Day 51 - Blue skies, lush rice paddies, and clear blue rivers ...

After a restless night, due to lights coming on and off at each station, we finally woke at 5am when after one stop the lights didn't go back off - even though it was still 3 and a half hours to our destination - Jishou. Despite our rude awakening, we had woken to a mountainous paradise, and knew that the further the train went the deeper into paradise we were heading.

Eventually we arrived in Jishou where we boarded our favourite form of transport to take us on the hour journey to Dehang. After searching the peaceful village for accommodation we finally found a small inn that was literally perched on the riverside next to the arched Jielong Bridge, with lovely clean rooms and (shared) bathroom.

Dehang is a Miao village based in the middle of a 164sqkm geological park, made up of towering karst peaks, familiar terraced rice paddies, and clear, flowing rivers - yes you read it right: clear rivers.

We relaxed a bit and then wandered the village, pausing to watch the women weaving on traditional mills and men sitting on the bridge making bamboo baskets. We enjoyed having time to appreaciate our surroundings and browse the markets without having to rush away to avoid the persistent shopkeepers. Along the way Adam took his turn playing the big drum at the town open-air theatre, where we plan to watch a show tomorrow.We found ourselves paddling in the river before venturing across stepping stones and past kids playing with 'double-happy' fireworks (banned in NZ) - much to the envy of Adam who has vowed to purchase some and have his own display as soon as possible! The sheer quantity of wildlife here has blown us away - especially frogs that jump in front of us and into the river every metre or so along the way.

In the evening we set off on a walk through the countryside, where we were soon engulfed by the karst peaks on both sides while we wandered through fields littered with traditional haystacks (a pole where straw is stack upon), along the paved (of course) path that zigzagged along the Yuquan river. We eventually found ourselves in a small gorge and when we came across an increasing amount of stairs, Liv decided to rest by the river and Adam decided to run to see what was ahead - when he didn't return for a while, Liv knew he had taken it upon himself to run all the way to the top of the peak, where he took in the view from Tianwen Platform (Questioning the Heavens Platform), returning to Liv exhausted and sweaty. Upon hearing of the waterfall not far from where Liv was resting, she decided to go up for the stunning view! After his expedition, Adam's efforts were rewarded with a swim in the jade dragon pool, the absence of togs was not going to keep him from the lure of the water! We made it back to town just in time for complete nightfall, and though it was only 8pm when we headed out to find dinner we found that most of the village had shut down for the night! We managed to find a restaurant still open, where we met Dennis and Megan, an American couple who have been teaching in Japan, and chatted the night away. During the discussion we found out the walk we had undertaken was in fact in the Yuquanxi Scenic Area - and was the largest of all the walks in Dehang - this meant that the next few days would surely be relaxing, and hopefully clean away the travellers' dust.

Adlbing it in a riverside paradise.