We managed to purchase our bus tickets to Anyi, from where we would travel to the nearby Luotiancun village - a village with 1120 years of history. When we arrived in Anyi we trustingly followed the Lonely Planet's instructions to walk across the road to find a bus to the village.
Bumping along the road we had to chuckle at the oddities we experienced: After about 20 minutes, we were told that it was time to change bus, whereupon we hopped into an old run-down van along with a teenager returning home from the town supermarket with supplies (such as potato chips) and a grandmother and her baby granddaughter.
Along the way the other passengers instructed the van to stop exactly where they wanted - this is an ongoing theme in China: you can stop the bus 100m down the road from where the last person hopped off, or hail any bus that comes your way!
Perhaps most amusingly, for the first half of our trip our driver was more concerned with the location of his lighter than the steering wheel and more interested in attempting to converse with Adam than watching the road - in typical friendly Chinese fashion he persisted in offering Adam an ice-cold water until he accepted!
After this amusing trip we arrived safely in Luotiancun, which was full of Ancient Chinese character. This is the kind of village that would be the subject of a beautiful painting, with its winding, uneven alleys, bright green fields and a lake that seemed to come out of nowhere!
We took off to explore, becoming more lethargic with each step due to the insane heat - Liv kept repeating "I have never been this hot". Later on the news informed us that it was around the 40 degree mark and we were exploring it in the middle of the day! We found our way around the alleys, at one point sticking our head into a house to view the tianjing - 'overhead light wells' - these are really just big holes in the roof for lighting (the drains in the floor deal to the rain)!
We also came across water bison scattered around the village, taking refuge in the cooling waters:
Along the way we came across the massive camphor tree dating from the Tang dynasty (which makes it pretty old) and a hand-pumped well:
After happening across the lake behind the village, we stopped in for ice-cream (there's icecream everywhere in China, kept in the same uniform freezers) and were invited into the shopkeepers house for a break from the scorching sun: her house consisted of a room that functioned as the bedroom, lounge and kitchen - most importantly though there was a fan!Reluctantly we ventured back into the heat, in search of the other nearby villages: however we came across a sign and a posse of old town-folk telling us we couldn't go any further! To be honest, we didn't really mind as we were loving Luotiancun.
Back in the village we came across a cheerful old man, who we asked for directions to the ancient well that according to the villagers is over 1000 years old - we thought we had been there earlier in the day but wanted to make sure! Despite the man's almost inability to breathe (smokes cost under 50 cents here ...) not only did he show us the well, but he proceeded to get a bucket and rope to give us our "Well 101" lesson!
The water was wonderfully cold and refreshing, and after washing our face and hands, we felt ready for food - the next adventure!Answering the man's calls through the village for food, a woman came to us and led us into her kitchen, where she took from the shelf bowls of beans, pickled veges, and meat. When we told her "women bu chi rou" (we don't eat meat) she brought a jar of very spicy tofu and a very sour-looking bowl of grey-ish eggs: this was when we decided "women bu chi ji dan" (we don't eat eggs)! Munching down the meal placed in front of us, we consoled ourselves by remembering we has thus far escaped the dehli-belly syndrome, and that this adventure was worth it! Luckily our stomachs coped, and we made it through the day!
Waiting for (and hoping for) the return of the van, we sat with the locals, eating cold watermelon (providing return business to our wonderful ice-cream host) and giggling with the children. The adlibing plans continued their success as our old friend 'the van man' arrived and whisked us bumpily back to where we had originally boarded the van - where this place is, we have no idea, all we know is it got us where we needed to be!
After making it back to Anyi, we made it just in time to see a bus leaving the bus station - when the driver saw us it stopped in the middle of the road and summoned us over: somehow knowing we were heading back to Nanchang!
Reflecting on the day's events, we had to laugh about how we just almost absentmindedly and very trustingly follow what people tell us to do: hop on this bus, change to a dodgy old van, wait for it to pick you up to return ... We did decide to come to China afterall, having pretty much no Chinese skills! The more we think about it, the more this leads us open for unexpected experiences, which is what we had hoped for in the first place - we have the luxury of time, so if we end up in the middle of nowhere, so long as we can get back, it just means we got to go to the middle of nowhere!
On the bus ride back to Nanchang Liv engaged in her first real Chinese conversation (other than the usual 'we're from NZ' and 'yes NZ is beautiful') where she talked about our families, our travels so far and our future plans - as well as telling the bus that Adam was 'similar to a doctor' - because 'he studied exercise science' just hasn't made it into Liv's vocabulary yet! In any case, it is a day to be remembering Dad (Denton), and what better way to do this than pretending to follow in his footsteps!!
Back in Nanchang we followed our usual routine of finding food and and internet cafe - the latter being interrupted by a power-cut, which are becoming more common! Earlier, we had attempted to call home, but gave up after an hour of trying to undertsand the Chinese phone operators and card instructions. The reason for the call was to say: happy birthday old man, hope you had a good one! Hugs and love coming at ya!
Adlibing it in the friendly old village.
No comments:
Post a Comment