| Ni Hao.. Friday 11march i guess i should give you all an update, i think it's been a while. Just that I have been too busy....doing nothing much....it's amazing how the hours go in a day doing nothing, and alwaysi seem to run out of time to write. We are still in Yangshou.....yes still here.....i kinda had a feeling I would stay most of our time here. I was hoping to go to another place, a few hours away....a place called Dragon backbone terraces.....rice terraces and in amongst it wooden villages. The weather has been putting me off from going.....no point if its misty all day and raining....we wouldnt see anything......and apparently they dont have heating and its damp and freezing.....so have decided to give it a miss......buggerpoobumwee, So instead will just hang around here longer and find things to do..... This week.......i have been doing my Tai chi lesson everyday for 2 hrs. Have just finished learning my 24 steps and am now mastering them. Have been doing the lessons in the "classroom" and not in the park most days.........rain......sends you indoors.....i liked doing my lesson in the park with every Tom, Dick and Harry.....or should i say .....with every Wing, Wong and Li.... oh and dont forget Tontong. I guess im lucky, my master has a "classroom" that he uses for rainy days, I have a friend that is learning also with another master and he has to find shelter somewhere when it rains and not much fun when its cccooold. Master Yaung gave me a big hug and said " u fast leawner.....vewy good."....that did make me feel better because i was having inner tantrums because i wasnt getting it, taking to long in learning, and forgetting....amazing how you beat yourself up....when it realy doesnt matter......i didnt have to prove to anyone, or even compare....just an inner battle, so was pleased then with sef when he said that..... My master Yaung has been learning this since he was 5 yrs old.....his master was 93 when he started teaching him.....he died when he was 103, and still practised tai chi till the day he died. His next master, was 70+ when he started teaching him.....he is now 95 and can still know someone out with one blow...pretty cool......and i have seen photo of his master....i swear he was only in his early 70,s.....mind you i still cant get over how old Master Yaung is.....i nearly didnt have lessons from him because i thought he was so young....he's 41 and looks 20+......he tells me...."yes, if you do Tai chi everyday, you will look younger".....hello...bring on the hours of tai chi everyday for me...thankyou very much. Tomorrow is my last day with him....i just have to come again and learn the 240 steps!! that will take me a few months....anyway, Kailani has started Kung Fu lessons with him now.....so watch out boys,,,she knows how to defend herself now, and watch out when you try and trip her in the playground....she's prepared. She will be having lessons with him for the rest of the week, while we are here.
So Tai chi has been taking up most of the day......other than hanging out at cafe's still....eating our way around the place...Last night we went for dinner with a couple of people, up the river. Just out of town and at a place where all the locals eat. Well this lot ordered a local dish......i called it "cockhead soup".......it was a chicken stew.....with everypart of the chicken in that pot....bar its feathers......and yes that is a beak in my soup........along with the rest of the head.......feet, intestines, you name it, it was in there......and they ate the head and all......and no they were not chinese.....americans!.....mmm aparently it was very delicious... While I'm at it....local delicacies....yep went for a stroll to the local market.....as you do when your wondering around town......come across the meat section....lots of fleshy meat hanging around, chickens looking like those plastic floppy things you would buy as a toy(you do here anyway)....and then i see........ the skinned dogs!!......and then you see them skinning them and cleaning them up....not a nice sight.....i couldnt look any more and turned away, and then i saw what has haunted me ever since...omg......a cage with about 4 dogs in it.......but it was the look that one was giving me.....a brief moment thats all it took, but felt like a long stare.....it looked up at me with those eyes.....it was like it knew what was going on......i wanted to cry....had to quickly move away and then pass .lots of other cages with all sorts of creatures....ducks, geese, chickens, pigeons, other feathery things, rabbits....and.....no....that look was still there, could still see it....i wasnt expecting to see live ones. I'm glad Kailani wasnt with me. Ok got to get that picture out of my head....mmmmm lets see what else have we been doing.......um....walked up to the tv tower the other day.....man that was steep....my legs killed for days after........very steep climb....fantastic views, and we were lucky it was a bit of a clear day. Jelly legs when we came down.....was good excercise. Treated myself to a traditional Chinese massage after that workout........yep, i like that massage.......hurt a bit, but a good hurt......and didnt have to take clothes off for that massage, too cold for taking off clothes........ Before i was taken to this massage place I found another one, I've past a few times in the alley way.....checked out the prices and types of massages etc....and when i went in there, the girl shakes her head meaning "no"....and im saying, massage and pointing to the sign and she keeps shaking her head and kind of not letting me go any further.....ok...i figured they must be closed...so off i went, and then went past the backpacker hostel couple doors up...decided to turn around go in and ask...."do you know of anywhere for massages....or when that one opens"....she told me oh no, that one is a sex one, you dont want that one.........agh...no...no thanks...i not that one......no wonder the girl wouldnt let me past the door.........but there is nothing to say to say it is......unless there is a big chinese sign and me dum gai....cant read......but....hey ....its all in english as well....anyway, i was lead to a nice one, thankgod. Oh yes...... weird when you meet people in a totally strange country and start chatting and then you find out that they know people that you know.....blows me away everytime that happens.....happened today...pretty cool. Anyway just thought i'd add that bit. | 