Fenghuang, Part 2

November 24, 2008

So when I last left off, I was heading out for a walk. That night (Saturday), I hit the tiny streets and alleys of Fenghuang. The town is littered with some interesting and colorful shops, bars and coffee shops.

I stopped at one such place, bought a 15 kuai pineapple type drink and sat back to watch a live band play some Chinese and American songs. The cover band was led by a 28 year old Fenghuang native, whom upon later speaking to, I would find out loves Nirvana. He about flipped when I told him I was from Kurt Cobain's hometown.

So, back to my cold room for the night (it was extra to pay for heat), I curled up in my long underwear, fleece and beanie, under two blankets and slept the night away.

Unfortunately, my stomach had other plans. No need to go into detail here but "China gut" as it is known can be real inhospitable.

The next morning, I got up to go out for a hike around the Fenghuang country side. Following the river as it meandered through rice paddies, villages and around the terraced hills, I spent a good 5 hours. I listened to music, took some great pictures and just meditated in the middle of one of the fields. It was quite the scene, watching a woman sing a Chinese folk song and herd her cattle around, while I watched and learned. It hit me at that moment, that everything about this picture was China. The farmer. The fields. The dogs barking in the background. It was one of those random but incredible moments that solidify the decisions you make.

That night, I went out again. This time, just nosying around some more alleys and finally stumbling into the Aug Cafe. The latter, a 3-story coffee shop, straight out of the Pacific Northwest, has some reasonably priced (though over my budget) drinks and I got a Bailey's and hot chocolate and flipped through Chinese travel magazines, while listening to the jazz, Sinatra and others in the background.

Pretty much that entailed all of day two. Lots of relaxing and internalization.