Their names were Julie 1 & Mike 1, Julie 3 & Mike 3 (no kidding), Alf, Carin, and Rose and we have just had too much fun! I'm sorry if this traumatises my dear grandparents or parents, but I have not drank so much or slept so little in a very long time. The first words my pax learned (and I think the only ones they retained) were "bing pi jiu" which means "cold beer!" Like a baby's first words, lol. These guys were my dream group come true; they were crazy card playing, bad joke telling, generally great humored people who liked to stick together. I couldn't have asked for a better group for my last CSV trip.
We kicked it off right in Cat Ba where Alf taught Carin and I a drinking game called "Bruce"... and it's all a bit fuzzy after that! ;-) The next day everyone did a motorbike trip around the island. Despite repeated warnings 4 of the pax decided to drive themselves, and happily only ONE CRASHED! Rose, the Aussie, who was talking big about riding quads, etc, crashed her bike and bruised up her back on hip. Oy. Only a minor setback though, we still went kayaking in the afternoon! It is so beautiful to be right on the water in Halong Bay. I wish I had pictures but I was leary about getting my camera wet -- haha, irony.
A few days later in Hua Shan, Michael 3 distinguished himself as the Karaoke King! I love my pax because on every trip they swear up and down that they hate karaoke, blah blah blah, but by Day 5 or 6 they always cave! And they love it, haha. The video I have of Michael 3 is priceless, if I can post it I will, otherwise look forward to it when I return. Day 6 found us in Liuzhuo; after an adventurous dinner of dim sum, including 1000 Year Old Eggs (quite good), Alf and Carin and I went to a club called SOHO. I taught them to play dice and then proceeded to lose multiple games! Good thing the loser gets a "choice" of shots.... and it's all a bit fuzzy ;-)
Now I have to mention Ying.
For the first half of the trip I was training a Chinese leader named Ying who's going to start running the CSV trips. Ying is darling and funny and in a word -- CRAZY!! I'm talking super dramatic, over the top, hilarious, bonkers. Pure entertainment all the time. :-D In Cat Ba she made friends with her motorbike driver, to the extent we started teasing her and calling him Mr. Ying. Turns out she had that effect on several guys, until Mr. Ying became "Husband #1", after Husband #2 and Husband #3 came and went. (all in good fun). Alf actually became Husband #4, and to him she remained faithful until she had to leave. Unfortunatly we only got to keep Ying for half the trip, so after our last few fun days in Chengyang we had to say goodbye. I had a rough time in Chengyang because this is my last trip through that area so I had to say goodbye to the Wu's, who are like my surrogate family. Tears ensued.
We still had good times in Chengyang though. On Ying's leaving night I introduced the group to mi jiu, which is sweet rice wine. They loved it; I personally can't stand the stuff and after one whiff of the open container I nearly lost my dinner! The group was shocked at my violent reaction, but I wasnt joking and I was exempted from drinking it for the rest of the night, hehe. I taught these guys to play Mao, so much silliness and singing went on -- ask me later about "coconuts" and "weeeeigh!" ;-) It's all a bit fuzzy...
We had a coupke of quiet(er) days in Longji, where we played more "grown up" games like Spades, Club Euker, and ShitHead. The Julie's were trying to keep their respective Mike's in line throughout the trip but it was futile. Of course the Julie's also liked their gin&tonic's and were well up for a good time once in a while too, hehe.
In Yangshuo we kicked it up again, of course, but I had another rough day. This time I had to say goodbye to my dear Jordan. :-( He's decided not to come back next season, so when I saw him in Yangshuo this time was possibly the last time I'll see him unless I go to Australia! Combine high emotion with rice wine and I was a flippin' basket case. :'-( I'm really gonna miss that kid.
One more overnight train to Hong Kong and it was time to bid my pax farewell. They gave me the cutest gift ever! They'd been looking everywhere for a card to sign, but those just dont exist in China, so at the last minute each one signed a beer mat for me!! It was so funny and so fitting, lol :-) They drew little ducks on each card because I called the my "ducklings" - I love it! That and the box of Godiva chocolate they gave me, boy do they know me well. <<< All these stories only scratch the surface of what a great time we had on this trip. If I could communicate Alf's stupid jokes, Michael 1's silent laughter, Michael 3's micheviousness, and Carin's crazy faces! Oh my... such great times.>>>
I started another trip the same day this one ended and these poor pax have some massive shoes to fill. They're well up for a good time, but I dont have it in me to love them like I did the last group. Add to the the exhaustion of the last few weeks that has jsut caught up with me and I am spent. I slept 11 hrs on the train yesterday. I wanted nothing more than to end on such a high note, but I''ve got two more trips to finish. 40 days of testing and I'm done. Thank you all who answered my little email plea yesterday. I had a dozen encouraging emails to bouy me up. I'll be home soon to see you all! Love you!!
Currently Reading: Sweetwater Creek
Current Injury: None for me! I'm 2 for 8 now ;-)
