This morning the plan was to get up as early as we woke, in order to escape the mid-morning tourist crowds - however the plan didn't quite eventuate and we snoozed much longer than we had wanted to!
We headed through Jiulongxi Jingqu (Nine Dragon Scenic Area) to Nine Dragon Waterfall - where, not satisfied with the view, we undertook an almost one hour, NZ-style bushbashing session UP the steep, slippery, spider-web infested slopes of the waterfall, giving up only once the sheer cliff face surrounded us and Liv couldn't face climbing down it in her jandals! The hightlight of this sidetrack was departing from the yellow-brick road style paths that allow high-healed women to easily walk to the sights.
We then made our way to Luisha waterfall, which is China's largest waterfall - meant to be 80m wide, though without the rains it was far from this (still impressive nonetheless).
We got to walk behind the waterfall, and adam had another swim, this time in the waterfall green pond, and modestly retaining his boxers. 
As Adam dried off, he tried one of the local delicacies: crabs on a stick (the same crabs we had spotted in the river along the way) - eaten whole, claws and all - which proved to be much better than expected, if not rather crunchy! 
On our way back to the village we bumped into Gael and David, Gael being the first New Zealander we have come across on our journey so far! We spent the next hour and a half chatting and learning about their experiences teaching English in China - gaining some very valuable tips.
This chat meant we spent the walk back sandwiched between chinese tour groups, although we did come across a group of school children who knew about NZ and Maori people, and even our hometown of Wellington - they had been taught this in their geography class.
We headed straight out for lunch before Liv returned for a rest and Adam wandered the streets, finding some local boys to shoot some hoops with. Later, we headed to a show put on in the village centre, where we got to witness a fashion show, where men and women displayed traditional attires, combined with music, dancing and martial art performances. Although rather cheesy, it was entertaining and provided some insight to the history behind this beautiful village.
After the show we bumped into David and Gael, and set off with them for another walk around the outskirts of the village. Following the stream, we ended up at a rather interesting waterfall that appeared to be exiting from a hole in the karst cliff-face - Hangxia Waterfall. With our new friends heading off for the bus, we couldn't resist the tantilising cool, clear river and jumped in for a refreshing dip. Liv retained her modesty, but with no one around Adam kept his clothes dry. 
On our return to the village, we found ourselves eating on the balcony overlooking the river, and continued our goodluck by feasting on delicious new dinners. As we wandered through the alleyways back to our riverside retreat we bumped into the only other 2 westerners in the village (Dennis and Megan) and decided to chat by the river with a beer (sprite for Liv).
Well after the village was sleeping, we headed home for some sleep ourselves.
Adlibing the scenery around Dehang.
We headed through Jiulongxi Jingqu (Nine Dragon Scenic Area) to Nine Dragon Waterfall - where, not satisfied with the view, we undertook an almost one hour, NZ-style bushbashing session UP the steep, slippery, spider-web infested slopes of the waterfall, giving up only once the sheer cliff face surrounded us and Liv couldn't face climbing down it in her jandals! The hightlight of this sidetrack was departing from the yellow-brick road style paths that allow high-healed women to easily walk to the sights.
We then made our way to Luisha waterfall, which is China's largest waterfall - meant to be 80m wide, though without the rains it was far from this (still impressive nonetheless). We got to walk behind the waterfall, and adam had another swim, this time in the waterfall green pond, and modestly retaining his boxers. As Adam dried off, he tried one of the local delicacies: crabs on a stick (the same crabs we had spotted in the river along the way) - eaten whole, claws and all - which proved to be much better than expected, if not rather crunchy! On our way back to the village we bumped into Gael and David, Gael being the first New Zealander we have come across on our journey so far! We spent the next hour and a half chatting and learning about their experiences teaching English in China - gaining some very valuable tips.This chat meant we spent the walk back sandwiched between chinese tour groups, although we did come across a group of school children who knew about NZ and Maori people, and even our hometown of Wellington - they had been taught this in their geography class.
We headed straight out for lunch before Liv returned for a rest and Adam wandered the streets, finding some local boys to shoot some hoops with. Later, we headed to a show put on in the village centre, where we got to witness a fashion show, where men and women displayed traditional attires, combined with music, dancing and martial art performances. Although rather cheesy, it was entertaining and provided some insight to the history behind this beautiful village.
After the show we bumped into David and Gael, and set off with them for another walk around the outskirts of the village. Following the stream, we ended up at a rather interesting waterfall that appeared to be exiting from a hole in the karst cliff-face - Hangxia Waterfall. With our new friends heading off for the bus, we couldn't resist the tantilising cool, clear river and jumped in for a refreshing dip. Liv retained her modesty, but with no one around Adam kept his clothes dry. On our return to the village, we found ourselves eating on the balcony overlooking the river, and continued our goodluck by feasting on delicious new dinners. As we wandered through the alleyways back to our riverside retreat we bumped into the only other 2 westerners in the village (Dennis and Megan) and decided to chat by the river with a beer (sprite for Liv).Well after the village was sleeping, we headed home for some sleep ourselves.
Adlibing the scenery around Dehang.
1 comment:
Hi guys,mum Yoka again,not alot of news this time,I've had my L.A.morph increased but otherwise am O.K.,your dad is looking forward to receiving his presents tomorrow,he wants to open them up at Otaki.Miles is neglecting life while he finishes Harry Potter,Erin-Jane has yet to start.Well I'd better make your dad his banana cake or he won't have a birthday cake at all. LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE,MUM.
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