As one chapter ends, a new one opens! We somberly followed our sweet teammates to the Hong Kong airport on November 19th to bid them “see you later.” It was a tearful goodbye for me. I have come to love my team this year with the affection of a sister and a friend and we have shared an experience that will never quite be understood by anyone else. So parting ways was almost unfathomable after a year of being together 24/7. But the anticipation of a continued journey also put a smile on my face as we took the train out of the airport and back into the heart of Hong Kong.
What a difference it is to not be traveling with 25 other people! All of a sudden we can decide our own pace, our own activities and not have a million opinions to factor in! On the down side, we don’t have food, lodging or activities all lined up for us so when we get to a place we are all alone. Plus we are missing our super cool friends and often we look around wondering where everyone else is. But it all adds up to a bit of adventure and a lot of spontaneity!
We spent our first couple of days in Hong Kong just trying to get our chill on. The previous week had been filled with last minute things, stress and spending time with the “family.” I especially was forgetting to breathe at points so I was ready to find a section of sand at the beach and relax/process/get some oxygen filling those lungs again. That night we went up to overlook the city…gorgeous!
The next day we were off…back to China!! We had heard great things about a city called Guilin so we thought we would check it out for a few days before heading to Vietnam. Travel was much easier since we were a little familiar with the train system in China. We jumped an overnight train and arrived at a perky 6:45am in Guilin! After seeing not very much in that city we took a 2 hour bus to the more beautiful Yangshou. It was lovely there and we had a great time being full on “backpackers” for the first time! It was a cheap town so we were essentially eating, staying and living for under $10 a day.
In fact, we enjoyed Yangshou so much we decided to extend our stay another couple of days. Our first full day there we rented mopeds and rode them for 10 hours straight! When it came time for lunch, we didn’t have our handy Chinese food guide anymore so Jon slapped 30 Yuan (about $4) on the table for the three of us and said, “Just bring us what you got!” So we got a great meal with no communication skills whatsoever.
The day was incredible as we went around the entire city just soaking in the beauty of the unusually shaped mountains and warm sun. We thought we were doing great on time as we watched the sunset about 40 minutes away from home base. But as we started to ride again, we noticed Eric’s back tire had blown out. So we went through this crazy ordeal trying to find a pump (which didn’t work). Eric ended up pushing his bike about a mile down the road and we thankfully found a guy to fix it for about $1!! We were incredibly thankful at that because we only had a total of $3 in our pockets combined! The Lord was really watching out for us.
The next day we decided to take things a bit slower and Jon and I rode a tandem bike through the city, out to the country and to a cave. We the good part of our day seeing the sites inside the cave and going swimming in a pool of mud! It was initially my idea to do the mud thing but when I finally climbed in I was having second thoughts. But Jon coaxed me in and we got muuuuudddy!!
I am thankful for this time for two reasons. 1. This post Race trip was intended for me so I could meet my family for Christmas in Paupa New Guinea. I am thrilled to death to reunite with my sister, her husband and my new baby niece I haven’t held yet. In turn, I am thankful for Jon and Eric who are with me this month because if I was alone I would probably die a thousand deaths (ok, maybe a little over dramatic but maybe also true) 2. It is giving me time to process this past year and is giving me more time to enjoy this great, green earth God has created! I am coming to find that God loves when his people explore and travel and give him the glory for the things they behold! I continue to be astounded at the beauty of the earth and the people he has created so individually in each culture.
We are now in Vietnam…
More to come….
S,J&E
