to meet her father and some adult friends for lunch. Conversation is mainly May being the middle-woman between a business man. And her father once telling me to eat more than just rice, and later to slow down. Sigh. Also, as I am suppossed to be an english teacher in Foshan, I was told by two different adults that I should be able to speak Guangdong's language. Yea, well. I learned "Hello" "Auntie" and "Uncle".

May and I bus back to Foshan proper to attend an "eating festival". I am still excited just by the that phrase, even though it was an overall disappointing event. I will say I have eaten a boiled starfish (tastes like overcooked thin pizza crust where the toppings were seafood). I ate spiced baby octopus on a stick - tastes exactly like calamari but with bad chinese spice. Had various stuff from one shop - I cannot identify it still but they were sweets and not too bad. Had milk from some fruit that resembled a deformed green coconut - but the milk didn't taste coconut-ty so make what you will of that. Sucked some spiced mollusk out of shells you really would never think of consuming the insides from. Only really good food we had was popcorn. We did pass on the delicious octopus balls only because we had eaten some somewhere the previous day. Watched a tiny dance performance outside that ended and turned into one of those wierd chinese operas. We hang at my hotel untill she leaves for class.

Tomorrow I will shower, pack, and be on a bus to ZhaoQing. I have yet to learn the chinese characters for this town's name but will know them once I look at the bus ticket I purchase.